When do olive trees produce

My love affair with the olive began many years ago on the Ionian island of Paxos. I was captivated by this ancient and beautiful tree, brought to the island by the Venetians in the 15th century.

The history of the olive, however, stretches back much further and it has become one of the most powerful symbols of the Ancient World. The olive has been a part of everyday life in the eastern Mediterranean since the beginnings of civilisation more than 6, years ago, but began life as a sprawling, spiny shrub in the Levant present day Syria and Lebanon.

Thousands of years of selection and breeding have turned it into the productive tree we know today. The olive is now an integral part of the Mediterranean landscape and the most important economic plant in the region with million trees in cultivation. During the long, hot Mediterranean summer the trees become heavy with fruit, ripening from green to black as the winter approaches.

I really admire Mediterranean plants because they have adapted over thousands of years to cope with extreme climatic conditions, poor soils and the effects of fire. Our olive grove in the Mediterranean Biome at Eden contains some old, gnarled specimens but these are mere juveniles compared with some you find in the Mediterranean region — many are more than 1, years old.

Carbon dating of old specimens in Lebanon has revealed trees several thousand years old. I find it amazing that these trees have been producing fruit and giving oil since Biblical times! Certainly, olives do well in containers. When you buy your tree, pot it on into a larger pot, preferably terracotta rather than plastic and use a loam-based compost like a John Innes no.

Thanks for including two recipes that I love! I just planted 2 arberquina olive trees in South Florida. It might not be cold enough for long enough time down here. They were on clearance at Lowes. So not a big investment. One is 4 ft tall other is about 2ft tall.

Time will tell. Very valuable info. If possible, just 1 question. When do the leaves appear for the first time on an olive tree? In three weeks, one month or two? This is Kenneth in Boise ID. Check out our apple tree growing guide here. I recently purchased 4 olive trees for my grandfather from a local olive orchard.

When would you recommend that I plant them? They are all about 2to3ft tall. We have picked out a suitable location for them. Also was wondering how far I should space them. I purchased the following varieties; Mission, Picual, Manzanilla, and Arbequina.

Thanks in advance for any tips or advice. What a lovely gesture for your grandfather, Matt. You should be able to plant them now.

Nice article. I planted 2 arbequinas here NC outer banks 3 years ago and they are doing well. We even had an extended period of sub degrees 2 years ago and they came through with no damage. We are yards from the ocean, on sand, and they seem to do fine in all sorts of extremes. Last year we had fruit — maybe olives — but brined they were delicious. This year both trees, now ft tall, are covered in blossoms.

As far as we know, we have the only olive trees in the outer banks. I just planted 2 Arbequina olive trees in massive pots near my pool. They were purchased in 5 gallon nursery buckets. We do get pretty decent winds here in the Dallas area. As you can see for my pic, I have braced the tree s with string and a heavy weight.

I also have large rocks inside the pots near the trunk. Will I have to eventually transplant them into the ground? I planned on pruning them so I could try to keep them in the pots. Thank you for any insight.

Thanks for your questions, Karin. Olives can do well in containers! For awhile, at least. You can continue transplanting to larger pots every years or so, gradually increasing the pot size. But keep in mind that transplanting will tend to become increasingly difficult as these trees continue to grow. No surprise, they sold out really fast!

The nursery has a wide range of cultivars and our farm manager will gladly assist in choosing the right cultivar for you needs. Contact info willowcreek. Receive free shipping when you buy Willow Creek Olive Estate products worth R or more via our online store. Previous Next. Alternative bearing is due to Plant Hormones Exhaustion of carbohydrates Alternative bearing can be managed by manipulating certain practices such as pruning and nutrition.

This happens by means of wind. When heavy rains occur during the flowering period, drenched flowers struggle to pollinate. Flowering occurs during season change spring while the rains still fall occasionally and when warmer weather sets in The combination of wet- and warmer weather can cause humid conditions.

Humid weather is excellent breeding conditions for fungal diseases that in turn affect the flowers and fruit set. The strong winds can literally blow off your entire crop from your tree during the flowering season! Suckers grow at the base of the tree and will take over the tree, preventing nutrients from reaching the top of the tree if left on the tree. Therefore, it is important to remove these low growing branches.

We prune our trees in the orchard so that the canopy starts about three to four feet above the ground. Answer: Olive trees can be propagated from seed, but the resulting tree is characterized by a very long period before it begins to produce, i.

Professional olive growers, propagate by using two and three-year old wood cuttings to produce new trees. This achieves uniformity, quality and early production. Trees can be topped to keep their growth within the desired height for picking. If you see centuries old trees, the trunk will be huge, but the trees will often have a few branches and not be that tall.

This is because they have been topped over the centuries so that they can be easily harvested. Answer: Olive trees grow at varying rates depending on the variety, if they are watered and if they are fertilized. All things being equal, they grow about 18 inches to 24 inches a year. Answer: Spring is usually the best time to plant a tree. But they can be planted in other months of the year, except for the winter months.

If you choose to plant in the summer, plant in the early morning before it becomes too hot. Fill the hole with water, let it drain so the hole is muddy.

Plant the tree, water thoroughly. Water every day for the next week and then begin to gradually level off so that you water only when the soil becomes dry. Answer: An olive tree will give mature production in about five years from when first production occurs. On average a mature olive tree will produce between pounds of olives. It takes about 57 to 70 pounds of olive to produce a gallon of olive oil. Answer: The meat of the olive is comprised of oil and water. Some olives contain a high oil content and these are preferred for oil, because it takes fewer olives to make oil than an olive that has a greater water content.

However, even though the oil content is high, these can still be brined to make table olives. In this case, they are classified as dual-purpose olives. If you think of a question I did not answer, email me at saundra sandyoaks. Question: Does this variety of tree produce green or black olives? Question: Can olive trees survive freezing temperatures? See the chart to determine the varieties in the Sandy Oaks Nursery that are cold hardy Olive trees grow well in zones 8, 9 and Question: Do olive trees lose their leaves in the winter time?

Answer: Olive trees are evergreen. Question: Can I plant a tree in a pot? Question: Can olive trees be grown indoors? Question: Does soil type matter for olive trees? Question: How often should olive trees be watered?

Although olive trees are drought tolerant, an irrigation system is really necessary for several reasons: To insure consistent production. Though trees are not irrigated in some parts of the world, they do not produce on a commercial basis. The production varies from year to year depending on the amount of rainfall per year.

To preserve the fruit on the tree. When the trees are laden with fruit, trees that dry out will go into self-preservation mode. They will drop the fruit first and then begin to defoliate. To protect the tree during a cold front. In the winter, when a cold front is predicted, the best way to protect the trees from damage is to irrigate them thoroughly before the cold front moves in. You might still have tip burn on the limbs of the tree, but the roots will survive and the tree as well.

Question: How often should trees be fertilized? We use the following list of fertilizers depending on the needs of the tree: Fish emulsion is a fast-acting organic fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, plus micronutrients and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, chorine, and sodium.

Liquid Seaweed contains the three major nutrients, but it also contains a vast array of trace minerals. It improves the productivity and overall health of the olive tree. Bat Guano or Chicken Litter are good sources of nitrogen, especially bat guano Chicken Litter returns nutrients and fertility to the soil. It contains all of the macronutrients plus calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and many micronutrients.

Alfalfa Tea contains many macro and micronutrients, but more importantly it feeds beneficial soil organisms as well. It also contains a growth hormone, tricontanol. It can increase the tolerance for cold.