Read here in the commented olive tree profile information about origin, growth, flowering and winter hardiness. Lots of planting and care tips for potted olive trees and planted olive trees in the garden.
What are the most important properties of an olive tree?
The olive tree (Olea europaea) is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region, valued for its edible fruits and the olive oil obtained from them. It prefers sunny, wind-protected locations, is undemanding and easy to care for, reaches heights of 3 to 20 meters and is only partially hardy.
Profile
- Scientific name: Olea europaea
- Family: Oleaceae
- Synonyms: olive tree, real olive tree, olive
- Origin: Mediterranean region
- Growth type: tree or shrub
- Growth: gnarly
- Growth height: 5 m to 20 m
- Leaf: silvery, lanceolate, evergreen
- Flower: paniculate inflorescence
- Fruit: Drupe
- Fruit properties: edible
- Winter hardiness: conditionally hardy
Origin
The olive tree is the defining element of Mediterranean cultural landscapes. Four millennia before the beginning of our era, the distinctive olive tree was a faithful companion of humans and was cultivated as a useful plant. The Old Testament tells of a dove carrying an olive tree branch in its beak to Noah's Ark, announcing the end of the flood. The real olive tree's homeland extends across the entire Mediterranean region, including the Canary Islands. To this day, the olive tree is revered as an ambassador of southern serenity.
Spacious olive groves are characteristic of the main growing areas in Spain, Greece, Italy and other regions with a Mediterranean climate. Subspecies and cultivars are also grown in North and South America, Australia, South Africa and Japan.
Growth
The real olive tree is reverently called the gray giant. In its native regions, the archaic tree can achieve impressive dimensions. North of the Alps, the olive tree family is mainly cultivated as a container plant and is rightly referred to as an olive tree. The most important key data on growth in brief:
- Growth height in the Mediterranean area: 10 m to 20 m
- Growth height planted in Central Europe: 3 m to 5 m, rarely higher
- Growth height as a potted plant: 0.80 m to 1.50 m, rarely up to 2 m
- Olive tree trunk: initially grey-green, smooth bark, later gnarled and cracked bark
- Crown: spreading, light branching with lanceolate, evergreen leaves, dark green above, silvery below
- Annual growth: 10 cm to 30 cm, as a container plant 5 cm to 10 cm
- Roots: in loose soil vertically up to 7 m deep, on stony-rocky soil as a flat network on the trunk
If you want an authentic tree with the unmistakable, gnarled, bizarre trunk, you should plant an old olive tree in XXL format. The following video explains how the ambitious project succeeds:
Video: Planting an XXL-sized olive tree in the garden - is that possible?
Bloom
An olive tree blooms for the first time at the age of six. These are the most important characteristics of an olive flower:
- Flower shape: 2 cm to 4 cm long panicle with 10 to 40 individual flowers
- Single flower: 4 sepals (1-1.5 mm long) and 4 petals (2.5-4 mm long)
- Flower color: yellowish-white
- Flowering time: May to July
- Pollination: Wind
A real olive tree depends on cross-pollination. Grafted varieties are self-pollinating. A second olive tree as a pollen donor always increases the harvest yield.
Fruit
The pollinated flowers turn into single-seeded, spherical drupes. An olive is 0.7 cm to 4 cm long, with a diameter of 1 cm to 2 cm. Unripe fruits are green. As the olives ripen, they turn dark brown to black. Raw, the fruits are very bitter and not edible. Pickled, marinated or cooked, the fruits become a he althy, aromatic delicacy with a high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids. These valuable ingredients come from freshly harvested olives and virgin olive oil:
| Nutritional values | 100 g fresh olives | 100 g olive oil |
|---|---|---|
| Calorie | 143 kcal | 884 kcal |
| Protein | 1, 4 g | 0 g |
| Fiber | 2, 4 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 14 g | 100g |
| of which | ||
| 71, 24 g monounsaturated fatty acids | ||
| 9, 17 g polyunsaturated fatty acids | ||
| 14, 38 g saturated fatty acids |
Regular consumption of olives and olive oil promotes well-being and he alth. As part of your diet, olives reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, stabilize blood sugar levels, ensure strong bones and prevent obesity. Processed into ointments, olive oil cares for sensitive and dry skin.
Winter hardiness
The olive tree is hardy down to -10° Celsius. In principle, the olive is not suitable for overwintering as a planted house tree. In mild winter regions of hardiness zones 8, 9 and 10, the gnarled icon of the Mediterranean can overwinter outside, provided extensive protective measures are taken. The care instructions that follow later explain the correct procedure.
Planting an olive tree
Olea europaea is available in many sizes and price ranges. The range of offers extends from the inexpensive mini olive trunk for the balcony box to the representative 150 cm half-trunk olive to the elderly giant tree with a height of 3 meters for a whopping 2,500 euros. Hobby gardeners prefer to plant an olive tree that they have propagated themselves.
Propagation
The olive tree is best propagated through cuttings. Cut off half-woody, 10 centimeter long shoot tips. Pluck off the leaves in the lower half. Dip the shaft in rooting powder (€8.00 on Amazon) and place two thirds of each offshoot in a pot with coconut fiber substrate or potting soil. In a bright, warm window seat with 20° Celsius, keep the substrate slightly moist.
