Autumn Olive Tree is grown for its foliage and the structure it brings to a planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 2 through 7, shrugs off deer and shrugs off dry spells. Its early summer flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and native bees. A nitrogen-fixer, it draws nitrogen from the air and feeds it back to the soil — turn it under or leave the roots in place, and the next planting inherits a richer bed.
Autumn Olive Tree — the short answer
Autumn Olive Tree: grown in zones 2–7, full sun, pH 6–8.5.
- USDA zones
- 2–7
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 6–8.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 30.2°F
- FAO ECOCROP
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Autumn Olive Tree on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether autumn olive tree actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score autumn olive tree against your land's real conditions.
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What Autumn Olive Tree is
Autumn Olive Tree grows as a perennial. It blooms yellow in early summer. It's also deer-resistant.
How to grow Autumn Olive Tree
Autumn Olive Tree grows in USDA zones 2 through 7. Autumn Olive Tree does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 6 to 8.5, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
2-7
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
6 - 8.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost Kill Temperature
30.2°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
41°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
Frost-Free Days
120+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Start the season right
Plant autumn olive tree in full sun with at least 6 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
Autumn Olive Tree prefers pH 6 to 8.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band. It fixes its own nitrogen, so skip the high-nitrogen feed and instead dust the seed with a matching rhizobium inoculant at sowing.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Keep it in good form
Prune autumn olive tree to shape as it grows; the reward is its foliage and structure, not a harvest, so steady upkeep is the whole job.
Where Autumn Olive Tree thrives
Autumn Olive Tree is hardy across USDA zones 2 through 7. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 2–7 spans average winter lows from -50°F to 10°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers 23 outright and splits 25 more down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 2–7·Where Autumn Olive Tree growsOpen map →
Continental US shown — Alaska and US Pacific territories sit outside the federal map's polygon dataset.
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Autumn Olive Tree stands, state by state
Autumn Olive Tree is rated for zones 2–7 — a cold floor USDA puts at -50 to -40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 23 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 25 more, and 3 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
Fully inside zones 2–7
23 states
3 of 23 shown
The line runs through
25 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- Idaho · zones 3b-8a
- California · zones 4b-11a
3 of 25 shown
Autumn Olive Tree’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Autumn Olive Tree
Growing guides for autumn olive tree
In rotation planning, autumn olive tree counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in tree
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — autumn olive tree isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Autumn Olive Tree offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Autumn Olive Tree's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Autumn Olive Tree will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether autumn olive tree actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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How we know this about Autumn Olive Tree
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Autumn Olive Tree in my zone?
Autumn Olive Tree grows in USDA hardiness zones 2 through 7 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Autumn Olive Tree?
Most growers plant autumn olive tree after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 120-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does Autumn Olive Tree need?
Autumn Olive Tree needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Autumn Olive Tree need?
Autumn Olive Tree prefers soil pH 6 to 8.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Autumn Olive Tree attract pollinators?
Yes — autumn olive tree's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and native bees.
Is Autumn Olive Tree safe for pets?
Autumn Olive Tree is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)
Keep exploring Autumn Olive Tree
Autumn Olive Tree state by state
Every state autumn olive tree's zone reaches — 33 link straight to that state's autumn olive tree growing page; the rest open the state's full growing guide.