El olive it is an impressive fruit tree. It does not have flowers as showy as those of the flamboyant or those of jacaranda, but its size and resistance to drought make it one of the most cultivated arboreal plants in regions where rainfall is scarce.
It can give very good shade as long as it is pruned regularly, and it is a species that the whole family can enjoy a lot.
Olive tree characteristics
The olive tree, whose scientific name is Olea europaea, is an evergreen tree (that is, it remains evergreen) native to the Mediterranean region. It can reach a height of 15 meters, but normally it is not allowed to grow more than 4-5 meters so that it is easier to collect the olives, which are succulent drupes up to 3,5cm long, somewhat globose and green in color.
Its crown is wide, with lanceolate leaves with a pointed apex, leathery, glabrous on the upper surface and paler on the underside. The flowers are hermaphroditic, white. The trunk is thick and often twisted. Its roots are not invasive.
How do you take care of yourself?
If you want to have one or more specimens in your garden, take note of our advice:
- Location: outside, in full sun.
- Soil or substrate: it must have good drainage, especially if it is potted. In the garden the soil must be calcareous.
- Irrigation: every 3-4 days in summer, and every 4-6 days the rest of the year. It resists drought and punctual torrential rains.
- Subscriber: throughout the growing season (spring and summer), it must be fertilized with organic fertilizers, laying a layer 4-5cm thick around the plant once a month.
- Transplant / Planting time: in spring.
- Pruning: at the end of winter, when the risk of frost has passed.
- Harvest: late summer.
- Multiplication: by seeds in spring, and by cuttings in autumn or spring.
- Rusticity: resistant up to -10ºC.
Enjoy your olive tree 🙂.