Olive tree: growing at home, care, types, cultural history. Olive tree: description and care at home

If friends and relatives enthusiastically plant decorative flowers at home, then in my apartment you can only see useful plants: lemon (however, so far - lazy, that is, he has not yet given fruit), rosemary, mint. This year there is also an olive tree.

I really wanted to see live how olives grow! Well, of course, try them not from a store jar. And here's what I got...

Olive trees first appeared in the Mediterranean. Now they are grown (in gardens) in India and the Crimea, in Greece and Turkmenistan, in Georgia and Mexico.

By the way, in any country it is a cultivated tree grown by people. There are no wild olives anywhere - this culture "made friends" with man so long ago that there are no traces of its "separate", that is, wild existence.

In our latitudes, many have tried to “engraft” the olive in the garden (it works with heat-loving peaches, right?), But so far no one has succeeded. But to plant such a tree in the house, and even collect the fruits, is not a new thing.

This plant blooms every 2 years. The beginning of flowering is from late April to June.

Flowers resemble brushes of forty small flowers, which eventually transform into small "knuckles" of deep purple, black or green. They ripen for a relatively long time - up to 5 months.

A tree (garden) can bear fruit for up to 20 years. When this period ends, it should be replaced with a younger one.

How to get a potted olive

It can be planted by rooting a cutting. You can buy it or get it as a gift (although this option is already many times more expensive - a good two-year-old tree with viable roots can cost up to 20 thousand, or even more).

How the olive tree propagates with the help of a cheap (or completely free) cutting will be told and shown in the video:

You can also grow an olive from a seed. But not from a canned fruit (everything alive has been “nailed” in it for a long time), but from a purchased bone, in extreme cases - from fresh or dried olives.

True, there is a lot of trouble here, and such a tree will begin to bear fruit only at the age of 12, while the “cutting” tree will begin to bear fruit after 3 years.

Are there many types and varieties of the olive tree?

Olive trees belong to the Olive family, so their "cousins" can be called privet, ash, lilac, jasmine.

There are about thirty types of olive tree.

The most popular on our mainland are the Cape olive, golden leaf, European olive.

All trees can be divided into three groups:

• Oily olives. They are cultivated for the production of oil, so it is not worth growing one of these varieties at home - their fruits are not so good for snacks. What are these varieties called? Let's say Biancolilla, Caione, Tajasca, Frantogno.
• Universal (combined). Such olives can be both canned and pressed into oil.
• Table varieties. The most delicious, they are best prepared in jars. They are most recommended for indoor gardening. Varieties popular with farmers: Sabina, Lucca, Zinzala, Cerignola. As for growing at home, people really praise the varieties Razzo, Della Madonna, as well as the more “ours” Crimean, Nikitinsky, Urtinsky.

Remember: a tree growing on the windowsill will not overwhelm you with fruits. 15 pieces (600 g) - that's how many olives you can collect from such a plant. But how beautiful it will look!

How to grow an indoor olive tree

• Lighting. It needs as much as possible. A small tree can be kept on a windowsill (even a southern one), and if you put an adult in a corner, then only in the most illuminated one. Loggia, balcony - a great place for a room fruit tree.
• Temperature. In spring and summer (through September), you can keep the olive in any room, and in autumn and winter - in a cool room (where it stays no higher than 12 degrees Celsius).
• Watering. Maximum. Once the top of the soil in the pot is dry, water it well (so that the moisture reaches the bottom of the pot). On average, this is done 2 to 3 times a week.
• spraying. They should be carried out in summer (in the heat), as well as in winter (if your olive winters not in a cold room, but in a living room, and a battery is working nearby).
• Nutrition. In the spring, the olive should be fed twice a month with preparations (or organic matter, you have fruit tree) with nitrogen. In summer, the tree is given a complex mineral fertilizer. Also, some people praise the spraying of olives with succinic acid. This drug can even be drunk by people (vitamin), so it certainly will not harm the fruit tree. The only thing is that succinic acid will not replace the rest of the diet, it can only serve as an addition to it.
• Pruning. We grow this plant only secondarily for the sake of fruits, and firstly, nevertheless, for the sake of beauty. Therefore, in the spring, you can pick up a pruner and boldly form an ideal ball from the crown. When choosing between two branches, always give preference to the stronger one.

Transfer

It is needed, since the roots of the olives eventually rest against the walls of the pot and outgrow it. The tree is transshipped every 2 years.

• Pot. Best of all - from clay, a couple of centimeters more than the previous one.
• Priming. It can be anything, the main thing is not to be sour. Often "indoor gardeners" take a universal substrate containing compost (humus), sand, soddy and deciduous soil, peat. Also the presence of lime is the norm. Before planting a tree, mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil.
• Do not forget about drainage to the bottom of the pot ( broken brick, expanded clay).

A separate story is the transplantation of a diseased olive. Most often, these trees suffer from root rot (it starts from frequent overflows). The disease is easily recognized by wilting and falling leaves. The tree must be urgently dug up, cut off diseased roots, treated with activated charcoal.

The olive is transferred to fresh soil. Finishing touch- you need to remove some branches, because the diseased tree will not have the strength to feed them.

Important conditions without which the harvest cannot be harvested

• 1.5 months before the start of flowering, strictly monitor the "diet" of your pet: he should receive plenty of watering and nutrition.
• Wintering in a cold room is reflected in the number of fruits. If from November you move the pot to an insulated loggia or covered veranda(or just keep the olive there all the time), the plant will rest and release the maximum number of buds. But remember: it should not be below 10 degrees here, the olive is still afraid of the cold.
• When pruning, remove old branches - it is the developing "young growth" (last year's shoots) that bears fruit.

Flowering plant care

• The tree can and should be sprayed, the flowers are not afraid of this procedure.
• Make sure the tree gets plenty of light. If the days are overcast (according to the law of meanness, this is always the case ...), you can even highlight the olive.
• Water the tree only when the top of the soil is dry, and not before. Moreover, pour in a little less water than always - during this period, the olive is especially sensitive to overflow.

