Olive trees
Cross-light from two sides to show the trunk’s twists and the silver canopy. For old, wide trees use two or three fittings with shields so the light source stays hidden from the terrace.
Tree lighting · Mallorca
Lighting olive trees and Mediterranean planting
An old olive tree is the sculpture of a Mallorcan garden. Lit well, it becomes the centrepiece of the night garden. Here is how we light the island’s trees and planting.
The principle
Light the tree, not the sky.
Mediterranean trees have strong character: twisted olive trunks, the dark umbrella of a stone pine, the rough fibre of a palm. The aim is to reveal that character with as little light as possible, from positions where you never see the source.
That usually means spike spotlights hidden in the planting, the right beam width for each tree, glare shields on the side facing the house and careful aiming so the light stays on the tree. Balearic law on light pollution makes that care more than a nicety (see our dark-sky guide).
- Small trees and shrubs
- Compact spike lights, often with a shield.
- Tall, narrow crowns
- Narrow-beam spotlights; combine two at different heights.
- Wide crowns up to about 6 m
- Larger, wide-beam spotlights; raise them above planting with a bracket.
- Colour
- Warm white (2700K) suits bark, stone and silver-green leaves.
Tree by tree
How to light the island’s favourite trees.
Carob and almond trees
Their dense, rounded crowns suit a single wide-beam spotlight close to the trunk, aimed up into the canopy, with a softer fill light from the viewing side.
Stone and Aleppo pines
Tall pines can be lit from below into the umbrella, or moonlit: a fitting high in the tree aims down, casting branch shadows across the ground. Moonlighting keeps light out of the sky.
Palms
Graze the trunk from a ground spike placed close to the base and light the crown softly. Never fix fittings or cable to the palm itself; trunks grow and storms move fronds.
Citrus, figs and pomegranates
Smaller fruit trees respond well to compact spikes with low output. Two small lights often look better than one strong one.
Cypress, agave and sculptural planting
Narrow beams for columnar cypress, low grazing light for agaves, aloes and succulents, and in-ground lights for large pots.
Practicalities
Built to move with a living garden.
Trees grow, irrigation runs and storms blow through. Spike lights on a flexible 12V cable can be moved and re-aimed as the garden matures, and extension connectors let you add a new tree without rewiring.
- Keep sprinklers and drip lines aimed away from lenses to avoid limescale.
- Use brackets to lift lights above underplanting and lavender.
- Re-aim fittings each spring as canopies fill out.
- Check fixings and cables after strong winter winds.
Tree lighting FAQs
How many lights does an olive tree need?
A young or medium olive usually needs one or two spotlights. Large, old trees with wide crowns often look best with two or three fittings from different directions, kept at low output.
Is uplighting trees allowed in Mallorca?
Balearic law restricts light aimed above the horizontal and fittings that send a large share of their light upwards, though detailed rules depend on the island and municipality. In practice we use shielded, carefully aimed fittings at low output and moonlighting from above where it suits, so the light stays on the tree.
Will the lights damage the tree?
LED spike lights produce little heat and sit in the soil, not on the tree. We never fix fittings to palm trunks, and we position cables to avoid roots and irrigation.
Can I add more trees later?
Yes. On a 12V system like in-lite you can add fittings with plug-in connectors, as long as the transformer has spare capacity. We size transformers with room to grow.
Garden Lighting Centre
Continue exploring
Garden lighting design
Surveys, lighting plans, fixture schedules and night-time commissioning.
Dark-sky garden lighting
Balearic night-sky law and how to light beautifully within it.
in-lite 12V garden lighting
Why the Dutch 12-volt system suits Mallorca gardens so well.
Garden lighting in Mallorca
Our Garden Lighting Centre: services, brands, ideas and how a project runs.
Garden lighting · Mallorca
Show us your trees.
Send a few photos of the trees you love most and we will suggest how to light them.