How big a pot for an Olive Tree?

Geoff_H404

I live about a mile from the sea in south central England.  I have recently been given an Olive Tree in a 12-inch square wooden planter.  The planter has seen much better days (i.e. is falling to pieces) and I am going to have to re-pot the olive quite soon.  The tree is now too big and heavy to be taken indoors for the winter, I don't have 12ft high ceilings.  What size pot or planter should I move it into?  Planting in the open ground in a fairly unshaded but sheltered part of a North facing garden might be an option, but a south facing aspect could be difficult to achieve. 

roisin897

They seem quite robust, actually. I was given one maybe three years ago and wasn't sure how to deal with it: I ended up putting it in a big tub about 24" diameter. But since then, I have noticed them elsewhere quite happy in much smaller pots, or in the ground. We get some pretty harsh late frosts here and the olive tree has coped fine and has grown loads since we got it. (It stayed out all winter, south facing, but not very sheltered.)

Lizzie27

Mine has also stayed outside for the last 3-4 winters, admittedly in a fairly sheltered position in the corner of two house walls and south-west facing. It can get very windy however but doesn't seem to mind. I very occasionally fling some fleece over it if heavy frost is forecast.

Geoff_H404

Thanks for the comments Philippasmith2, roisin897 and Lizzie27.  I think I will go for a square pot with about 18 inch sides and put it in a sheltered, but sunny position in my nearly North facing garden, which has a bungalow to the south.  The tree has previously been in a North-East facing garden very sheltered to the North West and with a low building to the South.  It has survived the last two winters without any fleece.