Olives are easy to care for, very robust, look very gnarled and atmospheric - especially if they are a few decades old - and even produce fruit if cared for well. All of these reasons motivate many people in Germany to keep one or more olive trees in their garden or in a pot. But are olives also suitable for keeping indoors?
Is an olive tree suitable as a houseplant?
An olive tree is not suitable as a houseplant because it needs a lot of light and air in summer. If the room temperature is warm all year round, there is a risk of pests and leaf drop. Instead, it should be placed outside in a pot and kept cool and bright in winter.
Olives should be left outside during the summer
Unfortunately, this question has to be answered in the negative, because olive trees need a lot of light and air in summer. They are real “outdoor trees” that usually wither indoors due to a lack of light. Olive trees should be kept in pots, but should be moved outside as soon as frost nights or periods of frost are no longer expected. In addition, the Mediterranean plants need a rest period in winter, during which they can overwinter at around eight to a maximum of ten degrees - if possible, wrapped frost-proof, outdoors, for example on a house wall.
Don't keep olives warm all year round
Olives do not tolerate being kept indoors all year round in warm temperatures. If the tree is overwintered incorrectly, it often loses many or all of its leaves and can even dry out. There is also a greatly increased risk that an indoor olive kept in the apartment will become infected with pests (e.g. scale insects) or fungi. Such damage occurs particularly in weakened plants. Furthermore, indoor olives often grow even slower than the plant already does, do not bloom or only bloom a little and also do not develop any fruit.
Optimal conditions for olives
Instead of indoors, you should place your olive tree in a pot, but in a protected outdoor location for as long as possible. This can be a sunny balcony - a south-facing balcony is ideal - but also a terrace or a small garden. In winter you can bring the olive tree into your apartment or house, but only overwinter in a cool and bright location. For example, a heated living room is not suitable, but a barely or slightly heated bedroom or stairwell is more likely. Be sure to choose a location that is as sunny as possible, even in winter. The actually evergreen tree responds to a lack of light by shedding its leaves.
Tips & Tricks
If you have fallen in love with the distinctive appearance of an olive and would like to have such a tree in your living room, then you can alternatively choose a Ficus macrocarpa. The striking large-leaved fig has a sprawling, evergreen crown and a very gnarled trunk.
