How old is your tree Barrie?

Does this species need any protection during our colder winters or is it rock solid here?

Is the fruit good tasting?

I just ate a feijoa of my tree on Saturday. We haven't been cold enough for it to receive frost damage. It was the first one I have ever eaten and man they are good. Very sweet tasting.
One of my trees is from you by the way.

Wes ... I really can't say for certain how old the tree is. I planted it as a gallon sized plant about 4 years ago. It stands roughly 9' tall and this year is the first where I've pinched out the tip growth to induce a more compact habit. I've never protected it but "rock solid" is only reserved for the old timers. Taste ... I know nothing of prepering olives for eating and with the limited flesh on these I wouldn't bother.
Good to hear about your Pineapple guava 😀 I've never tried them either but then again I've never had a fruiting specimen. How'd you get yours to fruit ... multiple plantings?

Cheers, Barrie.

Yes the one I bought from you was my second one. They are planted ten feet away from each other.

They are very hardy and stay evergreen.

i have heard that this cultivar of olive tree is the most cold hardy olive. brought from spain to bulgaria,some survived -20C. most olive trees are hardy to -10,maybe -12C. this one looks promissing for cooler climates. plant it in some protected spot in garden may result with your own olives. i will definitly try some.
rgds

I had a beautiful Olive Tree for about 7 or 8 years and then it mysteriously died.

Planted between two irrigation zones, I think it got water from both and roots rotted. 😥
Removing it was a big job because of the woody one-inch long thorns...lots of bandaids.

The fragrance of the blossoms was wonderful and the grey-green leaves are beautiful.

Haven't been able to find an olive tree at the nursery since then but I do want another one.

Barb

Barb, do you mean the European olive or the Russian olive? 😕

Hi Igor,
I think it was called Russian Olive...a beautiful tree.

But labels can't be trusted, I know.
A lot of plants now are labelled "tropical foliage"... 😆 😆

Barb

Awhile ago I heard about a cultivar of olive which had been developed in Switzerland and could withstand -20 C, greatly extending its growing area! I'll try to find some more info and post it here

There's very limited info about it on the web, but you can check out these sites:

http://www.icangarden.com/document.cfm?task=viewdetail&itemid=7520 (towards the bottom of the page)

http://www.thenatural-gardener.com/March2009.pdf (on page 12)

http://www.specimentrees.com/cart/productList.php?id=SOMISC&catName=Miscellaneous

It's called "Eddy's Winter Wonder", and is apparently an Olea europea which is hardy to zone 6 ! I'm going to try to get some from the 3rd website, as long as shipping doesn't cost an arm and a leg!

hi cameron. did u find something more about this olive? at the web there is no much info. besides bulgarian aberquina this cultivar could be great for cooler climates. for example mine. it would be great to have my own olives, in zone 7a.
thanks for sharing
rgds

Check out these olive trees. 8)
http://www.youtube.com/user/OliveADreamTrees#p/u/3/-1I9LyexxXs

Weird...Obviously not for olive production?

Imagine the rank growth when the new owner hasn't got pruning sheers. 😕
Bet they cost a pretty penny...
Barb

I bet they cost a bunch. 😯

I thought they kind of looked like elf trees. 😆

W has two olives she bought from Cistus for a lot of money a few years ago. She babies them. They never ever fruit, which annoys her!
Maybe in 2012....