Olive Tree

Someone gave one of these to my husband. We live in growing zone 8a. Does anyone have one of these trees. How fast do they grow? Are they cold tolerant? Any information would be appreciated. We are trying to make a decision if we even want this tree.

I'm no help to you blueyedgirl5946 as I'm definitely not in zone 8a
But I have three in my semi-tropical climate and they are very slow growing. Why not keep it in a pot for a while?

We live on the line of zones 8b/9a and had a tree that was called Russian Tea Olive. I don't know if that is what you have, but I loved ours! Smallish tree, lovely round shape, pretty little white flowers. It withstood our winters fine, even the coldest winter our area had seen in 20+ years. We have since moved from that house, but I always look at garden centers for one to plant here. Haven't found one so far.
I would plant it and see how it grows!

blueyedgirl5946 , maybe post a picture of the olive tree?

The reason is that it might or might not be a true olive tree, which is best in a Mediterranean climate, and which, if it does grow, will produce olives, which most people don't want.

I suspect based on your general location in the Southeastern U.S. (from previous discussion) that you're being gifted with a "Russian Olive" or other kind of tree called olive that really isn't. Which you might or might not like better, depending on what it is.

If we know exactly what it is, or at least isn't, we can advise better.

Russian olive is an obnoxiously invasive plant on several state and also federal invasive plant lists. The fruits - which are edible - are silvery at first, then ripen to speckled-y red. Birds eat the fruit and scatter the seeds when they poop, whereupon new plants grow. I constantly lop them down, poison the stumps, uproot smaller plants. And I'm in New Jersey.

Russian olive

True olives grow in Arizona / California Mediterranean type climates.

doomsdave The tree has the paper label from the store. It is an Arbequina Olive.

Google lists Arbequina as growing in Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia: Areas of Adelaide, Buaraba, Loxton, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Western Australia, Bolivia, Brazil: (Paranà), Chile: Areas of Arica, Huasco, and Limari, Egypt, Iran (Gilan), Israel, Libya, Peru (Arequipa), Morocco, France: Areas of Alpes-Maritimes and Hérault, Mexico: Areas of Aguascalientes, Caborca, and Sonora, Peru: Areas of Arequipa and Moquegua Saudi Arabia, Spain: Areas of Albacete, Almeria, Andalucía, Aragón, Avila, Barcelona, Cataluña, Córdoba, Cuenca, Gerona, Granada, Guadalajara, Huesca, Lérida, Madrid, Sevilla, Tarragona, Teruel, and Zaragoza, South Africa (Western Cape), Turkey, the United States (Winter Garden Region, Texas),[6] and Uruguayana, Uruguay.

So unless your zone 8a garden is somewhere in the appropriate part ofTexas I think you might want to keep this olive tree in a container. That said, I did see olve trees at Arcosanti when we were in Arizona last month.