Olives · Dave Wilson Nursery

Mission Olive

The all-round home garden olive, good for curing or for oil, and hardier in the cold than most. It grows into a big, handsome evergreen that works as an edible landscape tree, but damage still comes in the teens, so it stays a low desert tree. Check city pollen rules first.

Chill hours: Under 300 chill hours
Harvest: September to November (green to black) in the low desert
Pollination: Self-fruitful; heavier crops with another olive such as Manzanillo
Mature size: 25–30 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 12 ft
Cold hardiness: Cover early bloom below 28°F. UC lists Mission as one of the hardiest olives, and Dave Wilson says it's hardier than most. It's fine to about 15°F. Green fruit is hurt near 28°F, but it ripens in late September, ahead of frost.
Heat tolerance: Takes full sun and heat. The classic California olive, it thrives in heat and full west sun. Paint young trunks white until the canopy fills in.

Which one

Every olive side by side

Same fruit, different seasons and different jobs. Pick the row that fits your ground and your calendar.

	The all-round home garden olive, good for curing or for oil, and hardier in the cold than most. It grows into a big, handsome evergreen that works as an edible landscape tree, but damage still comes in the teens, so it stays a low desert tree. Check city pollen rules first.	Small, mild, fruity olives with very little bitterness and a high oil content, from a compact tree that is moderately frost hardy. Self-fruitful but heavier with Arbosana nearby. Best in the low desert, where damage starts around the mid teens, and check city pollen rules first.	A dwarf olive with big crops of small olives, rich in premium oil with a more robust, balanced flavor than Arbequina. It ripens about three weeks after Arbequina and is less cold hardy, so keep it in the low desert and out of frost pockets. Pair it with Arbequina for heavier crops and check city pollen rules first.	One of the great Tuscan oil olives, with a balanced fruity, bitter and peppery flavor, on a vigorous upright tree that ripens late, around November. It crops well in the low desert and is self-fruitful, though heavier with Pendolino or Leccino nearby. Check city pollen rules first.	The classic table olive, large and good cured green or black, though like any olive it is bitter until cured. It ripens earliest of the group, giving time to cure before the holidays. A low desert tree with only moderate cold hardiness, so check city pollen rules first.	In Tuscany this is the olive planted to pollinate others, with small fruit and a mild oil, but it also makes a dense, weeping landscape tree with good cold hardiness. It cannot set fruit on its own, so it needs a partner such as Frantoio. Low desert tree; check city pollen rules first.
Harvest	September to November (green to black) in the low desert	October to November in the low desert	November to December in the low desert	November to December in the low desert	September to October for green olives in the low desert	October to December in the low desert
Chill hours	Under 300 chill hours	Under 300 chill hours	200–300 chill hours	Under 300 chill hours	Under 300 chill hours	Under 300 chill hours
Pollination	Self-fruitful; heavier crops with another olive such as Manzanillo	Self-fruitful; heavier crops with Arbosana nearby	Self-fruitful; heavier crops with Arbequina nearby	Self-fruitful; heavier crops with Pendolino or Leccino	Self-fruitful; heavier crops with another olive such as Mission	Self-sterile; needs another olive such as Frantoio or Leccino
Mature size	25–30 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 12 ft	12–15 ft unpruned (compact, upright); easy to hold at 8–10 ft	10–15 ft unpruned (dwarf); easy to hold at 8 ft	20–30 ft unpruned (vigorous, upright); easy to hold at 10–12 ft	20–25 ft unpruned; easy to hold at 10–12 ft	20–25 ft unpruned (weeping); easy to hold at 10–12 ft
Cold	Cover early bloom below 28°F	Hardy here	Cover while young	Cover while young	Cover while young	Cover early bloom below 28°F
Heat	Takes full sun and heat	Takes full sun and heat	Takes full sun and heat	Takes full sun and heat	Takes full sun and heat	Takes full sun and heat
From	$18	$18	$18	$18	$18	$18

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Mission Olive

Every olive side by side

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