A real olive tree is one of the worst trees you can put in a living room. That's not a knock on olives. They're built for hillsides with hot, dry summers and cool winters, and most American living rooms offer neither, just a nice steady 70 degrees and a window that gets sun for part of the afternoon. That's exactly why an artificial olive tree indoors makes so much sense: you get the silvery leaves and the relaxed Mediterranean shape without asking a sun-loving tree to live next to the TV.
At Corner Tree Co. the olive is the tree we'd recommend to most people buying their first faux tree. But a few myths keep sending buyers to the wrong height or the wrong spot. Here they are, and what to do instead.
Myth 1: A real olive tree will be happy in your living room
Plenty of people try. Most end up with a tree that drops leaves and slowly gets thinner. The olive is a full-sun tree, and NC State Extension's plant toolbox lists it that way even though it's often grown in containers. It's adapted to hot, dry summers and cool winters, as researchers at the University of Florida's North Florida Research and Education Center describe it. It also needs a stretch of cold to bloom: UF/IFAS Extension in St. Lucie County puts most varieties at roughly 200 to 300 chill hours. Your thermostat isn't going to give it a Mediterranean winter.
The corner where you actually want a tree is usually the dimmest part of the room, too. The University of Minnesota Extension describes a fairly dark corner as a place for true low-light plants only, and an olive is the opposite of that. If you're weighing the money side as well, we broke down what real vs faux trees actually cost.
Myth 2: Fake olive trees always look plastic
Cheap ones do. The giveaways are easy to spot once you know them: every leaf the same flat, shiny green, and a trunk that's suspiciously straight. A real olive leaf is gray-green on top with a lighter, silvery underside, and the trunk twists a little as it grows.
A good faux olive gets those details close enough that guests don't look twice. We walk through the full checklist in seven details that give a fake tree away, and it's worth a read before buying from anyone, us included.
Myth 3: It still needs to sit by a window
It doesn't need light at all, which is the whole point. You can put an artificial olive tree in a windowless hallway or the back corner of a basement family room and it will look the same in March as it did in September.
That said, placement still matters for how real it looks. An olive tree beside a window just makes sense to the eye, because that's where a living one would be. So if you have a bright spot that's free, use it. Our trees are made to be fade-resistant, so you don't have to protect them from the sun the way you would a rug. If the only open spot is dark, go ahead anyway. Nobody is checking where your tree gets its vitamin D.
Myth 4: Bigger always looks more expensive
A tree that brushes the ceiling looks crammed in, not luxurious. The olive look depends on a little air above the canopy. Our rule is to leave about 1.5 to 3 feet between the top of the tree and the ceiling, which is why a 6 ft olive is the right call for the standard 8 ft ceilings in most American homes. For 9 or 10 ft ceilings, drop the pot into a taller planter rather than jumping to a much larger tree. Our size guide has the measurements for every tree.
Ollie, our 6 ft faux olive tree, is $89 and built around that 8 ft ceiling. It arrives in the pot you see in the photos, so you can use it as is or set it inside a decorative planter that matches your room.
Myth 5: Once it's out of the box, you're done
Almost. Faux trees ship with the branches folded so they fit in a compact box, which means the tree looks a bit flat when you first pull it out. Give it about five minutes of shaping and it fills out. Start at the bottom, bend each branch slightly out and up, and vary the angles so the leaves don't line up in neat rows. Olive branches look best a little loose and irregular, the way real ones grow toward the light.
After that, the upkeep is dusting every few weeks and a quick re-fluff if someone bumps it. That's the whole care routine.
Where an artificial olive tree works best, room by room
Olives are flexible, but they aren't right for every spot. Here's how we'd think about each room.
| Room | Love it for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Living room | Filling the corner beside a sofa or a reading chair with soft, airy green | Very wide, empty corners, where a palm covers more space |
| Dining room | Softening a hard corner next to a sideboard or a window | Placing it where chair backs will bump the branches every meal |
| Bedroom | A calm, quiet look that doesn't compete with bedding | Tight spaces between the bed and the wall, where it ends up squashed |
| Entryway | First impressions when the door opens | Narrow halls where coats and bags brush past it daily |
| Home office | Something green in the background of video calls | Right behind your chair, where it looks like it's growing out of your head |
If you like the olive look but want something with a slightly softer, more silvery feel, Eucy, our 6 ft faux eucalyptus, sits in the same calm, neutral family. Still comparing the olive with our other trees? Our ranking of the best fake trees for living rooms puts all five side by side.
Bringing one home
For most rooms, our pick is a 6 ft olive next to the sofa or by a window, in a planter that matches the room. You can shop all five trees side by side if you want to compare. Shipping is free on every tree, you have 30 days to return it if it doesn't feel right, and ordering more than one saves up to 30%.
Each tree you order also plants a real one in a U.S. forest through our partner One Tree Planted, so the sunshine goes to a tree that can actually use it. Head back to the Corner Tree homepage to see how that works.
Sources
- NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox: Olea europaea
- UF/IFAS NFREC: Preliminary Results from the North Florida Olive Variety Trial
- UF/IFAS Extension St. Lucie County: Growing Olive Tree in Florida
- University of Minnesota Extension: Lighting for indoor plants
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a faux olive tree fade if it sits near a window?
Our trees are made to be fade-resistant, so a spot near a window is fine. If it gets strong afternoon sun through glass all day, turning the tree a quarter turn every few months keeps one side from getting more light than the other.
What size planter should I use for a 6 ft artificial olive tree?
Pick a planter a few inches wider than the pot the tree arrives in, so the pot drops inside with room to tuck moss or stones around the rim. A heavier ceramic or stone planter also helps a tall tree stay steady.
Can I put two olive trees in the same room?
Yes, and it often looks better than one. A matching pair on either side of a fireplace or a wide window reads as intentional. Corner Tree's buy more, save more pricing takes up to 30% off when you order more than one tree.
How often should I dust an artificial olive tree?
Every few weeks is plenty. Olive leaves are small, so a quick pass with a soft dry cloth or a cool hair dryer from the top down clears them faster than wiping leaf by leaf.
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