The olive tree, olive family, grows in countries with a warm subtropical climate, in Russia it is cultivated in the southern regions: in the Crimea and Krasnodar Territory. The middle zone of our country is not suitable for growing olive crops, but you can grow an olive tree in a greenhouse or at home with a minimum of effort.

Table varieties of olives, with proper care, will delight you with fruits for a long time, because olive trees are long-lived flora. An example is the Gardens of Gethsemane, with olive trees over one and a half thousand years old.

Greece is called the birthplace of olive culture, there is a legend that Greek goddess Athena sent an olive branch as a gift to the fertile land, which gave rise to the first olive gardens.

Types and varieties of olive trees

The olive tree has more than 30 types of culture. The most common species is the European olive, as well as golden-leaved and Cape.

Olive tree varieties can be divided into several groups:

Oilseed - a varietal group of olives grown for the production of olive oil.
Combined (universal olive variety) - designed for both oil production and conservation.
Table varietal group - intended for conservation and consumption.

The names of olive varieties are often similar to the places where the crop is grown. Wild varieties of olives are unknown, the explanation may be that people have long grafted cultivated olive branches to wild variety, thereby completely destroying the primitive species of olive trees. Today, a European high-yielding variety of olives is grown on an industrial scale.

Large producers of olives can be called Spain, Greece, Italy, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco. All cultivars differ in characteristics(composition of olives, size, color), destination group, the quality of the final product directly depends on the variety of olive raw materials.

Olive varieties include Spanish, Ascolana, Cherignola, Zinzala, Lucca, Sabina. And oilseed varieties include: Frantogno, Tajasca, Caione, Biancolilla.

For growing an olive tree at home, choose European table varieties. The most suitable are recognized: Della Madonna, Urtinsky, Nikitinsky, Crimean, Razzo. To the question: “How long does an olive tree live?”, We can safely say that it is more than a hundred years old.

Through the painstaking work of breeders, potted varieties of olive trees were obtained, allowing you to grow an indoor olive tree in a pot. Such trees differ from their relatives only in size. These are evergreen, undersized trees with a lush, dark green crown. The harvest of olives, of course, will not please you, since the variety has a decorative function, but you can still collect 10-15 homemade olives from a tree.

Olive tree at home. Growing from seeds, seedlings and cuttings

Growing an olive tree room conditions quite hard work. It's all about temperature regime, if not observed, the tree will not bear fruit. In order for the buds to appear, the indoor tree, like its soil counterparts, must fall into a winter sleep, so the olive must be exposed to low temperatures, but hypothermia of the culture must be excluded. Optimum temperature for sleep will be from +1 to +5 degrees.

The flowering of the olive tree is accompanied by the appearance of large white inflorescences, the first flowers appear from April, May. Maturation indoor fruits after flowering comes in four months.

A good yield of an olive tree is considered to be about 30 kg., Well, indoor plant considered fruitful if it gives about 600 gr. olives.

The indoor olive tree remains evergreen throughout its life, however, like its large relatives, it can drop leaves, this is considered the norm and does not require resuscitation.

Growing an olive tree from seeds is not an easy process, requiring patience and attention. First you need to purchase olive seeds (pits), canned foods will not work, olives for planting can be fresh or dried.

So, having obtained and cleaned the olives, it is necessary to soak the resulting bones in a weak solution of alkali for a day, then rinse them with water and dry with a paper towel. Before planting, file the olive seed coat to facilitate germination. It is better to plant in a pot, it is easier to control seed germination, humidity and temperature.

The sawn seeds are placed in a pot with soil to a depth of 3 cm, do not allow the seed to dry out and be excessively moistened. The first shoots will appear within six months.

Olive trees do not tolerate low temperatures, so seed propagation is carried out in a warm room or in summer.

To speed up the process of growing an olive tree from the seed, you should germinate the seeds before planting in the ground, to do this, place them in a shallow container with compost, place them on a sunny windowsill and moisten daily.

When the seeds germinate, you can start planting in the soil. It is necessary to mix black soil and sand in equal proportions, add peat, dry crushed lime and plant seeds in the resulting mixture. Before planting, do not forget about the presence of drainage (the olive does not tolerate stagnant water) and hardening young plant, by the temperature alternation method.

When the olive seedling gets stronger and grows up, it can be planted in the ground, along with the contents of the pot, so as not to damage the root system. The olive tree is planted in the spring in well-warmed and moistened soil, in a calm and sunny area. Fruiting should be expected three to four years after planting.

Caring for a young oilseed plant consists in cutting off the lower shoots so that the tree grows up and does not turn into a bush, in daily watering and fertilizing with fertilizers.

When the olive is propagated by cuttings, the tree inherits all the "mother" qualities, this method of planting simplifies further cultivation and speeds up the fruiting process of a young plant.

Cuttings should be carried out from older shoots, the cut points are treated with succinic acid or another rooting agent before planting. Planting material is planted in a wet sod-sand mixture to a depth of 15 cm.

Help the cuttings take root, can constant watering, warm soil and good lighting. Plantings should be watered daily, preferably with settled water. Rooting of the plant will occur no earlier than four months later. If an olive stalk does not take root for a long time, but retains its fresh look, then some more time is needed, but if the stalk is dry and brown, then death has come. When the stalk takes root, the olive can be transplanted into the ground.

Landing on a permanent place of growth should be done at the end of August. The seedling is carefully removed from the previously moistened substrate, and placed in a new prepared place. It is necessary to plant the stalk carefully, without damaging the roots and not overloading it with soil, until the plant takes root in a new place.

