Why Isn T My Olive Tree Growing
Avoid sites where water stands during rainy periods or where ground water seeps into a hole two feet deep.
Why isn t my olive tree growing. Olive trees are usually purchased in either 4 inch pots with numerous side branches and a height of 18 24 inches or in a 1 gallon pot with a single trunk and a height of 4 5 feet. My olive tree doesn t produce fruit fruitless olive varieties. Florida s porous sand does not hold water and olive trees can stress quickly during drought conditions. The olive tree resists diseases very well and they rarely are fatal.
Olive trees will begin producing fruit in the fourth or fifth year if the tree has long hot summers and mild winters. Unless you are growing an olive tree for a strictly ornamental purpose it is most advisable to plant a specimen with a single trunk for ease of harvest. Any commercial well draining potting soil will be fine for an olive tree. It needs regular watering to thrive.
One drawback of olive trees however is that they grow to full maturity quite slowly. You need heat to get seeds to germinate sow undercover in a propagator in spring. This helps the tree to open up and allow sunlight access to the fruit. Olive trees require a well drained soil and a sunny position.
Olive knot olive knot is a bacterial disease that is spread by water and enters the tree through pruning cuts cracks or wounds on the tree. Do not however confuse the olive for a desert plant. For growing olive trees in pots choose the amygdalolia variety which naturally grows to smaller sizes. It s possible to grow an olive tree from seed but this is a long process and when grown your plant will revert to a wild variety rather than its parent cultivar.
Olive trees grown in containers will need frequent attention to avoid overly dry soil conditions. Diseases parasites that attack olive tree. A layer of gravel styrofoam lava rock crushed cans or anything loose should fill the bottom of the pot. Olives are generally considered self fertile meaning they do not require the pollen of another.
The pot should have ample drainage holes and be propped up on blocks to ensure the holes are not obstructed. Keep the pot in full sun. Prune the tree lightly in the first four years removing only branches that are growing towards the center of the tree. Under watered trees will not grow to their potential and may not fruit.
The olive tree is an evergreen that flourishes in hot dry areas and as such will not do well in wet winter soil. Galls up to 2 inches in diameter appear on the tree. Olives stain the ground wherever they fall which can be nuisance when they are planted over.