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Olive tree question

Jack1974Jack1974 Posts: 61
in Plants
Hi all. I rescued an olive tree from being thrown out last year, and this year there are tiny buds, becoming flowers. 

Am I right in thinking some of these could become olives?! Should I feed regularly with seaweed feed, or just water, or leave it alone fully? It is in a large clay pot.

Any pruning advice? I gave it a trim 9 weeks ago, getting rid of very leggy foliage.

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Posts

  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Evening!  @Jack1974 What a delightful little tree!!  Normally, frowers turn to fruit, and there are plenty.  Just wait and see what happens.  There are a lot of flowers, so you never know. Be patient.  Keep on giving it lots of tender loving care (and water) !!!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Looks brilliant.
    Is it indoors?
    If so it will need pollinators so that you may see some olives growing but so so so difficult.

  • Joyce GoldenlilyJoyce Goldenlily Posts: 2,933
    My olive tree is similar, loaded with flower buds which it has been for several years now. I always get some olives set but they never get to full size or ripen as our season in the UK is too short for them. They only need a light prune in Spring to keep them in shape, being in a container means they do appreciate some feed in the Spring, I have used tomato feed and also farmyard manure, not at the same time, but they do not need a huge amount.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    My olive in a pot usually produces some olives.
    They are quite small, but often are still on the tree at Christmas.
    I also give mine a seaweed feed about once a month during the growing season and it thrives on the stuff.
    I've not seen so many flowers before as this year, so hoping for a bumper harvest :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Jack1974Jack1974 Posts: 61
    tui34 said:
    Evening!  @Jack1974 What a delightful little tree!!  Normally, frowers turn to fruit, and there are plenty.  Just wait and see what happens.  There are a lot of flowers, so you never know. Be patient.  Keep on giving it lots of tender loving care (and water) !!!
    Evening @tui34
    Thank you so much for your lovely post! I am very new to gardening, so it made me happy to read.

    Hi @Joyce Goldenlily
    Thank you very much for your feedback. I am based in Whitstable, Kent. Whereabouts are you? I ask as we do have a kind of micro climate here, and I am wodnering if a couple of olives may arrive in time.

    Hi @Pete.8
    Interesting to read that you've not seen so many flowers as this year, I wonder why that is. And very encouraging to read that you have had olives, well done!
  • Jack1974Jack1974 Posts: 61
    bertrand-mabel said:
    Looks brilliant.
    Is it indoors?
    If so it will need pollinators so that you may see some olives growing but so so so difficult.

    Hi @bertrand-mabel
    Thank you for this, really made me happy. It is out doors, we live in Whitstable, Kent, and it has a good warm very sunny climate. We have lots of bees, so hoepfully they are helping with the pollination.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Sorry Jack - I meant there are many more flower buds than usual this year and will be out soon.
    So will almost certainly be laden with olives later in the year 😁

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    Just to point out that I think olives are wind pollinated rather than by insects
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Of course worth reminding you that olives when ripe are not edible...they need to be brined over the course of a few days. Still remember the smell of tubs of Kalamata olives in our kitchen in Athens when I was growing up (and the hours of scoring them to absorb the brine). We used to get quite the crop from one tree, but as you can imagine no lack of sun in Greece to promptly ripen them.
    But who knows with climate change, maybe they'll ripen here, my little tree ripened a couple of them last year by late September, but we had such a hot summer. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Kalamera @amancalledgeorge !  Scoring black olives, done I have too!!  Then into a crock full of salt.  In the north of Greece. 

    I do mine green.  Here is a recipe @Jack1974  - it's a lengthy process but, they are your own olives after all.  You have to steep the olives for 24 hours in a washing soda solution to get rid of the bitterness.  (Not scored as the solution mustn't get to the stone - I check one by slicing with a knife as the solution darkens them a little.) Then they have to be rinsed and rinsed over a period of 3-5 days in running water until clear. - no soapy residue.  Then brined to preserve.  After than you can take them out of the brine and add anything you wish.  Garlic, fennel seed, few herbs and roll in olive oil to eat with a glass of wine before dinner.  You will find many recipes on internet.

    We have tried a method which is to soak in clear water - changing the water every few hours for a number of days to get rid of the bitterness.  Didn't work.

    I do about 10kg every year but mine are kept in a crock with a lid in a decent brine in the garage.  I take out scoopfuls of what I need.  They do get a light scum on top, which doesn't affect the olive.  Good with pastis!!  - or Ouzo!

    Go Jack!
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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