Many novice gardeners are wondering: "How to care for an olive tree"? The olive tree is not capricious, but the “southerner” still requires attention. Watering is done daily, but without stagnation of moisture in the soil. When the olive tree begins to actively grow, feed it mineral fertilizers and nitrogen. The seedling should have enough heat and light, otherwise the olive will shed its leaves and fade.

Olive plant in winter open field should not be left without proper protection. A young tree should be protected from the cold by wrapping the trunk with heat-insulating material, stop watering and top dressing.

Potted olive tree crops need to be artificially created winter conditions, and in the process of healing the tree, cutting dry branches, you can shape the crown of foliage to your liking and learn the art of bonsai on your olive tree. An olive bonsai tree can also be purchased at a specialized supermarket, small-leaved varieties look especially impressive.

Olive trees in Russia, cultivation history

The Greek colonists began to cultivate the olive in the Caucasus as early as the 8th century. The debate about when and by whom the olive was brought to the Caucasus continues to this day, however, there is an assumption that the first seedlings of the olive tree appeared in our latitudes from Asia Minor, which suggests the origin of the olive in the Caucasus, earlier than in Greece .

The desolation of the ancient Greek colonies led to the fact that olive orchards ceased to exist until the 15th century, and only with the arrival of the colonizers of Genoa, a new rise in the cultivation of the olive tree and the establishment of olive production began. Subsequently, viticulture displaced the olive from the southern latitudes. Today, the olive is found on the entire Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Territory.

Olive trees in Russia are also grown in the Crimea, they are found on the peninsula, adding zest to the local southern flavor. For the production of oil on an industrial scale, olives are not grown in our country due to difficult climatic conditions.

Benefits of olive fruit

Olives or olives are the fruits of the olive tree, outwardly they are similar to a small plum. Changing color during ripening, from green to dark purple, olives become a storehouse of vitamins and trace elements. Olives are rich in unsaturated fatty acids and iodine. Olive oil, obtained from olives during the production process, is rich in pectin, iron and oleic acid.

The inclusion of olive oil in the diet will help get rid of cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerosis, diseases gastrointestinal tract, cholelithiasis, thyroid diseases, will help strengthen the immune system and cope with constipation. Olive oil perfectly moisturizes the skin and has a regenerating ability in combination with rosehip and sea buckthorn oils.

In cosmetology, olive oil is used to prepare masks and conduct relaxing procedures, olive extracts are added to soap and shower products. Hand wrapping with olive oil tones the skin, moisturizes, saturates and nourishes, makes nails healthy.

Olive oil hair masks prevent hair loss, get rid of dandruff, brittleness and dullness.

The leaves of the olive tree contain the substance oleuropein, which has antiseptic and antimicrobial effects, they are in demand in the form of powder and infusions. There is an opinion that olive oil, namely the content of oleuropein in it, helps in the fight against skin cancer.

Olive oil is produced from olive fruits, which is used to season various dishes. Raw olives are unsuitable for consumption, due to bitterness, in order to get rid of the bitter taste, the olives are soaked in a special solution or subjected to preservation.

Oil-bearing varieties of olives, due to their varietal affiliation, are processed to obtain oil. With the help of cold pressing, the first batch of oil is obtained, which is considered the most useful. Further, by thermal treatment, the pomace is used to produce second-pressed oil, yellowish and less aromatic than first-class olive oil. From the remaining raw materials after the first and second extraction, the third grade oil is squeezed out, it is not eaten, but used for technical purposes.

Composition of olives different varieties differs, and depends not only on the type of olive tree, but also on the growing conditions and climate. All olives of a table grade are exposed to conservation or dry salting. They serve as an excellent appetizer or addition to salads, various vegetable dishes. Dry salting of olives consists in pickling olives in wooden containers, salt neutralizes oleuropein and relieves olives of bitterness. After, the olives are soaked in olive oil, stuffed or immediately sent for storage.

The benefits of the fruits of the olive tree are indisputable, consuming olives in a reasonable amount, not exceeding 5-6 pieces per day, you can strengthen the immune system and improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

1. Botanical description
2. Growth and lifespan
3. The benefits of a tree
4. Olive oil

The olive tree plays an important role in various national cultures, is a universally recognized symbol of peace, longevity and prosperity. People have known it since ancient times. In Greece and other Mediterranean countries, it has been cultivated for many millennia. In honor of the olive, or olive, a botanical family was named, which also includes jasmine and ash. Of the 35 species, the most popular is the European olive.

The olive is a relic tree that began to be cultivated in the Stone Age for the sake of obtaining fruits.. The favorable warm and humid climate of the “cradle of civilization”, as the Mediterranean is called, contributed to its spread. Cultivars were bred in ancient times, there are practically no wild varieties left. The olive is grown in Greece, Spain, southern Italy, Turkey, Iran, northern Africa, on the Black Sea coast of Russia. She was introduced into South America and Mexico.

Botanical description

AT young age olives are short, thin-stemmed trees or shrubs not exceeding 4–5 m. The bark is dark gray, furrowed, rather thick. The shoots are elongated, the crown is narrow and sparse.

Olive leaves are simple, leathery, narrowly lanceolate, elongated, with pointed ends and entire edges.. On the shoots they are opposite. Top part bluish-green, with thin veins, back of a silvery shade. The leaves do not fall for the winter, the renewal occurs gradually, they live for about 3 years.

The flowers are axillary, unisexual, light yellow or cream, about 4–6 mm, collected in paniculate elongated racemes of 10–40 pieces. They bloom in early April, the duration of flowering is 2-3 months, depending on the region of growth. At this time, the trees emit a very delicate aroma. After pollination, which occurs cross or with the help of the wind, fruits are tied, which are rounded drupes, shaped like small plums. Their size is from 1 to 4 cm. The surface in different stages of maturity has a color from light green to brown, purple or almost black. Sometimes the thin skin is covered with a wax coating. The fruits are called olives, or olives. Inside they contain a large hard furrowed bone, surrounded by pulp. In favorable conditions, trees bear fruit twice a year from 15–20 years of age.