Location
Reserve two locations for the olive tree in the pot: a summer spot outside and a winter quarters inside. Hardy olive tree varieties in the garden have special location preferences. Important key data at a glance:
- Bucket location in summer: full sun, warm to southern hot, preferably in front of a south-facing wall.
- Bucket location in winter: very bright, cool-tempered at 5° Celsius, similar to citrus plants.
- Location in the garden: sunny, wind-protected location from winter hardiness zone Z8 (- 6.7° to 12.2°C.) or higher.
Earth
An olive tree prefers to extend its roots into this earth:
- Pail soil: Mixture of 4 parts pot plant soil without peat, 2 parts coconut soil, 1 part sand, 1 part lava granulate.
- Garden soil: humus-loose, sandy-loamy, fresh to moderately dry, permeable, calcareous, pH value 6-7.
Plants in pots
Plant an olive tree in a pot over a 3 cm to 5 cm high drainage made of expanded clay or pottery shards. Measure the planting depth so that a watering edge is created. A sturdy terracotta pot is suitable as a bucket because excess liquid evaporates better through the porous walls.
Plants in the bed
Olive trees suitable for planting are at least 7 years old and come from local tree nurseries. The best time to plant is in spring so that the roots can establish themselves solidly until the first frost. Cover the bottom of the planting pit with a thick layer of sand to provide drainage against waterlogging. A support post protects the olive tree in the garden from wind. Please use soft hose ties that you check regularly and remove in good time so that the attractive bark can form without damage.
Excursus
Gnarled Methuselah from the Mediterranean
Probably the most famous olive tree in the world is crooked, gnarled and ancient. You can admire the monumental Methuselah on Crete, near the town of Kavousi. The Mediterranean icon has resided there for almost 4,000 years and boasts a circumference of 14.2 meters. The trunk has a record-breaking diameter of 5 meters. On the opposite side of the island, the olive tree of Ano Vouves boasts a biblical age of 3,500 years and a trunk diameter of 3.70 meters.
Caring for the olive tree
An olive tree is undemanding and easy to care for. The four supporting pillars in the simple care program are economical watering, moderate fertilization, infrequent cutting and species-appropriate overwintering. You can read the best care tips for pots and gardens here:
Olive tree care in the pot
- Watering: water thoroughly when dry and allow the substrate to dry to a depth of 2 cm until the next watering.
- Fertilizing: Add liquid fertilizer for Mediterranean plants to the irrigation water every month from April to September.
- Repotting: repot every 2 to 3 years in spring.
- Overwintering: put away before the first frost, water very sparingly in bright, cool winter quarters and do not fertilize.
- Cutting: occasionally thin out before wintering and cut into shape
Olive tree care in the garden
- Watering: water regularly after planting, only water well-rooted olives in dry summer conditions without rain.
- Fertilizing: fertilize in March and June with compost and horn shavings.
- Overwintering: Mulch the tree disc, wrap the trunk with fleece and cover the crown, water when there is frost, stop fertilizing from September onwards.
- Cutting: Fruit wood and thinning pruning in February, corrective care pruning at the end of June.
Popular varieties
Among more than 1000 olive tree varieties from the Mediterranean region, these varieties have qualified for life north of the Alps:
- Hojiblanca: Premium variety with silvery leaves, characterizes the olive groves of Andalusia, edible table olives with a mild aroma, hardy down to -19° Celsius.
- Toscana: representative olive tree as a half trunk with a beautiful spherical crown, trunk height 60 cm, not hardy.
- Frantoio: well-known fruit variety, dark brown, edible fruits (not eaten raw), tolerates temperatures down to -15° Celsius for a short time.
- Leccino: cold-tolerant variety from northern Italy with small, dark red to black olives from the end of October.
- Cipresso: decorative fruit olive, refined with stems, 160-200 cm height, perfect pollinator for Leccino.
- Arbequina: Catalan premium variety produces small hazelnut olives with a fruity-tart taste, frost-tolerant down to -16° Celsius.
FAQ
Where do olives grow?
Olives are the fruits of the olive tree (Olea europaea), also called the olive tree. The real olive tree grows predominantly in the Mediterranean region, where it has been cultivated as the most important crop for many millennia. The main growing areas are Spain, Greece, Italy, Morocco and Albania.
How old do olive trees get?
Olive trees are very robust and can live for several thousand years. Part of their survival strategy are roots up to 7 meters long, which give the rustic tree stability and transport vital groundwater into the crown. The olive tree is extremely resilient and will sprout again even after a devastating drought or fire.
Is the olive tree hardy?
No, an olive tree cannot serve with solid winter hardiness. After all, the Mediterranean tree can tolerate temperatures of up to -10° Celsius for short periods of time. This allows older olive trees to be planted in mild-winter river valleys and wine regions, provided good winter protection is provided. In all other areas of Germany, the olive tree in a mobile pot is best kept indoors for a frost-free winter.
