Hardiness zones
Sunset 12-24
USDA 8 (might freeze), 9 (occasionally needs protection) - 11
Landscape Use: Background, low screen, accent shrub to small multiple trunk tree, appropriate for use in both mesic and xeric landscapes.
Form & Character: Mostly evergreen and rounded. When in bloom from a distance Texas olive looks somewhat like a rounded white oleander
Growth Habit: Very slow growth to 10' (height and width) in Phoenix, somewhat taller in less torrid climates. First introductions of this plant into the Phoenix area are planted as entrance sentinel specimens at Baker's Nursery on 40th Street north of Osborn.
Foliage/texture: Leaves olive green, scabrous, ovate or oblong-ovate, to 5" long, margins entire to crenellate, medium texture
Flowers & fruits: Flowers white with yellow centers, 1 1/2" across, in terminal clusters, fruit a ovoid (rounded) fleshy drupe persistently covered, 1/2" long, green then ripening to creamy white.
Seasonal color: In Phoenix, Texas olive produces masses of large showy white flowers in the spring with a secondary bloom period in fall.
Temperature: Hardy to 23oF (experienced stem tip injury during the "Great Freeze of 2007")
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained
Watering: Infrequent deep irrigations during dry times; however, more water in the summer will hasten growth.
Pruning: Rarely, and only to shape
Propagation: Seed
Disease and pests: Texas root rot
Additional comments: Texas olive is a very classy plant with very showy white flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It does however have a short dormant period in winter during which it may look sparse. Its slow growth rate means one should plant larger specimens. Are Texas olive fruit edible? Some say yes, some say no, and I've never tried. In certain parts of Mexico, leaves are used as a medicinal tea to treat rheumatism and bronchial congestion. Texas Olive was named, respectively, for Valerius Cordus, a German botanist and pharmacist of the 16th Century and Pierre-Edmond Boissier, a 19th Century botanist. It is not related to the European olive (Olea europaea).
