Olive Tree Growing Nz
It almost doesn t matter where you live.
Olive tree growing nz. Both sir george grey and logan campbell were responsible for planting large numbers of olive trees in new zealand from about 1860 onwards. Unfortunately we aren t but if you are near the sea on a block anywhere north of christchurch facing north with good drainage a daily irrigation set up and a warm ripening summer you can produce olives for home pickling. Many olive trees in nz were planted 20 years ago in a fit of optimism that we were the new italy. Most aptly suited to areas which are prone to high heat and plenty of sunshine the olive tree should be planted outside and once established is fairly low maintenance.
In new zealand our oldest trees date back to the 1830s when charles darwin observed them growing at waimate north. Home grown nuts have a flavour of. Olive trees have been cultivated for more than 5000 years in the mediterranean. Olives can grow anything from 3 10m tall but can be kept to just 3m tall by pruning after harvesting the fruit.
Olives are relatively hardy to pests and diseases. They are happiest in parts of the country where summers are long and warm and winters are cold and dry. Olive trees can grow reasonably large reaching the height of a two storey house. Olive trees will grow well in most areas of new zealand as long as the right variety is selected for the climate conditions.
In our fast food world growing your own nuts is a long term plan but these trees don t need a lot of attention and having your own fresh free nut supply is definitely worth a few years of waiting. Avoid sites where water stands during rainy periods or where ground water seeps into a hole two feet deep. Do not however confuse the olive for a desert plant. These wind salt and frost hardy trees will grow almost anywhere in new zealand.
The olive is not only a highly regarded feature tree in new zealand landscape schemes it is now becoming an important horticulture crop for both the fruits and high quality virgin olive oil. Salty tangy olives served with falafel and hummus as a tapenade on bruschetta pizza is not the same without them and they are even perfect just straight from the jar. Sheryn clothier one of the benefits of owning a bit of land is having the space to grow large or multiple trees which means we can grow our own nuts. Olives grow best in sunny sheltered sites.
Olives grow well in coastal locations and their foliage is tolerant of salt air. Size matters when it comes to deciding what variety you are going to grow. Water well during the early stages during long dry periods and when the fruit is developing. They are not that fussy of the soil you force them to live in but prefer a well prepared hole with lots of free draining fresh garden mix awaiting their permanent place especially if heavy.
Growing olive trees think of olive trees and one visualizes the warm sunny mediterranean but olive trees can be grown in north america as well.