How to Grow Olive Tree (Zaitoon) and Actually Get Fruit
You can grow an olive tree (Zaitoon) at home almost anywhere in Pakistan and North India, but whether it ever gives olives depends on one thing most nurseries never mention: a proper cool winter. In Pothohar, Islamabad, Peshawar and the hills, a grafted olive can fruit; in Karachi it is a lovely silver shrub that rarely sets a crop; the hot plains sit in between.
The olive at a glance
- Fruit likely: Pothohar plateau, Islamabad, Peshawar valley, lower hills, upland Balochistan.
- Fruit patchy: Lahore, Faisalabad, Delhi, Multan (some years yes, many years no).
- Ornamental only (usually): coastal Karachi and other warm humid coasts.
- Planting window: February to March, or October to November; avoid May and June heat.
- Buy: a grafted or rooted-cutting plant of a named variety, from an agriculture department or trusted nursery.
- Pot: at least 45 to 60 litres (16 to 18 inch) for a tree you want to keep.
- Sun: full sun, 6 to 8 hours or more.
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Why won’t my olive tree fruit? The chill problem
Olive trees need a spell of cool, not freezing, weather to make flower buds. Extension guidance puts it at roughly two months of temperatures around 4 to 10C. Hot winters skip that signal. So in Karachi, where winter nights rarely drop that low for long, olive trees grow happily and look beautiful, but flower poorly or not at all.
In the Punjab plains and Delhi, winter is cool enough some years and too short or warm in others. Trees often flower, then drop most of the flowers or tiny fruit, especially if a hot, dry wind arrives in March or April when they are in bloom. In the Pothohar plateau, the Peshawar valley and lower hills, winters are cold enough, and that is where government olive programmes have concentrated orchard planting.
A second reason: many olive varieties set much better fruit when a different variety grows nearby to cross-pollinate. A single tree on a roof can flower and still give very little. Planting two named varieties close together helps.
Which olive plant should I buy: seed, graft or cutting?
| Type | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Grafted, named variety | Plant | True to type, fruits years sooner, you know if it is a table or oil olive |
| Rooted cutting, named variety | Plant | Also true to type; the way most commercial olive plants are produced |
| Seedling from a nursery, no variety | Maybe | Cheap, but it may be a wild type with tiny fruit, and it takes far longer to bear |
| Seed from a jar of shop olives | Skip | Pickled seeds are dead; even fresh seed is slow and unpredictable |
| Wild olive (kahu) seedlings | Skip for fruit | A tough native tree and useful rootstock, but its fruit is small and not worth eating |
Ask the nursery directly: “Is this grafted or from a cutting, and which variety?” Names you may hear include Koroneiki and Arbequina (small, mainly for oil), and larger table types. If they cannot name the variety, treat it as a seedling.
How to grow olive tree from seed (if you still want to try)
- Use fresh, ripe, unbrined fruit from a tree, not a jar. Remove all flesh and wash the stone.
- Soak the stones in water for 24 hours. Gently nicking the pointed end with nail clippers can speed germination.
- Sow 2 to 3 cm deep in a small pot of half sand, half potting soil, in February or March.
- Keep just moist, in a warm, bright spot. Germination is slow and patchy; some take months.
- Grow on in a pot. Use it as an ornamental, or as a rootstock to graft a named variety onto later.
Honest verdict: seed is an experiment, not a route to olives.
Can olive trees grow in pots?
Yes, and in a pot you can move it into the sunniest spot and control drainage, which olives value above everything. Use at least a 45 to 60 litre pot (16 to 18 inch) with several drainage holes, raised on bricks.
- Mix 2 parts sandy loam or potting soil, 1 part coarse sand or brick grit, and 1 part compost (details in our potting mix guide). Olives tolerate alkaline soil, so you do not need to acidify.
- Plant at the same depth as in the nursery bag; keep the graft union above soil.
- Water in well, then let the top 5 cm dry before the next watering.
- Stake a young tree against wind for its first year.
A pot keeps the tree smaller, which suits a roof, but potted olives fruit less than ones in the ground. Check that your roof can take the weight of a large wet pot. Other fruit trees that suit pots are compared in fruit plants in pots.
