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<\/a>While Arbequina Olive trees are delightfully beginner friendly trees, there are a few tricks to getting these plants to produce fruit. We\u2019re here to answer all the questions you have, as well as the ones you didn\u2019t know you needed to ask!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re the type of person who likes the quick and easy version of plant care, scroll to the bottom of this blog for the sparknotes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like always, we LOVE hearing from you! If you encounter a question or bump in the road with your olive tree (or any plant, for that matter), send us an emai<\/a>l<\/a> or a DM on Facebook<\/a> or Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, on with the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arbequina olives are our pick (get it? Our pick<\/em>, like picking fruit\u2026 yeah, we crack ourselves up) because it\u2019s a popular selection in California for commercial olive production. In fact, close to 80% of olives planted in California are this particular strain because the plant is so durable and fruits prolifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arbequina olive trees aren\u2019t deciduous, so they\u2019ll keep their beautiful foliage year round. Some leaves fall as they go through their life cycle. This is normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we started growing olive trees 10 years ago, we noticed very quickly just how easy they are and how fast they grow. There\u2019s very few insects that affect them, they\u2019re disease resistant, they\u2019re salt tolerant, and they\u2019re drought tolerant. To put a cherry on top, they\u2019re also super aesthetically pleasing, with their weeping branches and silvery foliage. Really, what more could you ask for in a perfect plant?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Typically, when you choose plants for your patio or yard, it\u2019s important to consider your climate. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a map that separates the continental US into zones, and plants are often sold with information on their tag about which zones the plant thrives in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the coolest things about olive trees is that they do incredibly well in a huge zone range! They\u2019re considered hardy in zones 7-9, but they can survive in zones 6-10. They can tolerate temperatures as low as 20 degrees fahrenheit; in fact, they rely on the cold to fruit (we\u2019ll talk about that later on).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olive trees are Mediterranean in origin, so they\u2019re used to all kinds of climates, soils, and even the worst of conditions. It\u2019s in their genes to thrive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, here\u2019s what you need to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zones 7-9 are the best zones for seeing fruit production; the other zones are likely to see smaller yields, even if the plant is healthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zones 6 and 10 should plant in containers, so during the wettest or coldest months, you\u2019re able to move your tree into a more protected area. Central Florida, where TMC is located, falls into zone 9, so we keep a watchful eye on our olives and do our best to protect them from the wettest months of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, these trees do really well in containers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Generally speaking, olive trees max out at 15-20 feet tall when they\u2019re planted in the ground. They\u2019ll stay on the smaller side when they\u2019re potted (Julie & Matt, the owners of The Magnolia Company, have a potted one that\u2019s about 8 feet tall and thriving).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like most trees, olive trees like well draining soil and have very few other needs. Container planters will be just fine with potting soil and a pot that drains. In-ground gardeners should avoid areas that see standing water after rainfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Honestly, one of the only ways to kill this tree is to over water it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arbequina olives don\u2019t like having \u201cwet feet\u201d – make sure they get some kind of water around once a week, be it from natural precipitation or your sprinkler system. As long as it\u2019s in a well draining area, it can tolerate fluctuations in the amount of water it receives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give this plant lots of sun! They love it, since they\u2019re originally desert plants. Arbequina olives need at least 6 hours of full sun a day. The full sun will also help prevent the plant from dealing with soggy soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t like the shape of your tree? Dealing with some dead branches? No worries, Arbequina olive trees handle pruning extremely well. Try and do the bulk of your pruning during the cold months, but occasional pruning throughout the year is unlikely to faze the tree or cause it too much stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because these trees are so resistant to disease and pests, we don\u2019t use any pesticides or fungicides in our growing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can choose to fertilize with a slow release fertilizer in the early spring, but again, these trees are desert growers. They\u2019re used to thriving without rich nutrient bases, so don\u2019t stress about this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truly, these trees don\u2019t require much in the way of special care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olive trees are self pollinators, meaning you don\u2019t need to have two trees in order to see your plant produce fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, keeping more than one olive tree has an interesting effect: you\u2019ll get more olives! The trees don\u2019t need to be next to each other; you could keep them on opposite sides of your yard and still see this effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most olive tree species mature fully around the 2 year mark, so that\u2019s when you can expect to start seeing fruit. Arbequina olives in particular produce a succulent, meaty black olive. They\u2019re impeccably tasty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Arbequina olive blooms in the spring. Expect to see little green olives on the branches in the summer. They\u2019ll sport a burgundy hue as they begin to ripen, and the burgundy will deepen into a purple, then black.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wait until the olives are black before you decide to pick them!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to enjoy the fruits of your tree, you\u2019ll need to go through a special salt brine curing process, which takes about 30 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you didn\u2019t see fruit from your fully mature tree this year, don\u2019t panic. Your tree is probably fine. In warmer areas, olive trees aren\u2019t as likely to fruit. This is particularly true when an area doesn\u2019t see cool enough temperatures in the winter and early spring. The tree relies on the cold temperatures turning warm as a signal that it\u2019s time to fruit. Not getting that signal will stop the tree from fruiting that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here in Florida, we typically get fruit every 2 years or so because of the tree\u2019s need for a cold season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Caring for your olive tree is a breeze, especially if you keep these things in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arbequina Olive trees are delightfully beginner friendly trees, but there are a few tricks to getting these plants to produce fruit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[76,1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1882"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1889,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1882\/revisions\/1889"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1887"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themagnoliacompany.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Perfect Plant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Location, Location, Location<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To Pot, or Not to Pot – That is the Question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sun & Rain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pruning, Pests, & Fertilizer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use the Buddy System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Good Eats & Harvesting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Sparknotes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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