cos i would like to have a go at growing an olive plant, yes i could buy one but that defeats the fun of trying to grow one, so if you eat fresh olives could you spare me a stone or 2 to try with
thanks
ps where does this obsession come from wanting to grow everything lol ;D
:-X about the obsession! ::)
you got it too??? :o
Hey Debster, olives are pretty inedible 'fresh' and are most often brined. I'm not sure if seeds would germinate after such a process (especially if its one of the processes that uses heat) but I've heard of canned tomato seeds germinating, so who knows?!
Your best bet is to ask someone who lives in the Med to collect a few fallen ones for you... I know theres a few on here, so hopefully they'll read this :)
you could try these, http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/uk/en/product/4523/1 i havnet tried them but worth a go if you want to grow from scratch, it would probably be many years before you get an olive off the tree though
Propagating Olive Trees
Olive trees are propagated in California several different ways, including budding or grafting onto seedling rootstocks, leafy semi-hardwood stem cuttings, and hardwood cuttings. Less commonly used techniques locally, but somewhat more common world wide include truncheons, removing rooted suckers from the crown of the tree, and ovuli. (much content courtesy Glenn T. McGourty Plant Science Advisor and County Director UCCE Mendocino County)
bullet Seedlings
bullet Stem cuttings
bullet Hardwood Cuttings
bullet Rooted truncheons
bullet Grafting
bullet Patch Budding for Top Working Olives
bullet Ovuli
bullet Suckers
Propagation of Olives by Seedling
Many cultivated olives will grow from the seed or pit of the olive under the right conditions.
We have been asked if the pit of an olive in a jar of brined olives can be grown. The answer is no; the pit has been killed by the brine.
Growing an olive from fresh olives is usually a frustrating experience as very few germinate but a tree dropping thousands of olives over hundreds of years will produce seedlings. Trees grown from seeds have some interesting characteristics. The tap root goes straight down so the tree is very drought resistant. That also means that it cannot take advantage of surface irrigation so typically grows slowly and produces fruit much later than trees grown by other means. It can also attain great height depending on the variety. That is a bad trait in trees grown in orchards where dwarf trees are preferred for easy picking.
Oddly, the tree and fruit which grow from the seed will not always resemble the tree it came from. Olive pollen can drift for hundreds of miles and olives easily hybridize with other varieties. To get an exact replica of an olive tree, you must use cuttings or truncheons.
Wrong time of year for a fresh stone, the blossom is just about to come out! If you remind me around Nov-Jan I'll send you a bag of freshly picked .............
Yes Debster... I grew a pomegranate from Seed ... took about 15 years to flower.. worth waiting for, it's a dwarf so no fruit to eat. ::)
thank you Biscombe i will take you up on that offer.
thanks guys for all the info great to learn new things you guys are so knowlegable about anything that grows ;D
i GOT A LITTLE OLIVE TREE HALF PRICE IN WOOLWORTHS LAST WEEK, ITS LOOKING VERY HEALTHY IN ITS POT ON THE PATIO, SO FAR.