8 Compact Olive Tree Varieties That Can Successfully Grow Indoors

Olive trees (Olea europaea) have undeniable charm. They're thin and delicate with small green leaves that complement their environment. And while these are trees, which you might typically expect to see outside, they can thrive perfectly fine indoors. That way, you can bring that European charm inside your home and make any room look like it's out of a Spanish villa.

To successfully grow and care for an olive tree indoors, you'll need to choose varieties that don't mind living their entire lives in a pot. Varieties like 'Little Ollie' can live happily in a container and stay small throughout their lives. Others, like 'Arbosana' olive trees, will appreciate larger rooms and thrive in roomy interiors. Either way, you can keep an actual tree inside your house without worrying about it reaching your ceiling. Growing a thriving indoor olive tree isn't difficult, but it does require some pruning, precise positioning, and careful watering.

As you'd expect with a tree, they tend to be relatively high maintenance and require extensive access to sunlight (it's no wonder they're associated with sunny and bright locations in the Mediterranean). Make sure to place your potted olive tree near a window where it can get six to eight hours of direct sun every single day. During colder and darker months, you might need to invest in a grow light to keep your tree happy. Choosing the perfect grow light will help your olive tree thrive, so make sure not to skip it unless you live in an area where the tree's sunlight needs can be met naturally during winter. 

'Picholine' olive trees are perfect compact olive trees that love indoor temperatures. They're small, though they do require a bit of space, so they'll appreciate a large room. You do need to trim them in order to avoid overgrowth, perfect to fit in a corner. This is a French variety of olive tree that's traditionally cultivated for both snacking olives and olive oil. These can typically be harvested at the end of summer and can be enjoyed for their unique peppery and fruity tasting notes.

'Arbequina' olive trees are great indoors because they're small and compact. When grown in a tight pot, these trees only grow a few feet tall; perfect for a house or apartment. Hailing from Spain, these trees produce tons of olives as long as they're exposed to a lot of sunlight. All in all, they're one of the best varieties for indoor gardeners looking to get some olives next harvest season. 

'Little Ollie' trees are, as the name suggests, small. These are really great decorative olive trees that do wonderfully well indoors, even in smaller spaces and darker corners. However, 'Little Ollie' trees do not produce any olives. If you love how olive trees look but you're not particularly keen on harvesting olives (and cleaning up whenever they drop on the floor), then this variety is perfect for you.

'Koroneiki' olive trees are a great choice for gardeners with busy schedules as they are fairly resistant to drought, making them a more adaptable choice if you ever need to skip a watering session. These olive trees are short and do well when potted and pruned, so they'll do great indoors. You can harvest olives from Koroneiki trees, which have a strong and distinctive flavor.

'Manzanilla' olive trees are from Spain, but chances are you've already tried them before. These olives are the most popular ones in the United States, and you'll often find them in salad bars or jarred at the store. This is a fantastic choice for foodies who want to yield delicious snacks from their gardening efforts. The best part is that 'Manzanilla' olive trees are a dwarf variety, which can easily grow in pots and containers. 

As its name implies, the dwarf 'Frantoio' olive tree is rather small. These are actually the same variety as the 'Frantoio' olive tree, which is beloved for its bountiful production but can grow much taller. To keep a dwarf 'Frantoio' tree small, you'll need to grow it in a pot and prune it. It can reach around 6 feet while in a pot, which can fit in many homes. This tree should be able to produce tons of olives for your harvest, making it a great indoor option.

The 'Mission' olive tree is adaptable and can therefore thrive while in a pot or container. By keeping them potted, you'll be able to keep this olive tree small to a dwarf size. This is a Spanish variety that can survive cooler temperatures, so it's perfect if you live in cold areas and don't heat your house to very high temperatures in winter. This is, overall, a fairly easy-going indoor olive tree variety that's great for beginners. 

'Arbosana' olive trees are naturally dwarf, which makes them a fantastic choice for indoor growing. When growing in a pot, these tend to remain smaller, but they do require a bit more height and space (they can reach 4 feet). They also need tons of sunlight, so despite being safe choices for indoor growing, they need to be placed near a large window to thrive. Overall, this is an indoor choice that's better suited for large and roomy homes with oversized windows.