As they grow older, the plants are distributed in breadth: the trunks increase in diameter, the shoots thicken, the crown acquires a spherical shape. In height, they can reach 12 m. The root system of adult trees also grows, becomes branched and powerful. The ends of the roots are sensitive to mineral compounds, which is typical for most sclerophyte plants. This allows trees to grow on steep slopes, in mountainous areas, poor rocky soils. Strong roots strengthen crumbling soil, so olives are often planted where there is a risk of landslides.

Growth and lifespan

The lifespan of olive trees reaches 1000 years. In old specimens, wide hollows are formed, the trunks are bent, becoming dumpy. At the same time, fruiting can be maintained if it is enough to periodically cut off old obsolete shoots. Then, after a while, young branches form on the trees.

Most of the year, soil moisture does not play important role for these plants. However, the lack of moisture before flowering negatively affects the quantity and quality of the future crop. In addition, the remoteness of planting olives from the sea matters. It turned out that in the depths of the continent without moist ocean air, they wither and cease to bear fruit even under favorable climatic conditions.

Olives are thermophilic plants. The minimum temperature they can tolerate is 7°C. Trees can also survive short-term frosts down to -10–12 ° C. With more extreme cold they freeze. The ideal temperature for growth and development is about 15–20°C.

The benefits of a tree

Olive wood is decorative, has high technical specifications. Its greenish-yellow coloration is very popular. olive color is a classic, widely used in decorating rooms and fabrics around the world. Olives are not straight-stemmed, they have many side branches. Curvy areas, the impossibility of making even boards make wood of little use in the construction industry. But high strength, density, hardness, durability, as well as a unique natural pattern make it possible to use it for the production of furniture, various joinery, small wooden parts, souvenirs, inlays.

The fruits are of special value. They contain:

• vitamins B, C, A, E;
• organic acids;
• saponins;
• potassium, phosphorus, iron;

Olive oil

Olives are used to produce vegetable oil, which has edible and medicinal properties. WHO recommends using it daily.

The Mediterranean diet is considered one of the best in the world.. This is the great merit of olive oil. It prevents the synthesis of bad cholesterol, ensures the elasticity of blood vessels, slows down aging, supports metabolic processes, and prevents cancer.

On the basis of this vegetable fat, produced at oil plants, soap is brewed, and various cleaning products are produced. In cosmetology and the pharmaceutical industry, it is used for the manufacture of preparations for skin care, treatment of the digestive tract.

The raw material for obtaining edible and medical oil is the pulp of olives, while the technical oil is squeezed out of the pits. In various varieties of fruits, it contains from 30 to 80%. The most saturated belong to the oil group. Less fatty combinations are used in cooking and canned after pre-soaking in saline solution. Despite all the benefits, they cannot be eaten raw because of the bitter and astringent taste. However, special table olives with a lower content of bitterness are used without pre-treatment brine.

Olive leaves are also saturated useful substances . They include oleuropein, elenolide. The greens contain healing bitterness, phytoncides, tannins, tannins, esters, etc. The extract from olive leaves has an antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effect, and is included in preparations for the treatment of skin infections. The decoction lowers blood pressure, prevents the development of cardiovascular diseases.

Growing at home

The olive does not grow outdoors in temperate or continental climates. The tree will not endure severe frosts, it will die in the first year. It can be bred under such conditions only as a greenhouse or room culture bonsai.

Home olive - low, up to 2 m, a tree with a rounded, dense crown. It can also be grown as a pot plant. It is bred mainly as a decorative item, but it is possible to obtain fruits by grafting branches of adult crops to young ones.

Finished olive tree seedlings are sold in specialized shopping malls. Their cost varies from 2500 to 7000 rubles and depends on the age and ability to bear fruit.

You can try to sprout olives from the pits if they were taken from fresh ripe fruits, and not from canned food. Before planting in the ground, seeds are recommended to be stratified, i.e. keep in a cool place at a temperature of about 3–5 ° C for 2 months. The material prepared in this way is soaked in warm water with caustic or ordinary baking soda for 12 hours. Then they are placed in small pots with a substrate of garden soil, leaf humus, peat and sand to a depth of 1–2 cm. The soil must be well-drained. Bones should not be planted in large containers, where they will grow with roots in breadth and depth, and the sprouts will not sprout for a long time. The soil must be moistened, covered with cellophane, providing greenhouse conditions, and placed in a well-lit place. It is advisable to plant several seeds at once, since the germination rate is about 50%.

Seeds germinate within 50-60 days. Young sprouts must be placed in a well-lit place, lighting will be required in winter. The ambient temperature should be about 22–24 ° C. It is required to regularly moisten and loosen the soil. At the age of 4-5 months, the plants are carefully transplanted into larger pots. The next transplant will be required in 2 years. This should not be neglected, because over time the roots fill all the free space in the dishes.

It will take at least 10 years to wait until a tree grown from a stone becomes an adult and begins to form olives. Olives purchased or planted by cuttings form fruits 4 years after planting. Segments of shoots about 30 cm long with several leaves are treated with phytohormones and buried 7–10 cm deep into a mixture of humus and peat. For several days they cover with a large jar. Shoots take root in 2-3 months. After that, they are transferred to permanent pots.

Care

Caring for olive trees is simple, but you need to monitor the degree of illumination, control soil moisture, and pay attention to the condition of the leaves. This will prevent you from missing the onset of the disease.

Watering required every 3 days. As they grow older in the summer, you will have to irrigate the crown with water. The humidity of the ambient air must be at least 80%. In the warm season, it is useful to take olives into the open air. In winter, watering is reduced to 1 time per week, and the temperature is reduced to 13 ° C.

Fertilizers are applied throughout the growing season, i.e. from March to October. On average, 1 top dressing in 2 weeks is enough. Useful water solution superphosphate, liquid organics.

