Biologically speaking, olive trees are actually stone fruits. This means the seeds inside the olives are woody and hard, which makes germination a bit of a challenge. Plus, you can only use seeds from raw, untreated olives—so those tasty ones from the deli jar won’t work! Luckily, there’s a much easier way to grow your own: using cuttings.
Propagating with Cuttings
Let’s be real—the climate here in the States (depending on where you live) can be a far cry from the sunny Mediterranean. Because of that, getting an olive tree started takes a little extra love. Here’s how to do it:
- Pick out one or more young shoots about two to four inches long. You want “green” wood that hasn’t turned hard and bark-like yet.
- Cut the bottom of the shoot at an angle. This gives the cutting more surface area to drink up water.
- Strip off the lower leaves so you have a clean stem to work with.
- Fill your starter pots with a high-quality seed-starting mix.
- Poke the cutting into the soil deep enough so it stands up straight, then gently firm the soil around it.
- Place your pots in a warm, bright spot.
- Ideally, you want to keep them in a room that stays between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Keep the soil consistently moist, but be careful not to let it get soggy—olives hate “wet feet!”
Growing from Olive Seeds
As I mentioned earlier, starting from seed is definitely the “advanced mode” compared to cuttings. If you’re up for the challenge, here’s the process:
- First, you’ll need to find olives that are fully ripe.
- Carefully cut the pits out of the fruit. This can be tricky because the flesh is firm, and you have to be super careful not to nick or damage the seed inside.
- Once they’re out, soak the seeds in water for a full 24 hours.
Planting the Seeds
For the final step, tuck your prepared seeds into pots filled with seed-starting soil. Cover them with about half an inch of substrate. Move the pot to a bright location where the temperature stays nice and cozy—somewhere between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit is the sweet spot.
