Olive: home care, reproduction and tree cultivation

The olive tree is one of the longest-lived plants on the planet, and its fruits have beneficial properties for human he alth. It is customary to grow an olive in a warm area in open conditions. However, the cool climate, for example, in the north of Russia, the tree does not withstand well. Therefore, here it is grown indoors. Let's figure out how to grow an olive tree at home, providing it with the right care.

Description of the plant

The olive, or European olive, is found in the form of trees and shrubs. There are more than sixty varieties of the plant in the world.

An olive tree can live for more than half a century, and in Jerusalem there are trees that are two thousand years old. At home, the plant can be kept for about ten years, after which it must be transplanted to an open area.

Young domestic olive trees are characterized by light bark that darkens with age. The leaves of the trees are kept even in winter and are updated every two years. The flowers are small, white. The fruits grow up to three centimeters long and weigh about five grams, and may be green or dark purple.

Olive fruits contain many substances that are beneficial to the human body. Eating fruits is useful for the prevention of diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract and oncology.

How to get a potted olive

You can plant a homemade olive by rooting a cutting. You can also purchase a finished tree, but it will cost from 20 thousand rubles for a two-year-old olive.It is possible to grow a plant from a stone, but such a tree will begin to bear fruit only after 12 years, while a tree grown from a cutting will take three years.

Species and varieties suitable for home growing

Homemade olive is often used to decorate rooms. For indoor conditions, miniature varieties are suitable, up to two meters tall. The home olive can be made in the bonsai style, with a curved trunk and oppressed roots. This variety goes well with any room décor thanks to the silvery shade of the crown.

Planting a tree in a pot

Fresh olive seeds sold in specialized stores are suitable for planting. Pitted pickled olives will not work, nothing will sprout from them. Before planting, the bones should be put in an alkali solution for two-thirds of the day to get rid of the hard shell.After processing, the seeds should be dried.

As a soil for planting, a substrate is suitable, half consisting of river soil, and the other half - turf and garden soil equally. Add a small amount of peat and lime.

Pick up a pot for olives with a depth and width of 60 centimeters or more. At the bottom of the container there should be holes to remove excess moisture. Put some charcoal in the bottom of the pot.

Seeds in the soil should be planted to a depth of three centimeters. In order for the plant to take root, at first, keep the temperature in the room from 20 degrees and the air humidity at a high level.

Tips for caring for an olive tree at home

In order for the olive to grow he althy and bear fruit, you need to follow some rules. Growing olives requires a certain temperature, light regime and regular watering.

Location and lighting

In order for the tree to grow, keep the light bright. In the summer season, it is preferable to take out the olive to the garden or balcony to give access to the sun's rays. In the shade, the growth of the tree will slow down and it will not bloom. In the winter season, provide the olive with the maximum amount of sunlight indoors.

Temperature

Home olive can withstand heat, and in winter, the plant needs to provide a temperature of +5 degrees. In cold temperatures, the growth of a tree will slow down, and in severe frost it may even die. During the growing season, keep the temperature at +20 degrees so as not to ruin the crop.

Irrigation

The home olive is able to cope with short dry periods, but the plant does not tolerate long drought. Young trees need regular watering.Mature plants need to be watered less often, the soil should dry out between waterings, excess moisture should be removed from pallets. In the cold season, water the plant should be rare.

Humidity

In terms of air humidity, olives do not require special conditions. The natural humidity in summer - outdoors and in winter - indoors is sufficient for the plant. In the heat, the tree should be sprayed with water at room temperature two to three times a day.

Feeding

In the spring, once every couple of weeks, feed the plant with organic preparations that combine nitrogen. In the summer, the olive requires complex mineral fertilizers. In addition, spraying with succinic acid supplements top dressing and helps plant development.

Cutting

The olive needs regular pruning for sanitary purposes. In early spring, a tree growing in open conditions is cut off areas damaged by insects.The olive is cut in the spring, also for decorative purposes. The crown in the form of a neat ball can be successfully formed using a manual pruner. When pruning, remove weak branches and leave strong ones.

When carrying out the procedure, keep in mind that olive fruits grow only on last year's shoots, so cut them carefully so as not to destroy the crop.

Transfer

Repot every few years. Olive at a young age tolerates soil changes well, but in an adult tree, roots can be damaged during transplantation. Provide a suitable transplant site. Rotten soil can cause the plant to wilt. When transplanting, it is useful to add charcoal to the soil.

Diseases and pests

Olive has good immunity against pests. However, in the absence of proper care, excess moisture, improper light and temperature conditions, the plant is susceptible to attack by harmful bacteria, fungi.

The biggest danger is TB. As a result of infection, the plant is covered with large blisters. In the vast majority of cases, an infected tree cannot be completely cured, but small foci of infection can be cut and treated with copper sulfate to minimize damage.

Due to excess moisture, the olive can become covered with rot or rust. Biological fungicides, for example, Fundazol, are good for rot. Actellik, Karbofos and other insecticides are widely used to combat parasitic insects, like olive moths.

Black bugs cause great damage to the olive. Their appearance indicates that the plant is affected by harmful insects. The worms lay a huge number of eggs in the bark. The insects infect both diseased and perfectly he althy trees.

To prevent infections, it is enough to properly care for the olive.Fortunately, the olive is an unpretentious tree, so it will be enough to provide it with the minimum required amount of moisture, as well as the correct temperature and light conditions. It is necessary to protect the tree from pests using natural biological preparations, since chemistry negatively affects the yield, killing the beneficial properties of the fruit.

Olive propagation methods

The olive tree at home can be grown using seeds or cuttings. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages.

Seeds

Growing olives from seeds is a rather lengthy and labor-intensive method. Before the first fruits after planting, it can take as long as 15 years. For planting, fresh seeds with a shell dissolved in alkali are used. Germination occurs after three months. The first five years, the seedling needs to be replanted annually, after which the transplant is carried out every couple of years.

Shanks

Vegetative propagation is the fastest way to grow a plant. With this method, the seedling inherits the characteristics of the variety and blooms much faster.

First, you need to prepare one-year-old cuttings, having processed the places of cuts for rooting. The cutting should be planted in wet sand, in a transparent container. It is necessary to observe the temperature regime of about 20 degrees Celsius. It is necessary to moisten the plant in a timely manner. The cutting should be transplanted to a permanent place at the end of summer, beginning of autumn.

Recommended