Olive Trees

[Tripmeup]

I see Dobies are advertising twisted stem Olive trees which would look excellent on my new front step which is under a covered canopy...
Anyone any experience of how hardy they are or bought olive trees before from Dobies???
Thanks

[veggiechicken]

No idea about those trees but I have an olive tree that's about 8-10' tall in the front garden. Planted out, never pampered. Has been there about 10 years, through snow, frost etc.
It was about 3' when I acquire it on Freecycle

[muddled]

We got an olive tree as a wedding present over a decade ago.
It's lived outside in pots ever since and, like VC's, has survived wind, snow, drought and all that British weather could throw at it.

It's not grown much mind, was 12" high when we got it....3ft high now.

[Tripmeup]

Ok, this sounds promising so...
Do they fruit much?

[veggiechicken]

Fruit? You want olives on your olives?
Forget it!!
Mine flowers and has had a few wizened little olives but that was it. Buy it for its appearance not for edibility

[Tripmeup]

Fruit? You want olives on your olives?
Forget it!!
Mine flowers and has had a few wizened little olives but that was it. Buy it for its appearance not for edibility

Spoilsport...

[Lisasbolt]

Yep sorry you won't get any olives, bought my mum 2 for her front porch (outside) they went into massive pots, i think they are pretty much the same size and it must have been atleast 10 years.

I have spare olives if you want to come and pick some, i have to harvest them all now for the oil.

[TrixC]

I believe some varieties of olive are not self fertile, so you would need two trees to get fruit. And perhaps our climate is just too cold for them anyway, although I have seen olive trees with fruit in London gardens. I bought quite a large olive for half price in the homebase end of season sale - it's about 10' tall but no fruit yet.

[bussinspain]

Olive trees are very hardy and don't need much water. The yellow pollen covers everything here, but we have got about 80 trees! We are having a good harvest so far this year - 173 kilos taken in last Friday and another 180 or so this morning. The olives form on one year old shoots so be careful when pruning. Make sure that the center of the trees are open to allow light and air to circulate freely. Give them a 15/15/15 fertiliser in the autumn and you should be on to a winner for next year.

[PyreneesPlot]

I also had one in a pot in the UK for a good decade without any protection in Devon and then Oxfordshire. We moved it to SW France with us, planted it out and it promptly dropped all its leaves at the first snowfall!

[Jay22]

Are the olives on these trees that you buy in the UK edible? Wait***e say no?