When laying buds, plant care should be especially thorough. For pollination and obtaining the ovary, it is recommended to slightly shake the branches or direct a stream of air from a hair dryer onto them.

Opinions differ on crown pruning.. If the olive is intended to produce fruits, then care must be taken with the haircut, since olives are formed only on shoots not younger than 2 years of age. Ornamental plants can be shortened to give the desired shape to the branches. Weak and drying processes are removed in any case.

With excessive heat, dryness or waterlogging, the olive sheds its leaves or twists them. Nutrient deficiencies in greenhouses can cause a slowdown in its development.

Olive, European olive (Olea europaea)

Russian name: Olive, European olive

Latin name: Olea europaea

Family: Olive

Motherland: Africa, Mediterranean

general information: The olive is considered one of the long-livers of the plant world. The average lifespan of an olive is 300 years, the maximum is 2000!

The plant is slow growing, so long years can be indoors (up to 10-15 years). Evergreen tree.

Olive is a perennial plant due to its ability to self-repair. It's drought tolerant fruit breed, it also withstands short-term frosts down to -10°C. Olive trees grow well on soils with a sufficient content of lime, on stony-sandy soil, their roots are so strong that the trees can even grow in the rock. The root system is highly branched, it is several times larger than the projection of the tree crown, although it is located at an average depth of up to 80 cm. This allows the olive tree to withstand drought. The root system and the trunk form a thickening - the neck, which very often increases, grows. Young shoots grow from it every year, which must be constantly removed so that the tree does not turn into a huge bush.

The trunk of an olive is usually no higher than one meter. In young trees, the bark is ash-gray, in old trees it is dark, rough.

The leaves are opposite, lanceolate, green above, silver-gray below. At the edges, the sheet is slightly bent (therefore, the area heated by the sun's rays decreases). This special leaf structure helps the plant to endure severe droughts. During a wet, mild winter, the olive accumulates a large amount of reserve starch in the leaves, which serves as a good support for it in spring and dry, waterless summers. The evergreen leaves on the olive tree are replaced gradually, new leaves begin to form from spring to autumn. The lifespan of a leaf is one year, very rarely reaches two. The tree bud at the base of each leaf can be dormant for a long time, it comes into growth only if necessary - with heavy pruning, hail damage, etc. This is a very valuable property of the olive tree - always recover.

The flowers are small (0.4-0.5 cm), yellowish-white, collected 15-30 pieces in axillary racemes, very fragrant. Blooms in May - June. The fruit of the olive is a green-colored drupe (called an olive), when fully ripe it changes color to dark and often black. The duration of formation and maturation from the moment of pollination to the moment of full maturity is 90-100 days.

A good harvest is 25-35 kg of fruit per tree. Olive fruits ripen from October to December, again, depending on the variety and place of growth.

It winters well at room temperature, perfectly tolerates fairly dry air in the apartment. There is one thing - at this temperature, the olive will never bloom. To lay flower buds, it is desirable to provide an olive tree with a cool rest in the temperature range of 5-8 ° C and with minimal watering. Two types of flowers sprout on a tree: bisexual and male flowers only with stamens.

AT wild nature The flowers are pollinated by the wind.

Species, varieties: Out of 60 known species olives economic importance only European olive (Olea europaea) has. All varieties of olives are divided into varieties:

• olives from which oil is obtained (Olea europaea oleaster);
• table olives (Olea europaea sativa);
• dual use olives, there aren't too many of them.

Air humidity: Does not need high humidity. In the heat, it is recommended to spray the plant once or twice a day.

Lighting: Maximum, loves light and sun.

Priming: Being not too picky about the soil, olives will perfectly get used to the soil for tub plants. Preferred soil mix: sod land, humus, sand (2:1:1) with the addition of lime. It is useful to add crushed brick and pieces to the finished substrate. charcoal. good drainage is also needed.

Watering: Regular but not abundant in summer. In winter, the plant is rarely watered, make sure that the soil lump does not dry out.

Care: AT vivo The olive often endures quite long periods of drought and intense heat, so it tolerates summer well in our climate.

Caring for an olive requires, first of all, sufficient lighting.

We recommend, despite the origin of this southern plant, to water it regularly and moderately: so that the soil is not too dry, otherwise the leaves of the plant may fall off. Cannot be used for irrigation cold water, water is better room temperature. During the period active growth feed the plant about twice a month.

top dressing: Top dressing is carried out once a week in the spring - summer period complex fertilizer with high content nitrogen for early bookmarking and the formation of flower buds.

reproduction: Propagated in summer by apical cuttings. This method seems simple at first glance, but in the case of the olive, the propagation process by this method can be delayed. Try to propagate the olive with seeds (pits), the most right time That's what spring is for.

Seeds germinate at a temperature of at least 18-20°C, high humidity and good lighting after about 2.5 months.

The cuttings are rooted in the summer in wet sand, having previously treated the cut site with a root solution. Rooting conditions are the same as for other plants, when rooting by cuttings: high air humidity, sufficient lighting and a temperature of at least 20 ° C. Plants grown from seeds bloom in 10-12 years, and from cuttings, perhaps in 3-4 years.

Transfer: In order to root system formed normally and without mechanical constraint, once every two years carefully transfer the plant into a larger clay pot.

Pests: Olive moth. Her caterpillars eat buds, leaves. Control measures. Cut and destroy all inflorescences. In case of severe infection, sprinkle with karbofos. Whitefly. Small butterfly. Its larvae suck the juice from the leaves, which turn yellow and fall off. Control measures. Treat with soapy water or a suspension of pyrethrum. In case of severe infection, sprinkle with decis.

