Olive Tree (Fruitless Vs With Fruit)

I want to get an olive tree in my front yard. I have option of getting a fruit one for about $1000 and fruitless for about $3000. (big 12 feet live tree)
My worry with fruit one is that it will create mess and stain the floor. I am not sure how effectively a Gardner can prune it to stop from creating fruit.

For those who own olive trees, do you have a recommendation? Is it worth paying for a fruitless? or one with fruits can be maintained without any issues.

We have them here at work and it's a mess on the ground.  Are you sure you want to spend that much on a decorative tree?

Have you considered a Pineapple Guava?  They're about $30 and you can buy the ones that will grow like a bush or dwarf tree (8-10').  Irvine train station has them (bush variety) in elevated planters.  They're evergreen and doesn't require a lot of water.

Irvine_is_awesome said:

I want to get an olive tree in my front yard. I have option of getting a fruit one for about $1000 and fruitless for about $3000. (big 12 feet live tree)
My worry with fruit one is that it will create mess and stain the floor. I am not sure how effectively a Gardner can prune it to stop from creating fruit.

For those who own olive trees, do you have a recommendation? Is it worth paying for a fruitless? or one with fruits can be maintained without any issues.

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You have to spray every year to prevent them from bearing fruit.  Even the fruitless ones can still bear some fruit.  Otherwise, they will definitely stain the ground.

Go look at the parking spots in Woodbury Town Center around Ralphs and Trader Joes and you'll see how much of a mess the fruited ones can make.

If you have to have an olive tree, go for the fruitless. Olive trees are like Jacaranda's or Tipu trees - beautiful, but you'll curse the day you plant one given the mess they make.

When we bought in 2000, our yard had Tipu's that were about 10 ft tall - as did our neighbor. We ripped ours out immediately. The neighbor did not. 18 years later, their trees are about 60 feet high and will cost about $5,000 to trim effectively. Their pool is filled with leaves all the time. Blegh.

We added a Chinese Pistachio tree. It has a nice canopy during the summer, with terrific orange and yellow foliage through November. They dump a metric boatload of leaves for about 2 weeks total and that's about it. We're getting a small amount of concrete lift so roots might start being an issue, but after 18 years, what do you expect!

Moral of all this: Think 10 years down the road when planting something now. An olive may still be the right choice here after all considerations.

My .02c

Thank you everyone for your views and suggestions. I am so so torn because the one with fruit is a real beautiful tree with a nice trunk. Fruitless one is also nice but so expensive. 3 times more.

It's also 4x less work than the fruited olive tree, and less chance of stains.

Curious where you are buying these trees. Doesn't look like Moon Valley Nursery stock given it's size.

It?s from instant jungle nursery on Irvine Blvd.

Irvine_is_awesome said:

Thank you everyone for your views and suggestions. I am so so torn because the one with fruit is a real beautiful tree with a nice trunk. Fruitless one is also nice but so expensive. 3 times more.

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Go with the fruit, even the fruit does not produce much dropping, my neighbor has two in the backyard and it is sure beautiful. If the fruit drop you can let is dry out and it should not stain. Otherwise, you just have to have your gardener clean it up.