Russian Olive, how to grow and care for E. angustifolia

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The blooming is discreet and delicate, spreading a fragrant, bee-pleasing scent, and the yellow and silver-coloured fruits that follow stay on the branches for the birds. Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) is ideal for hedges and handsome as a standalone; give it well-drained soil, never waterlogged or stagnant, and this easy shrub will thrive.

Its name comes from its native region – Southern Russia – and the resemblance to the olive tree around the Mediterranean.  Ideal for hedges and very nice as standalones, these shrubs are easy to care for and very ornamental.

→ Note: Russian olive is an invasive species to control in some areas. Growing it is sometimes illegal according to some state and country regulations.

• Where is Russian Olive native and invasive?
• Impact of Russian olive on the environment where it’s invasive

Planting Russian olive trees

Although best planted in fall, Russian olive trees cope perfectly with being planted all year round if they were purchased potted.

If you plant your Russian olive trees during winter or during summer, avoid frost and freezing and heat waves, respectively.

To make a hedge, space trunks around 3 feet (1 meter) apart.

• Choose well-drained soil and follow our guidance for planting shrubs.

• Plant Russian olive in full sun, the exposure it prefers; its small fragrant flowers are followed by silvery-yellow fruits that birds eat, though the tree is invasive across much of North America.
• Before planting a container-grown Russian olive, soak the root ball until it is thoroughly moistened, since dry potting media can repel water and remain dry even after the hole is backfilled and watered.
• On heavy or clay ground, set the Russian olive on a slight mound with the top of the root ball just above the surrounding soil, a general practice that improves drainage around establishing roots.
• Russian olive forms root nodules with Frankia bacteria and fixes atmospheric nitrogen, so it can meet much of its own nitrogen needs and rarely requires nitrogen fertiliser at planting.

Pruning a Russian olive tree

To increase the number of branches and make your shrubs or hedges more opaque, you can prune the shrubs lightly over the first few years, cutting back about ⅓ of the previous year’s growth.

Russian olive can be pruned at the beginning of spring or in fall.

These shrubs grow back after all sorts of pruning, even if these were drastic.

They can thus be given different shapes, such as a big ball or other, without hindering their development.

• Russian olive trees grow sharp thorns or spikes, so wear gloves and thick clothing.
• Follow our advice on pruning shrubs.

Hard pruning Russian olive and cutting it back

Cutting Russian olive back severely (hard pruning it) sometimes triggers an unexpected response.

• Instead of healing the pruned shrub, the vigorous root system will end up sending new growth up from the ground.
• This means that instead of having a well-formed tree, you continuously start from scratch with new, young saplings.
• If repeated, new growth starts appearing further and further off from the original stump.

Why does this happen? After cutting back most branches (sometimes called hat-racking), sap circulation is interrupted. The strong root system sends new shoots up in various places along the main roots, thus spreading the reach of the tree.

This is typical of a root-suckering species, which Eleagnus angustifolia definitely is.

Planting and pruning Russian olive: what to do, and when

The two operations that matter with Russian olive are getting it in the ground at the right moment and pruning it the right way. This table sums up the timing, the gesture and the pitfall for each case described above.

Whichever pruning you choose, the shrub grows back – the only real question is whether it grows back where you want it.

Are Russian olive fruits edible?

Foragers are keen on finding sources of food in the wild. Fruits of the Russian olive tree look like olives, hence the name. However, they aren’t very common as a source of food.

Nonetheless, they’re perfectly edible as long as a few conditions are met:

• Fruits must be very ripe, or else you’re in for a mouth-puckering experience!
• The large pit inside (a hard, fibrous husk, unlike regular olive) can be cracked open and its content, a kernel, can also be eaten.
• Not much oil can be extracted from either the flesh or the kernel.

They’re edible raw, cooked, boiled or steamed and roasted.

Learn more about Russian olive

Being more hardy than classical olive trees and very beautiful with their silver-gold hues, Russian olive trees are making a comeback among the favorite plants in our gardens.

• Russian olive trees are also excellent shade trees and are perfect to set up wild hedges.

In spring, the discrete and delicate blooming will spread a fragrant bee-pleasing odor, and in fall yellow and silver-colored fruits attract birds with their fruits which are edible even for us. They stay attached to the tree even as leaves drop in Fall. A great winter snack for our fowl friends!

A cousin of Russian olive is American silverberry, Elaeagnus commutata. It’s native to North America, unlike Russian olive.

• Russian olive in the Americas is an invasive species that must be controlled.
• See whether you’re in the native or invasive range for Russian olive.