Olive Trees
Botanical name: Olea
Common name: Olive
Origins: Long-lived evergreen trees from Africa, Asia and Australasia.Since ancient times it has been cultivated around the Mediterranean for it's nourishing oil-rich fruit.
Comments:
A taste of the Mediterranean. To be admired for its soft grey-green foliage, blending well with other colours in the garden. The attractive smooth grey trunks and branches take on a gnarled, twisted look when this tree reaches maturity.
Slow growing - eventually reaching 25 to 30 feet. The Olive is not only grown for its beauty but of course, for its very distinctive culinary fruit and oil.
Olive trees require full sun. They are most lush when growing in deep, rich soil, but will also grow in shallow, alkaline or stony soil with a little fertiliser. They thrive in areas hot and dry and also perform excellently in coastal areas. they will grow in a wide range of soils as long as its well drained. Trees survive and fruit well even with considerable neglect. When planting Olives a slow release fertiliser will give a great start. A side dressing of Sheep pellets and general garden fertiliser will aid in increased vigour and fruiting.
A great landscaping choice for the Auckland region.
They produce clusters of fluffy white flowers in early Summer followed by green olives which blacken and drop from the tree during late Autumn/Winter. Olives are very and not usually bothered by pests or diseases.
Container Planting: Olives grow exceptionally well in pots too. Remember to put some scoria in the bottom of the pot to keep it free draining. Patio and Tub mix is a great medium to plant in, however any good quality potting mix will do.
They are also well suited for espalier or topiary work.
Pruning Methods: Olives are not usually thinned, but if crops are exceptionally heavy, fruit will be quite small. For the largest olives possible, you can increase fruit size by thinning. This should be done as soon as possible after fruit set. Thin until remaining fruit average about 2 to 3 per foot of twig.
Fruit drop is a problem if Olives are grown only for ornamental purposes. One option for getting rid of unwanted fruit is to spread a tarpaulin under the tree at dropping time and knock off and dispose of all fruit.
Harvesting: Harvest time depends on how you plan to process the olives. They can be pickled green, made into green olives, ripe olives or Greek olives. They can also be used to make Olive Oil. All olives must be cured before they can be eaten. See our great preserving recipe.
Source:
- Kings supply 6 different varieties at their Auckland shops.
- Marlborough Olives ph: (03) 577 8834 Supplies almost every variety.
- Mt Tiger Gardens RD 1, Onerahi, Whangarei.
- Russell Fransham Subtropicals (09) 434 3980
- Cheddar Valley Trees trees@xtra.co.nz
- Top Trees toptrees@inhb.co.nz
- Stanmore Farm stanmore@levin.pl.net
- Pukehou Nurseries ph: (06) 362 6869 Fax: (06) 362 6865
- Denes Garden Way - ph/fax: (06) 877 7162
- Landscape Nursery ph: (09) 236 3072 Fax: (09) 236 3084
- The Tree Centre ph/fax: (03) 755 7310
- The Specimen Tree Co ph: (09) 276 1041 fax: (09) 276 1042
- Wellsford Wholesale Plants Ltd ph/fax: (09) 432 8882
- Burbank Goldfish & Tree Farm ph: (09) 296 2256 fax: (09) 298 4810 Ahr: (09) 298 4810
- Etherington's Nursery Ltd gf&gme@xtra.co.nz Ornamental African variety
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