8 Mediterranean trees for low maintenance gardens

The carob is a typical Mediterranean tree

Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik

Mediterranean trees are those that are characterized by easily resisting high temperatures, as well as drought and weak frosts.. They are therefore ideal plants to grow in a low or no maintenance garden, always in full sun, but they can also be very demanding, since they do not usually tolerate flooding too well, even running out of functional roots, something It ends up having a negative impact on your health.

In fact, To be able to enjoy them, it is important that the land available is capable of absorbing and filtering water quickly.; If not, then there will be no choice but to dig holes the wider and deeper the better (it is recommended that they be 1m x 1m), and fill them with substrates that drain well, such as peat mixed with perlite in equal parts. Thus, you will be able to grow the trees that we show you below.

wild olive (Olea europaea var. sylvestris)

The wild olive is a large shrub

Image - Wikimedia / Zeynel Cebeci

El wild olive or wild olive tree It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean that reaches a maximum height of 8 meters, although it is common to see it in nature as a 4-5 meter bush. Its leaves are almost identical to those of the olive tree, that is, they are lanceolate, simple, with a dark green upper surface and a light colored underside, but shorter.

The flowers are grouped in white panicles, and towards the summer the fruits finish maturing, which are drupes of less than 1 centimeter in diameter that contain a single seed.

Resists up to -12ºC.

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua)

Carob tree in field

El carob tree it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to 10 meters in height, with a crown that can reach up to 4 meters if it is allowed to grow freely. Its leaves are paripinnate, dark green, and 10-20 centimeters long.

It is a dioecious species, which produces small flowers, without petals, and reddish in color. The fruit, the carob, is a pod up to 30 centimeters long, leathery, dark brown in color and containing a sweet-tasting pulp that protects the seeds. These are small, about 1 centimeter, and brown.

Resists up to -12ºC.

Almond tree (Almond)

Specimen of Prunus dulcis or almond tree

Image - Wikimedia / Daniel Capilla

El almond It is a deciduous tree that, although it is not native to the Mediterranean but to Central Asia, it has been cultivated in this region for more than 2000 years, since it was introduced by the Phoenicians. Reaches a height of up to 10 meters, with a trunk that tends to twist a little and crack with age. The leaves are simple, lanceolate, up to 12,5 centimeters long and green with a serrated margin.

The flowers can be solitary or appear in groups of 2 or 4, and are white or pink depending on the variety. The fruit is a leathery drupe, about 1 centimeter long, which contains a seed, the almond, which finishes maturing after 5-6 months (towards mid / late summer).

Resists up to -12ºC.

Common cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)

View of the Cupressus sempervirens

Image - Flickr / Garden tourist

El common cypress it is an evergreen conifer native to the eastern Mediterranean that reaches a height of 25 to 30 meters, with a very variable bearing, being able to be of the pyramidal type with a narrow and tall crown, or have a somewhat more open and rounded glass. the leaves are scaly, 2 to 5 millimeters long, and dark green.

There are male and female specimens. The former produce cylindrical strobili, 3-5 millimeters long, and are the ones that lasso pollen in early spring; the latter are those that produce small gray-greenish cones 2-3 centimeters in diameter that will finish maturing in the autumn of the following year.

Resists up to -12ºC.

Holm oak (Quercus ilex)

Holm oak tree view

Image - Wiimedia / Jean-Pol GRANDMONT

La Holm oak, known as holm oak, chaparra or chaparro, It is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region that reaches a height of 16 to 25 meters. Its crown is wide and rounded, made up of leathery leaves that are dark green on the upper surface and lighter on the underside.

It is monoecious, that is, it produces male and female flowers in the same specimen. The male flowers are hanging catkins, and the female ones are small, solitary or can appear in groups of two. The fruits are acorns, dark brown nuts when ripe, which are about 2 centimeters long.

Resists up to -18ºC.

Strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)

The strawberry tree is an evergreen tree

Image - Wikimedia / Krzysztof Golik

El arbutus it is an evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean region. Reaches a maximum height of 7 meters, with a reddish trunk, more or less inclined. Its leaves are lanceolate, with a size of 8 x 3 centimeters, and the margin is serrated.

The flowers are grouped in hanging panicles in spring, and their fruits are globose berries of 7 to 10 millimeters, containing small brown seeds.

Resists up to -12ºC.

Olive (Olea europaea)

The olive tree is an evergreen tree

Image - Wikimedia / Burkhard Mücke

El olive it is an evergreen tree native to practically the entire Mediterranean region that reaches a height of up to 15 meters. Its trunk tends to twist a little with age, and it becomes quite wide, reaching more than 40 centimeters thick. Its crown is wide, formed by lanceolate leaves, with a dark green upper surface and a paler underside.

The flowers are hermaphroditic, and are grouped in white panicles. The fruit is what we know as an olive; a drupe 1-3,5 centimeters in diameter, green at first but tending to darken as it matures, turning almost black in some varieties.

Resists up to -12ºC.

Oron (acer opalus)

The Acer opalus is a deciduous tree

Image - Flickr / Joan Simon

El oron It is a maple native to the Mediterranean, found only in the hills and mountains. It is deciduous, and reaches a height of up to 20 meters, with a trunk up to 1 meter in diameter. The leaves are green, palm-shaped, and measure 7 to 13 centimeters long by 5 to 16 centimeters wide. These turn yellow in the fall.

The flowers are yellow and sprout before the leaves, and the fruit is a winged dysmara (that is, two seeds that are attached to a wing each, which serves a little protection but also, and above all, to be able to get as far away from their parents as possible with the help of the wind).

Resists up to -12ºC.

What do you think of these Mediterranean trees?


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