Identify an olive tree that is nit flowering after more than 15 years.

Ken Parkyn

3 months ago

How do I go about identifying

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Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 months ago
find the name that plant forum.. take pix with a scale.. including a leaf.. the whole plant.. etc..

and give us a location... big city name..

include all background history that might help us.. help you.. drought.. snow.. hurricane.. etc...

ken
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 months ago
All the above will do is confirm that it is an olive.....or not. It will not tell you what cultivar it is, as all olive trees belong to the same species. Lacking any flowers or fruit, the only way you can be sure of a correct identification is by DNA analysis, a not inexpensive undertaking.

And while there are nonfruiting olives, there are not nonflowering ones. There is most likely some cultural reason the olive has not flowered - late frosts, hardiness issues, water issues, insufficient sunlight, etc. I seriously doubt it has anything to do with the specific cultivar.
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I'm nearly certain that's an (accursed) caragana. They are hardier than I can believe. Those are the yellow flowers in the picture, right? Some of them are more invasive than others, some have spines and some don't. I think the older plants were mostly planted to hold soil in place, which they're very good at. Do the seed pods make an audible "pop" when they are ripe, flinging seeds everywhere? Afterwards they would look like . . . this From Mystery plants or sometimes more spiralled. If it hasn't yet taken over the entire surrounding area, I suppose it might just be safe there. I'm currently trying to get rid of mine, and have read all sorts of discouraging things about how impossible it is to eradicate! It does have one winning feature (besides its hardiness). If I'm right, one can eat the flowers, and they are quite tasty - or at least the nectar in them is. Don't eat the seeds, though, they're very poisonous. Anyway, don't eat the flowers either, just in case I'm wrong!
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Not seeing how major pruning by a contractor every so many years into perpetuity is an economical choice. And if you have turned them into pollards or otherwise severely pruned specimens then the charm of the natural shapes has already been lost - maybe plant some more suitable kinds of trees among them, cut the olive trees out after the new set is of some size. Otherwise they should probably be trimmed frequently, maintained as formal specimens instead of getting whacked back hard at longer intervals. Every time they are forced to regrow most of the top that was present at the time they are drawing on nutrient reserves in the trunks and may be gradually becoming diminished by the repeated assaults. There is also the possibility of trunk decay developing due to the large pruning cuts being made. For planting near swimming pools you want plants with large parts that do not get sucked past filters. As you have described olive trees are probably about as bad a choice as one could come up with.
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Parker,I have been thinking of the same thing too--about the cold, particularly about the damage that was caused to it in 2010. I think the fertility of the tree might have been greatly compromised because otherwise the foliage growth seems to be prolific. In fact, I have had to trim off the branches every year up to 3 ft from their tips. Trying to keep it from growing taller and broader was a chore .. lol. Right now, it stands at least at 16 ft if not 18 ft. This all happened after the tree died down to 1/3 of its original size. Before the freeze, it was about 6-7 ft tall. I think something weird must have happened that made this tree to behave in a way that is most unpredictable. My other lychee trees although are slow in catching up, they do eventually put up a show of a full crown blooms. This year, I'm so happy to see my Hap Ip and Sweet Heart in full blooms. I'm thankful that my Brewster regularly fruits, although it seems to be showing a year of heavy alternate with a year of light bloom. This year, it's going on a light bloom mode. Anyway, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all will go well as I also have to keep down the web worm infestation. So far, the BT we're spraying seems to be working. It's not a chemical, but a kind of a bacterium culture that the larvae from the web worm feed on. It makes them sick so they'll stop eating the young floral parts. They have been eating my Sweetheart every year until we found this wonderful spray. We're also spraying it on our mangoes as they also attack them. If you keep some lychees in your yard, it would be nice if you share pix of some of your plants.
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Ken Parkyn
Original Author
3 months ago
City is Brisbane Australia. It's about 3 metres tall with a trunk diameter of 150 mm. It's in full sun. Soil and drainage are good. Root system is sound. It's a beautiful tree even if it never fruits.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
3 months ago
How old is it?

I came across this info in search results:

"Most olive trees will start to bloom and bear fruits anywhere between 3-5 years after they’re planted, and they’ll reach full fruit production in 7-8 years after planting.

So, if you just planted your olive trees last year, don’t expect them to bloom for the next 2 to 3 years. Some sorts of olives may need even more time to bloom and bear fruits."
PRO
The Logician LLC
3 months ago
Per the topic title: "...more than 15 years."
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
Oops - brain glitch!

Same article mentioned too warm winter temps as a factor as well...
CA Kate z9
3 months ago
Like gardengal said; there are various olives that never have flowers or fruit, but rather grown for looks
Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
3 months ago
last modified: 3 months ago
There are fruitless olive trees. In fact many prefer them to ones that drop all kinds of messy fruit in yards, sidewalks, pools, etc.

https://www.thespruce.com/fruitless-olive-tree-profile-4158521

Do you want fruit? Or do you just want flowers?

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Identify an olive tree that is nit flowering after more than 15 years.

Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

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Ken Parkyn
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carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b

The Logician LLC

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b

CA Kate z9

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

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Identify an olive tree that is nit flowering after more than 15 years.

Comments (8)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Related Discussions

Ken ParkynOriginal Author

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b

The Logician LLC

carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b

CA Kate z9

Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Ken Parkyn
Original Author