20.12.2012

Svetlana

I live in the south of Kazakhstan, in the city of Alma-Ata. Here, trees grow along the roads, very similar to olive trees. Leaves are grayish, silvery, small yellow flowers very fragrant, the fruits are small - up to 1 cm in length, the stone is similar to an olive. But the pulp of the ripened fruit is dry, sweetish. The tree is called here - jigida, or juda. I wonder if this plant is related to olives? In Uzbekistan, this tree has larger fruits up to 3 cm, also dryish sweet and sour pulp, edible.

20.12.2012

margoshka

In our Odessa region, trees like olive trees also grow, and there are fruits, but they are not edible ... apparently they do not have enough heat to ripen. Svetlana, according to your description, they are very similar to these judes)

28.12.2012

Christina

I have a small olive tree at home, 20 cm in height (brought from Greece). For several months, the plant felt good, underwent a transplant, and even new leaves appeared. But then somehow abruptly it began to lose a lot of foliage. Now it stands completely naked ... What happened and is it possible to reanimate the tree? I watered it about once a week, because the earth held moisture well, sprayed it (although, as it turned out, it was not necessary to spray). She began to spray with the beginning of the heating season - the tree stood on the window and apparently began to dry from the heat of the battery. So I moved it to another place, to a room where a humidifier works (60% humidity). T air 22-25C. But now the tree is not on the window, but in the middle of the room, so there is not much sun (especially considering that it is winter, and in Moscow sunny days winter - a rarity).
Please advise what to do!?

03.02.2013

Marina

02/03/2013 Dear Svetlana, what you are describing is more like a narrow-leaved sucker. It is he who has dry and sweet fruits. The fruits of the olive tree are very bitter and larger, up to 2 cm in length. My mother, when we lived in Azerbaijan, collected olives and she salted them herself. But before that, for several days, after pricking each berry, she seemed to soak them in a soda solution. And then she washed them in running water for several hours.

05.11.2013

Natalia

AT Central Asia the plant - Jida - is widespread and grows everywhere. Fruits when ripe Brown, possess medicinal properties. Unabi is a variety of large-fruited jida.

23.05.2014

margarita

In Crimea, our olives grow from the coast of Alushta to Foros. Our soil is stony clay. Olives are not afraid of either winds or scorching sun. We salt the fruits ourselves because even the little granddaughter in the family loves olives. This year I bought a tree for myself. It bloomed in the first year. I hope to harvest this year.

14.07.2014

Andrei

I have an olive tree she is already 17 years old. Olives up to 2 cm. and next to it are small olives with a currant size. Why is it so. Advise what can be done to grow normal olives.

15.09.2014

margarita

Hello Margarita, I found your comment and decided to write. I want to say that I envy you with white envy that you live in such a fertile land where olives grow in the open field, and I dream of growing them even in a pot, but I don’t know where to get seeds. I searched all over the internet, but I couldn't find it. Maybe you can send me the bones cash on delivery, I will be very grateful to you. By the way, my name is also Margarita.

21.05.2015

Andrei

In our Odessa region in winter, the temperature gives short-term drawdowns to -30, how can you protect the plant? Is it possible to grow in a greenhouse?

31.10.2015

Elena

I have been living in Gurzuf, in the Crimea, for almost two years. I myself am from Donetsk and I don’t know many southern plants today I saw a tree with fruits similar to olives - green. And bit her. There is an unpleasant sensation in the mouth now. It wasn't an olive. Can you tell me, please, what kind of tree is this? The leaves on it are glossy green, slightly elongated, but larger than on the olive tree. Then they showed me an olive tree. The tree is also evergreen. Thank you.

02.12.2015

Help! the olive is shedding its leaves!! what to do?

27.12.2015

You didn't write what passed the leaf drop. If flooded - transplant with an inspection of the roots, remove the rot, treat the roots with charcoal or activated charcoal, cut the tops and on the warmest possible window.

06.01.2016

oksana

hello! gave an indoor olive tree, tell someone when you can transplant into a large pot

07.01.2016

cloud

Hello Oksana! It all depends on the size of the olive. If the plant is not large, then a large pot is not needed; if the plant sits in a transshipment container and there is not enough space for it, food, etc. Of course, it won’t hurt to transfer it to a larger pot. Transplant the plant as it grows

23.03.2016

Irina

The olive should be touched less and watered less often. Convinced by my own experience. I brought my olive 4 years ago from Greece. And this year, in March, it suddenly bloomed. Firstly, this year the heating was very bad in winter, the temperature did not exceed +22 in the apartment. Secondly, I watered very rarely (when the leaves began to curl) I think that this gave impetus to flowering

26.05.2016

shagida

Margarita, I also kindly ask you to send olive pits. It is warm in the south of Kazakhstan, I think it will grow. After all, the persimmon is growing. Answer, I will send the address [email protected]

23.06.2017

Irina

Dear Svetlana! I was so happy about your comment ... My dad was born in the south of Kazakhstan and from childhood I remember his stories about the Judah bush. And I even saw branches acceptable to them for 2 years

23.06.2017

Irina

brought by him 2 years in the spring from the territory of the power plant where he worked and it was a miracle for him! On the territory of Tatarstan, in the middle Volga region (almost the Urals), suddenly this Judah Then this bush either disappeared or interfered with someone, disappeared. I remember the smell! Now dad has been gone for a long time, and I dream of finding this Judah and planting it in memory of his homeland. Thank you for the description! Where can I find seedlings, I don’t know ... I’ll look on the Internet.

23.06.2017

Irina

Of course the time difference is 2012 (the date of your comment) and 2017...

29.05.2018

Janis

According to the description, Judah is very similar to the silver sucker. Look at pictures on the internet. A very drought tolerant tree. Regarding the comment of Elena from Gurzuf, we can say that the olive tastes very warm. That is why it is soaked for about 30 days in water before salting. The water is constantly changed. You can determine the species affiliation simply by asking the locals. They don't bite :)

31.07.2018

Alesya

I live in the Odessa region. I bought a seedling of European olive in the internet. Grows in a pot on a glazed balcony (east side) Survived 2 winters. True, when it was very cold, she opened the balcony or brought it into the room. So I overwintered. And this summer it bloomed and tied a couple of fruits. Let's see what grows.

