You can install anything you like, but you will always have root problems - the roots are looking for air, and if concrete hasn't stopped them you can be sure that nothing else will. English Ivy is similarly a thug that has no place in a garden. I would suggest cutting down the tree and replacing it with a more neighbourly variety, and a relentless campaign to remove the ivy. Once those things are done, the patio design is a blank slate. Some barriers to design are meant to be worked around, while others cannot be. KarinL

Hi all - Sorry, I thought I set up the forum to alert me via email of replies but it didn't. I thought I'd check in, and am just now reading your replies. I'll check the tag for the Latin name. The patio is 3" thick stamped concrete. Soil is clay based. I live in a city called Rocklin which I'm told was named that because we're on a huge granite slab. Digging around the yard, I realize that they weren't joking. I have a couple of shovels and picks with busted handles to prove it. Drainage is a 3" pipe 90' to the curb. I have a Little Ollie in another part of my yard. I was hoping to add this full sized olive to add some height to my landscape and compliment my Mediterranean theme.

Wow, it's been a few weeks since I posted, no one has any info?

Oh, I just saw your posting on the "painted concrete" thread where you showed your inside room as well as your outside patio. Please keep us posted when your resolve the outside stain issue. Is the concrete slicke when wet? Tuesday