Olea europaea
9th July 2011
Olive trees have become very popular recently, at least with retailers and designers (I'm sure there are some spectacular ones in gardens as well
but I don't recall seeing them). It is clear that temperatures locally are warm enough for them to grow
but I am not sure how they will cope with the damp weather here. The only way to find out is to try it
but I was reluctant to spend several hundred pounds on a mature tree so I bought a rooted
cutting in a pot from a supermarket for a pound. It will be a tree eventually!
Currently growing in a pot in the greenhouse, it will go out when it is a bit more like a tree. If I cared
about olives, then I would have grown a selected fruiting cultivar, but they leave me cold. A jelly-baby
tree would be a different matter.
5th April 2013
My tiny little plant has put some effort into producing some unwanted fruit (but thank you for trying).
It has been replanted into a large pot and is producing plenty of new growth. In about five years time
I will need somewhere sunny to plant it, which gives me a little time co come up with a plan.