* Calculations use average data for Russia

¡Conozco tu encanto sin fin, padre olivo,

al darnos la sangre que extraes de la Tierra!

(Federico Garcia Lorca)

Olives are traditionally considered the culture of Greece, Spain and Italy, but by no means Russia. In this country given plant very difficult to grow due to the unsuitable climate, however, in fact, no one really tried to grow olives. The current state of agriculture is such that even traditional grains are abandoned as a culture, to be sure about overseas and outlandish plants.

But the olive is not banana tree and not a pineapple bush, and can feel good in the southwest of this country. Russia in recent times tends to increase its territory, and in the new region - the Crimea - olives have been successfully grown for many years. Therefore, such a noble culture can be grown even on a limited, but still some territory of Russia. Of course, first of all, it is necessary to return the former greatness to cereals and other more familiar agricultural plants, but if we are optimistic about the future and believe that the agricultural sector will finally be restored, then the cultivation of the olive tree can become a new type of agricultural business.

Olives are grown for two purposes - to obtain edible or oily fruits. There is also the opportunity to grow those plants that produce fruits suitable both for eating and for making oil. The difference in this case will be only in the technology of cultivation and in the time of harvesting the fruits. Therefore, from the very beginning, you need to choose a variety that is not only the most suitable for the area in which it will grow, but also suitable for the intended use. Also, the wild olive begins to bear fruit only in the twentieth year of life, and you need to choose the variety that can provide a harvest in a few years. Most early varieties can bear fruit as early as 2 years after planting, but sometimes this happens only after 10 years.

The cultivated species for producing olives is Olea europӕa, or the cultivated olive. At the same time, from a scientific point of view, the olive has another name - the olive, although in everyday life black-purple fruits are called olives, and green olives. At the same time, such a division is typical only for Russia, in the rest of the world these concepts are synonymous. Green fruits are unripe, and in some varieties they are not eaten, as they have a bitter aftertaste. However, in Russia, most likely, it will be necessary first of all to select a variety that is resistant to local climatic conditions, sacrificing all other characteristics. You can grow olives that are cultivated in Greece or Italy only in the Crimea or in the very south of the Krasnodar Territory. At the same time, the Caucasus has always been a territory where olive trees feel excellent.

To engage in the cultivation of olives on an industrial scale, you need to register as a subject entrepreneurial activity. An industrial scale is the cultivation of plants on an area of ​​​​more than one hectare. Not every entrepreneur will immediately decide to work with such a plant atypical for Russia on large plots, so you can try from several ares of land, while remaining individual, which has nothing to do with entrepreneurship - from a legal point of view. Such activities fall under the definition of personal subsidiary farming (LPS). If, nevertheless, it was decided to allocate a hectare or more for olives, then you need to register a legal entity or individual entrepreneur. There is also a special form - a peasant farm (KFH), which is also not legal entity, but by a business entity, which is registered by those businessmen who are engaged in agriculture. All these procedures will take no more than a month and they will require about 20 thousand rubles, including state duty and other small expenses for bureaucracy.

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It is preferable to have your own land in order to cultivate your own orchard; olive trees live very long and bear fruit for many years. In this regard, have perennial trees in fact, it is not worth it on someone else's land. Growing olives can even become a family business, because several generations of people can change, and the olive will continue to grow. The cost of buying land varies too much depending on the region and location from the nearest settlements, so it is rather difficult to name an average price.

If a decision is made to lease land, then you need to count on an average of 2 thousand per hectare per middle lane Russia. Despite the fact that the olive is very demanding on the climate ("Mediterranean" - best description suitable climate for this crop), it is very easy to take root and grows on many types of soil. Many olive trees grow even into rocks, and at the same time they feel great. But loamy or sandy soils are best suited to her, but they should be fairly loose and moderately fertile.

Too fertile land can lead to the formation of a large number of fruits, but in this case the quantity will be rather a disadvantage, because there will be many fruits, but they will not become as enriched with the necessary substances as necessary. This is one of the reasons why black earth is not a very good type of soil for this crop.

The olive also requires a relatively high nitrogen content in the soil, and either composting or the close cultivation of legumes, which are known to enrich the soil with these elements, can help here. The acidity of the soil should not be too high, but the alkalinity will only benefit this plant (but in moderation, of course).

If you plan to get a crop intended for sale in the form of fruits, then you need to take care of irrigating the site, the humidity brings excellent taste qualities; on the other hand, its high level reduces the amount of oil in the fruit, so if you plan to produce oil or sell oilseed fruits, regular watering will be enough. It is best to grow several varieties on the territory that will pollinate each other, otherwise you may not get a crop at all. It is good to plant trees of different varieties next to each other, distinguishing varieties should not be a problem; in extreme cases, trees can be noted: where is Shrovetide, and where is fruit.

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Caring for an olive tree is a whole science and even a ritual. In Greece, there is even a special position, which involves only pruning the crown of the olive. If you have the means and opportunity, you can visit countries where the olive tree is a symbol of culture and an important agricultural plant to learn the art of growing the olive tree. If this is not possible, then you should collect all the available information to the maximum in order for things to go smoothly. But some advice can be given now.

The olive tree loves to grow very much, that is, a huge number of new shoots grow around the main trunk, which tend to become new trees. If they are not removed correctly, then all nutrients will be evenly distributed between the offspring and the parent plant, which will lead to low productivity. The trunk should be one, then it alone will give a decent harvest. After the crop is harvested, the crown is pruned, which is a very crucial moment. Need it right and the right amount remove tree branches because olives form on branches that bear fruit twice in their life. If they are not removed at all, there will be many fruits, but of poor quality. If you remove it completely, you will have to have a zero yield for a year. And with all this, it is necessary to cut not just a certain percentage of branches, but precisely so that in the end the entire crown receives the same amount of light.

