Olive is a very famous tree that is used by many designers because it can be used in both indoor and outdoor. Do you know that you can actually plant olive trees indoors? That is why, a lot of interior designers also start to use this beautiful tree in their design. If you are interested, here are some things that you need to know.
Is It Alright To Plant Olive Trees Indoor?
As you know, olive trees come from the Mediterranean area. You can find a lot of varieties in that area as they are native so it can grow really well. Those trees usually divided to 2 categories which is ornamental trees which used for decoration since it does not produce and olive tree which can produce fruit. Both of those trees need warm temperatures to grow as they are very sensitive to cold temperatures. If you happen to live in an area with a winter season then it will be more difficult for you to grow olive trees outdoors. Thus planting your tree indoors can be a good alternative to do. However, you should know that planting the olive tree inside your house will not make them last forever. They are only able to survive the indoor environment for around eight to nine years at max. But that is still plenty of time to enjoy the tree so it is still worth the effort to have the olive tree inside your house.Indoor Olive Tree Requirements
If you want to plant the olive trees indoor then there are a few things that you need to consider beforehand. Here are some of the most important one:- Size Some olive trees can be very big up to 10 feet even if you grow them in a pot. So, if you do not have a very high ceiling to allow them to grow that high then it is better for you to choose dwarf olive variety. The dwarf olive will only grow up to 6 feet in size. If you want them to be shorter or keep their current height then you can prune them each time they outgrow your preferred height.
- Fruit If you want an olive tree that can produce fruit then that means you have to choose a tree that is not ornamental. However even then you need to first maintain the tree by putting it outside so it can get direct sunlight which is needed so it can produce fruit. You need to first put the olive tree outdoors for several months’ even years so it can be healthy and produce fruit. This means you cannot use the tree indoor right away which might not be what you plan. So if having the fruit is not that important for you then you can choose the purely ornamental tree so you can skip this step.
- Sunlight Olive trees originate from Mediterranean areas which have a lot of sunlight. So, when you plant an olive tree indoors then you should also provide sunlight to your tree. Of course, you would not be able to provide the same intensity as their native habitat. But you should at least provide full sun for your tree. Choose a spot near your window which can get at minimum 6 hours of sunlight every day. If possible try to find a window that is south-facing so it will get sunlight from every direction.
- Repotting
Once you get your small olive tree, then you might want to re-pot it to bigger size pot. Try to find a pot that is larger than the root ball so the root can expand and grow into its new pot. That way, you do not need to re-pot the tree often each time it outgrows its pot.
Choose a pot that has good drainage holes since olive needs to have soil that is well drained. Then you need to add filler, gravel, Styrofoam, or cactus mix on the bottom before you put the actual soil and olive tree in.
- Maintain You need to take care of your tree by watering it but you need to make sure that a few inches of the soil dry first before re-watering. Since olive is native to dry air they do not need too much water.
As you can see, planting an olive tree indoors is pretty easy and a good alternative if you want to have it for décor.