Autumn-olive easily escapes cultivation and is difficult to control. Autumn-olive is probably not adapted for plantings outside its current naturalized range. Autumn-olive is an exotic, deciduous tree or shrub. Autumn-olive generally flowers at 2 to 3 years of age. Abundant seed production begins at age 3 to 4 years.
Seeds require cold stratification for germination.
It is possible that autumn olive does this as well. Autumn-olive is found on a variety of soil types. It grows well on sand, glacial till, and disturbed soils. It tolerates adverse site conditions. It is more common on well- drained, upland sites than on marshy or bottomland sites.