Olive (Olea europaea)
There is so much more to gain from growing olive trees than the lush and evergreen Mediterranean leaves that compliment any garden. These beautiful trees have an amazing range of benefits to be enjoyed by anyone that cultivates them. Although very few homes will have the space necessary to produce enough olives to make olive oil, there are plenty of other reasons why you should consider having four or five olive trees in your garden.
Here are the reasons why the olive tree has become our plant of the week.
- The olive tree was first cultivated in Crete around 3500 BCE and was viewed as a symbol of life, peace and prosperity.
- This evergreen tree can grow to about 8m tall and live for over 1000 years.
- These ancient trees were highly valued by the ancient Greeks for their delicious fruits, rich flavoured oil, and healing leaves.
- The leaves have been shown to help with treating infected wounds, cooling burns and sunburns, and reducing pore size, as well as clearing the body of parasites. The oil can help to lower high cholesterol and add volume and shine to hair.
- Olive trees are hardy plants and are perfectly suited to the harsh South African climate, as they are drought, wind, hail, and frost resistant.
- They love full sun and grow well in high gravel soil with good drainage as their roots can be susceptible to root rot and asphyxiation in clay-rich soils.
- Young trees should be bought from a reputable nursery and examined for leaf spot, scale, and any other pests or diseases before purchasing.
- Young trees will require around 15 to 20 litres of water a week during their first season or until their roots have established. After this stage, olive trees won't require much water to be happy.
- There are four popular species of olives for gardens, each offering a unique flavour, fleshiness of the fruit, and oil content.
- Olive trees are self-fruitful, however, attracting more pollinators will help the trees to produce more fruit.
- They will bear fruit biennially, meaning that high and low fruit yields will alternate each year.
- Most olive trees will start producing fruit at three or four years old with delicate white flowers blooming in the early summer and fruits coming in during late summer.
- The olive will begin with a vibrant green colour and slowly turn yellow and then deep purple when ripe, the fruit should be picked by hand for table use, making sure not to damage the flesh.
- If you need a recipe for preparing your olives for the table, have a look at this link here: http://ow.ly/b2w330mMrys.
- If you don't have the garden space for an olive tree, they are perfect desk plants in bonsai form.
Extend the olive branches to your garden this festive season by getting one of these fantastic and well-loved trees that you'll enjoy for decades to come.
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07 Dec 2018
Author Lillian Rencken