Do all olive trees produce olives?

Most olive cultivars will not produce fruit without a pollinator tree of a different cultivar. There are also non-fruiting cultivars of olive. Olives grown from seed may never produce fruit and, if they do, will not likely have the same characteristics as the parent tree.

How long does it take an olive tree to get olives?

Most olive trees take about three years to come into maturity and begin to set noticeable amounts of fruit. To increase fruit set, it is recommended that you plant more than one cultivar close together. Olive trees like to be planted in well drained soil in a sunny area of the landscape.

How do you tell if an olive tree is male or female?

First of all the females are slimmer and more silvery in color; the male trees are bigger, stronger, have more vegetation and are a darker shade of green. You can also tell the sex of the trees by the shape of their fruit: the male olives are longer and pointy whereas the female ones are more rotund.

Why does my olive tree not flower?

Olive flowers are mainly wind-pollinated and are partially self-fertile, but many flower may be imperfect, lacking the female part, and so cannot set fruit. Some reasons for a poor crop include: Poor pollination (perhaps due to hot dry winds or heavy rain at flowering time). Insufficient water when flowers are setting.

What season do olives fruit?

Once the tree is four or five years old, it will start to bear fruit. Harvesting generally takes place from mid-autumn to early winter. For green olives, pick your fruit when it turns from dark green to light green, or you can wait for them to turn black, but still firm, for black olives.

How do you encourage olive trees to grow?

FEEDING. An application of liquid fertiliser every month from early spring to mid-August will encourage healthy growth and a good crop of fruit. It’s best to feed lightly and often during the growing season.

Do you need 2 olive trees?

Do You Need Two Olive Trees to Produce Fruit? No, there are self-pollinating or self-fruitful olive tree cultivars, which means that bees or wind can pollinate a single tree and it doesn’t need another tree as a pollinator to bear olive fruits.

Do olive trees need to cross pollinate?

Many varieties of olive trees require cross-pollination but most the varieties that we sell do not because they are self pollinating or self-fruitful. This means that bees or wind can pollinate a single tree and it will bear fruit all by itself. Otherwise, flowers grow, but not fruit.

How do I get my olive tree to flower?

Despite the risk of cold, in order for olive trees to produce fruit, there must be at least 200 hours of cool weather of 45 degrees or colder. If the cold weather occurs while the tree is blooming in the spring or if conditions are hot and windy, this may also prevent the tree from producing fruit.

What is the best fertilizer for olive trees?

Established olive trees require fertilizer to stay healthy and produce every year. They need a balanced fertilizer with a 16-16-16 nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium ratio or similar.

Why is my Olive Tree not producing fruit?

Another possible cause for nonproducing olive trees is a lack of pollination. It can be affected by the bloom time, pollen vitality, and weather conditions during the flowering period.

Do olive trees produce bigger fruit each year?

As alternate-bearing trees, olive trees will naturally produce a heavier crop in alternating years, notes the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program. With some management and fruit thinning of heavy crops, you can encourage your trees to produce a more consistent harvest and larger fruits.

What happens if there are no flowers on olives?

If there are no flowers, there can be no fruit. Olives require 200 to 300 “chill hours” each year to bear a crop, which is not guaranteed when planted in the subtropical parts of their range.

Why are my olives dropping off the vine?

Late spring frosts can cause flowers or immature fruits to drop off, a common problem when attempting to grow olives at the coldest end of their range. Likewise, if cold weather comes early in fall, the fruit may drop — the unripe fruit is damaged at 28 degrees Fahrenheit.