Hortiforum

General Info – Olive

A Mediterranean essential and a cherished choice for gardeners in arid and Mediterranean climates, Olives stand as one of the oldest cultivated fruits, with a cultivation history stretching back 7000 years.
Their historical cultivation and significance has been for good reason, given the wide-ranging uses of Olive Oil for food, fuel, and cosmetic applications. Botanically categorized as drupes, Olives produce oval fruit with an oily pulp encompassing a hard, inedible pit. Together with Grapes, Olives are an emblematic symbol of Mediterranean Cuisine, with the Mediterranean Basin continuing to be the largest region for Olive cultivation.
The flavourful and aromatic oil extracted from olives serves both culinary and dressing purposes, while also finding widespread use in cosmetics, notably in renowned soaps like Castile and Aleppo, where olive oil serves as a base. Olives can be harvested as Green Olives (unripe), Semi-Ripe Olives, or Black Olives (ripe), with preservation methods varying based on ripeness and variety. This process often involves a combination of lye (alkaline) baths and/or salt brining to eliminate the intense bitterness of the unprocessed fruits. Whether as a cooking or dressing oil, table olive for salads or a Charcuterie board, a toping for Pizza or for making a tapenade, their are endless options for using these healthy ingredients. Whether pressed to make a cooking or dressing oil, processed into a table olive for salads or a charcuterie board, a topping for pizza, or the key ingredient in crafting a tapenade, there are countless options for utilizing the healthy and delicious Olive.
Everpresent in the Mediterranean, while Olives thrive in their native climates, numerous varieties, such as Arbequina and Picual, are suitable for more subtropical regions. Generally, Olive Trees favour a distinct cold season and a hot summer, crucial for both fruit quality and the hardening of new growth. Tolerant to temperatures as low as -10°C, they are suitable for nearly all non-alpine locations in Australia, although fruiting will very likely be limited in tropical regions. Resilient and undemanding to other conditions, Olive Trees tolerate alkaline, saline, and infertile soils, enduring periods of drought akin to the harsh, dry summers of the Mediterranean. Noteworthy is their tendency to produce bi-annually, bearing abundant fruit one year and minimal fruit the next, resembling the pattern of a Feijoa. Olive Trees, as a species, rank among the longest-living trees, with verifiably ancient trees, millennia-old still producing olives today, persisting as a lasting, fertile legacy on their landscape.
Typically small to medium-sized, rarely exceeding 10 metres in height, Olive Trees develop an attractive spreading crown. Their elongated, glossy leaves with a silvery underside are ornamental, especially given their evergreen nature. In late spring, tiny cream flowers appear, giving way to fruit in autumn. As trees age, their grey trunks become increasingly gnarled, contributing to their rugged appeal. Olives can form an attractive, evergreen windbreak or hedge in coastal locations, adding to the benefit of their fruits in cooler climates.
With its distinctive, rugged Mediterranean beauty and enduring nature, an Olive tree is an investment for generations, enabling owners to explore the production of their own olive oil or table olives.

Plant Profile/Properties