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Fruit & Orchards

Planting an olive tree, 36" or 24"?

9 years ago

Hi! I am in Southern California. I am planning on planting an olive tree in my front yard. I am considering doing a 36" box or a 24". Is there much of a difference? Also, any tips for planting? We will be planting this tree on a berm to help with the drainage.

Comments (3)

jbraun_gw
9 years ago
Olives are pretty fast growing trees. I planted some liners and some 5 gallon trees. In 5 years the liners had caught up to the 5 gallon size. They were all producing lots of fruit by then.

The difference between the 24" and 36" will probably go away in two years time. Olive trees transplant very well. If you are not willing to wait you can have a full sized olive tree transplanted but you will pay a premium price for that. I'm not sure what you would pay in your area but in the Sacramento area in the early 2000's you would pay about $2,000.

When we moved from the Sacramento area our neighbor took a few of my mature trees to his house next door. He had a front loader and dug them up and transported them and installed them. He said they had a somewhat lower production the first year but then they caught up the second year.

Planting on your berm will help. Our area had nothing but clay so following the orchardist lead in our area I planted everything slightly high to help with drainage.

Good Luck.
S Hill
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you!!! I have heavy clay as well. I have been ammending the soil, but really only about 6 inches down. The idea is to bring in more soil, probably a loam and build an 18-24" high berm and plant the tree on that.
I was thinking that when we dig the hole for the tree, to make the hole 2 times the width and depth and backfill with the loam. Does that sound about right? I have seen some people put PVC tubes into the hole so that you can irrigate the tree directly at the root. Did you do this?
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jbraun_gw
9 years ago
2 times the width is great, 2 times the depth is terrible. Loose soil under the container WILL compact and you WILL end up with your plant in a hole that will drown your new plant. On a 24" or 36" I would leave 6" above the level of the ground and mound the soil.

I believe UCDavis does not recommend adding soil to enrich the ground. Instead I added mulch, leaves or grass clippings. That works as a mulch and soil amendment. If you are putting it in turf I recommend leaving a 5'-6' circle to keep your mower away from the fragile and brittle tree trunk. Adding soil amendments is no longer considered helpful for the trees.

No I don't believe in using a PVC tube for deep watering. I kept mine on a drip irrigation system.

Olives are great at going multi trunked. Don't be surprised to see the occasional new trunk sprout.

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