Need info on Arbequina Olive in 9a

5 years ago

I just was given a free Arbequina Olive tree. It's been in this pot for a couple of years, not planted out because my friend says he doesn't like olives. The label says it's a weeping variety, so even if it never gets olives, it would be pretty.

Is anyone growing this, and how does it do here in N. Florida?

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Ben(8b/9a north FL)

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

Nice to see some interest in olive trees. I originated in the Mediterranean basin *Sicily) and olive trees were everywhere there as well. I have a few olive trees planted around my house and can offer some suggestions. They need full sun or as much as you can provide, they do not want any other plant close by them, they need space. Mature olive olive trees can be very drought resistant, this does not mean you can neglect them,,, especially if it is a small tree. They should also be protected (while small) from frosts by whatever means you have available. Well drained is a big plus and regular feeding is also important to push new growth. see pictures of one of my 15 trees around the house with a close up of the buds exploding all around the tree, both pictures are of same tree. This is an arbequina, but I also grow the other varieties available locally Koroneiki and arbosana and have many other varieties from california (Italian and french) in 3 gallon pots staging for future planting.

All my trees are for table olive use,,, for now.

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Comments (12)

mr1010
5 years ago
Here's some info on growing in Fl. Seems like it would be easy to grow

except for the possibility of root rot from summer wetness. But if your

soil is sandy and well drained it should do OK.

http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/edibles/fruits/olives.html
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dirtygardener
Original Author
5 years ago
The spot where I'm going to plant it is on a slope, so I don't think it will stay too wet. I picked that spot because what I read said it liked to be dry. I imagine since olives are grown in the desert, that would be common sense, right?
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You can't grow an olive tree from a pit from a jar of olives. The processing to make the olives edible kills the seed. There are a couple of cold hardy olives like the Arbequina that can survive down to about 17 or 18F, but that's as low as they go. Stark Bros carries the Arbequina, which is a Spanish variety. The Arbequina is also a small variety. They have shallow root systems, and can be grown in pots and transplant well even when quite old. If transplanting an existing tree, trim back the branches because the roots will have received some damage and won't be able to support the whole tree. In Italy, olives are often grown in pots in the cities. A pot that is at least 3' deep will suffice for the lifetime of the tree. The "lifetime" of an olive tree is a very long time, potentially thousands of years. This also means they are very slow growing. You could move an olive indoors for the winter, or grow it in a conservatory. It takes a lot of heat and sun to make it flower and fruit.
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When I decided to junk all my oils (even my beloved Crisco) and switch to strictly olive oil because of it's health benefits I tried so many that I can't even remember half of them now. Some were expensive as you know what, others were cheap. A few were ordered from over seas because they weren't available in this country. It was a very memorable event testing all those olive oils. I wouldn't just try one and then another the next day. I used the smallest bottle you can get in the grocery store and as I emptied it I would fill up with another brand and kept records. I did this for over a year so I know a little about the tastes from them. First off I was very surprised at how many different tastes can come out of a simple "OLIVE"!! Second, running a test like this with just one guy doing the tasting doesn't prove a whole lot except for the "1" person! Anyway, out of all this I came to the conclusion as follows, please excuse the spelling on some: There is a brand called "Bereio" that was to me so bad it was he only one that I just plain didn't want to finish the small bottle. If you were frying like chicken it just left an aftertaste, as oil for a salad just plain sucked! A couple of the foreign brands that friends picked up overseas were pretty good for frying and great on salads, but prices ran from high to just plain forget it!! Out of everything I found that Bertolli EV was the best for salads/frying/ everything, especially light things like seafood fish/scallops/shrimp it is also great for frying things like chicken or pan frying a steak/stir fry/anything. Since you usually use a fair amount for chicken, etc, I stepped down to regular Bertolli and found it fried the heavier stuff like chicken/steak/chops better than the EV, for some reason, but "not" for the light stuff like seafood, I have absolutely no idea why. The best prices (Bertolli) I've been able to get have been at SAM's. Don't buy more than you can use in a year and keep it in a "DARK" cool place, not in a fancy holder or on a counter where the sun will hit it, you'll be sorry!
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Glenn Jones(9b)
5 years ago
DG yes they like it dry. It's a lot like growing a oak or a apple. Some leaf blight or scab should be expected.
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dirtygardener
Original Author
5 years ago
Oh, Glenn, you know everything! Thanks so much. I'm not sure I have enough full sun for it, but I'll figure something out.
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bea (zone 9a -Jax area)
5 years ago
DG please let me know how it does for you. In Greece, where I grew up, olive trees are everywhere. In fact olives and olive products ate the #1 export.

I would love to have an olive tree here, so if yours does well I may try one.
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dirtygardener
Original Author
5 years ago
Bea - I'll definitely let you know.

Ben - My challenge will be the full sun part. I have none, and giving it a big space to itself is going to be next to impossible, but I'm going to do the best I can. It lived in the shade in this 2 gal. pot with absolutely no care for two years, so whatever I give it will be better than that, for sure! I can give it more sun in the winter than the summer, sadly, but the summer sun is afternoon sun, so maybe it will be happy with that. If not, I'll find someone to give it to who has full sun for it.
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sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Olive trees grown for oil are really common in landscaping in Phx AZ. A lot of people have allergies to them. I used to see a ton of them there. They like the arid climate.
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Ben(8b/9a north FL)
5 years ago
arbequina olive trees can be found easily at walmart in one gallon pot for about $7, sometime at lowes on their clearance racks for $3, that is how I wound up with so many trees. These are all generated by cuttings and as I pruned my trees last fall and threw away enough wood to generate a few thousand cuttings I will ask for anyone interested in cuttings next time I prune my trees.
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sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
5 years ago
Do the squirrels amd birds get all the olives? Do squirrels even like olives?
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Ben(8b/9a north FL)
5 years ago
olives are bitter even when ripened and I don't know what wildlife, if any, eats them raw, I have seen neither birds nor squirrels go near the olives......

FWIW.... olives are cured or pressed for oil.... to get a gallon of EVOO you need 80 lbs of olives (from what I have read)..... so, I will cure them and just use pickled/cured olives for table. Kinda/sorta what you see at publix market by deli at the olive stand where there are at least 8-10 different cured olive types.
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dirtygardener
Original Author
5 years ago
They are such pretty trees that designers in NYC and elsewhere use them as indoor plants. So if I never get one olive, at least I'll have a beautiful tree. I'm going to have to trim it back, so maybe I can root some cuttings and create a bonsai. I saw one on a website and it was so beautiful!
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Need info on Arbequina Olive in 9a

Ben(8b/9a north FL)

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mr1010

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Ben(8b/9a north FL)

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Need info on Arbequina Olive in 9a

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