While olive trees are fairly easy to grow, they are cold sensitive, they don’t like soggy soil, and they only produce fruit under very specific conditions. Olives will not tolerate temperatures below about 22 F (-5.5 C) for young trees and about 15 F (-9.5 C) for mature trees. They have a long growing season and require lots of sunlight and heat to mature the fruit before autumn freezes ruin the fruit. Olives will not produce well under subtropical or tropical conditions because rain during bloom will prevent pollination. That is why they can only be grown commercially in southern Europe, Northern Africa, South Africa, Australia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, California, and a few other places that have Mediterranean-like climates with mild yet cool winters and no springtime rainfall (during bloom). Trees can also be grown in a greenhouse or other protected environments.
- Paul Vossen