The tree itself should be in a bright and warm place; olives can tolerate short-term frosts down to -10 ° C, and this will in no way affect the life of the plant, but prolonged cold can greatly reduce fruiting in the next season. There are, of course, more winter-hardy varieties, but they are still not very adapted to the climate of central Russia, and here there is room for the breeder to work.

Businessmen in the south of Russia, in turn, can be content with those varieties that have long been bred and show good results. Being a heat-loving plant, the olive only begins to bloom in mid-summer, and the fruit ripening period is usually very long, although flowering is fast. Olives are ready for harvest at the end of October (although there are varieties that yield even in early December), and it is very important to choose the right time for harvesting. The fact is that the biological ripeness of olives does not coincide with the technical ripeness; that is, the fruits need to be harvested a little unripe. It all depends on the variety, but usually fruits are used for oil, only poured with a “wine” color - that is, darkened. If olives are grown for food purposes, then they are also harvested green (there are special varieties for this), but fully ripened fruits are rarely even eaten, as they are a little bitter.

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However, even if a businessman lives in the northern regions, he has a chance to start growing olives. Some farmers have had success growing olive trees indoors. It is important to create a microclimate in the greenhouse as close as possible to the "Mediterranean", and this is very difficult to do. However, here, again, it is necessary breeding work, because if you do it, you can grow olive trees even in the middle lane. However, today this possibility is limited to the cultivation of the so-called dwarf olive trees, which some people use as a house plant (which also bears fruit as a bonus). You can’t get a serious profit for the harvest from such an “apartment garden”, but these plants can be propagated and sold. As mentioned above, the olive tree, even a dwarf one, grows with great willingness, and in this way it can be propagated. Thus, it is possible to build a home business by growing and selling unusual house plants. In this case, the investment will be minimal.

But for your full-fledged olive garden, you need to allocate a lot of money. Up to 350 trees can fit on one hectare, although it is optimal when plants are allocated an order of magnitude more space, but in this case it will be possible to plant no more than 50 trees on one hectare. The cost of an olive tree seedling is 2 thousand rubles. Thus, for your garden you need to allocate 700 thousand rubles per hectare.

In the Mediterranean, it is sometimes possible to get about a centner of crop from one tree, but for Russia this figure is very difficult to achieve, so even 15 kilograms from a tree will be very a good indicator. It turns out that one hectare of the garden will yield about 5 tons and 250 kilograms of crop. The price of olives today in the Russian market is entirely dictated by import suppliers. The cost of packaged olives can reach one thousand per kilogram, but in their raw form, their price is about 40% lower, that is, one kilogram can be sold for about 600 rubles.

Thus, the proceeds from one hectare in one season can amount to 3 million 150 thousand rubles. This indicator is considered very good, and you need to take into account the fact that the amount may be slightly lower. After all, it must be taken into account that in order to enter the market, the price will first have to be greatly reduced - but due to the absence of customs costs, this will be advisable.

Olive oil production

If you have established the production of olives harvested from your own garden, it is worth considering the production of the noblest of vegetable oils (and one of the most expensive, if not the most expensive). Olive is a word derived from the word for "oil" in Western languages ​​(English oil, German Öl, Spanish óleo are the same root as the word "olive"). Olive - Russian education, tracing paper by analogy (olive - oil). Already in word formation, the main purpose of the olive is clear - obtaining vegetable oil. It takes 5 to 5.5 kilograms of olives to produce one liter of oil. That is, from the above calculated yield, one thousand liters of oil of the highest quality can be obtained.

All olive oil is divided into categories, and several liters are obtained from these five kilograms, but only the first pomace from the fruit will be the most valuable. The following products turn out to be of much lower quality, and therefore cheaper, but they are also sold, and profits increase. Completely stripped and mixed into porridge, olives are sent to feed livestock, for which you can also earn money. The cost of a liter of quality oil is 600 rubles, and then the income from it will be 600 thousand rubles. If we add to this the sale of subsequent products up to oilcake, it turns out that the production of oil is even more profitable than the sale of fresh fruits.

To engage in such a business, you need to purchase the appropriate equipment. But first, the harvested olives are cleaned of branches, leaves and other plant debris; for this, special devices have been created that blow off these excesses from harvested crop. Such a “fan” is also worth buying if you do not plan to produce oil, because no one wants to buy even fresh fruits that are not cleaned of garbage. Once peeled, the olives are washed with water before being sent to a hydraulic press.

In some regions of Italy, oil is still obtained in the old way - with the help of mills, but there is special equipment, which can do it much faster and better. Under the press, the olives go through three stages of pomace, during which three varieties of oil are obtained and the oilcake freed from it. "Cold" pressing allows you to save all the useful qualities of the oil, because in the absence of heat treatment many important trace elements are not destroyed. After all this, the oil passes through the separator, if filters were not installed in the press - this is necessary to eliminate all suspensions and to obtain the purest oil. The Chinese manufacturer, invariably pleasing with its prices, offers such an installation for a price approximately equal to 200 thousand rubles. Thus, with optimal development and good harvest It is possible to recoup all expenses for the organization of olive cultivation in the first year.

Of course, there are too many difficulties in this type of business, as well as many risks. Of those not yet noted in this article, one can name the risk of not selling their products due to the banal distrust of consumers in olives produced in Russia. Still, people want the inscription “Ελαιόλαδο” to flaunt on the label of a bottle of olive oil, which is incomprehensible and not even readable, but it says that the product is certainly of high quality (the set of these hieroglyphs is translated from Greek as “Olive oil”) . Convince people that Russia can produce good olives and good oil they will not turn out right away, and it will take a long time to find buyers and, quite likely, greatly reduce the price of the product. But growing olives is a new, and most importantly, quite real business for Russia.

Matthias Laudanum

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