Olive tree plant care through the year
| Months | Water | Other care |
|---|---|---|
| December to January | Rarely; every 2 to 3 weeks in pots | Let it feel the cold; that is the flowering signal. Protect young trees on frost nights. |
| February to March | Every 7 to 10 days in pots | Prune and feed with compost and a balanced fertiliser |
| April to June (heat up to 45C) | Every 3 to 5 days in pots; deep weekly soak in ground | Mulch; steady water while fruit sets |
| July to September (monsoon) | Only when dry | Waterlogging is the danger; clear drainage |
| October to November | Every 7 to 10 days | Harvest; light second feed in ground trees |
Feed lightly: a couple of handfuls of compost twice a year and a balanced fertiliser in late winter, following the pack. Too much nitrogen gives leafy growth and fewer flowers. Our fertiliser guide explains NPK numbers.
Pruning
Prune in late winter, after the coldest weeks and before flowering. Olives fruit on the previous year’s growth, so heavy pruning removes next season’s crop. Open the centre so sun reaches inside, remove suckers from below the graft, and take out crossing branches. Light pruning every year beats a hard cut once in five.
The nursery question that saves you years
Before paying, scratch the bottom 15 cm of the stem with a fingernail and look for a graft scar (a slight bend or knob), then ask the variety name. A grafted or cutting-grown named olive is the single biggest factor in getting fruit at home. If you can fit two trees, buy two different named varieties for better pollination.
Pests and problems
- Root rot: the main killer in pots and in heavy, wet soils. Drainage first, always.
- Scale insects and sooty mould: black film on leaves. Wipe with soapy water, spray neem oil in the cool evening.
- Flower drop: hot dry wind at bloom, or one variety alone. Not a disease.
Harvest: when and what next?
Olives are picked green for firm table olives, or left to turn purple and black for softer olives and oil, usually from October to December. Fresh olives are extremely bitter and cannot be eaten off the tree: they must be soaked and brined for weeks first. Storing shop olives is covered in how to store olives after opening.
Olive pollen is a known allergy trigger in spring for some people; if you get hay fever when olive trees bloom, plant away from windows. Use neem or any spray with gloves, after reading the label, and keep children away until it dries. Never eat raw fruit expecting it to taste like a shop olive; it is bitter, not dangerous, but home brining needs clean jars and the right salt strength, or batches spoil. Throw away any jar with mould, fizzing or a bad smell. Large pots on roofs need a structural check.
Grow it or skip it?
In Pothohar, Islamabad, Peshawar and the hills: plant a grafted named tree in the ground and expect olives within a few years. In Lahore, Delhi and Faisalabad: plant it if you love the tree, and treat fruit as a bonus. In Karachi: grow it as an ornamental, or choose a fruit that suits the coast.
Olive tree (Zaitoon) growing questions
How do I grow an olive tree at home?
Buy a grafted or cutting-grown named variety, plant it in full sun in very well-drained soil or a large pot, water deeply but only when the top dries, and prune lightly in late winter.
How long does an olive tree take to fruit?
A grafted or cutting-grown tree in a cool-winter area usually fruits within a few years of planting. Seedlings take far longer and may never give good fruit.
Why is my olive tree not fruiting?
The usual reasons are a winter too warm to trigger flowers, a single variety without a pollination partner, heavy pruning, too much nitrogen, or hot wind during flowering.
What is the best time to plant an olive tree in Pakistan?
February to March, or October to November. These windows avoid both frost and the May to June heat.
Can I grow an olive tree from a shop olive seed?
No. Seeds from brined jar olives are dead. You need fresh seed from a tree, and even then it is slow and unpredictable.
Will an olive tree fruit in Karachi?
Rarely. Winters there are usually too mild for the cool spell olives need to flower. It still makes a fine drought-tolerant ornamental.
Can olive trees grow in Lahore?
They grow well; fruit is hit and miss. Cooler winters bring some crops, warm winters little or none.
Zaitoon ka paudha kaise lagaye?
Choose a grafted plant, dig a wide hole or use a 45 to 60 litre pot with grit and compost, plant at nursery depth, water well, and give full sun. Plant in spring or autumn.
How much water does a potted olive tree need?
Water deeply when the top 5 cm is dry: every few days in peak summer, every 2 to 3 weeks in winter. Never let it sit in water.
Do I need two olive trees?
Not to grow one, but many varieties fruit better with a different variety nearby for cross-pollination.
More food plants to grow: Kitchen Garden. For buying and using the oil, see olive oil: extra virgin vs pomace.