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Olive trees

jonathannhsYUowIilWjonathannhsYUowIilW Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi All,

I want to have an olive tree in a pot for my patio.

I'm in North West London and have a sunny, open garden that gets pretty hot.

Is there a particular variety of olive tree that is better? I notice there seems to be wildly varying prices for trees that look similar when i look at them online. There are places charging about £400-600 for a tree about 6 foot tall in a pot and then when I go in Homebase a similar tree is only about £150-£200. So I'm inclined to go with Homebase as they look healthy and can't see any obvious different to the more expensive ones.

Unless there is something I'm not appreciating about different varieties or such like?

BW

Jonathan. 

Posts

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,742
    The basic European Olive ( o europaea) would be the hardiest in the UK but that doesn't necessarily mean it would happily deal with the extreme weather ( wet/freeze/wet ) which we saw over last winter.  There are several others but I have no direct experience of them.
    If you want to keep it in a pot. you need to be aware that, as a tree, it will only thrive for so long without a lot of care and attention from you.
    If you think about where they occur naturally and you feel you can provide those conditions, then it's worth it tho the prices are quite ridiculous IMO.
    Use the Search facility on here because there are several Olive threads which may help you to decide before you lash out ;)  Good luck. 
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I got mine for £15 from Morrisons about 5 years ago.  So don't rush.  Mine's a mophead, though olives are more difficult than baytrees to keep as mopheads.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • dpatel2130dpatel2130 Posts: 201
    Ridiculously expensive olive trees are at garden centres  but I think they are very matured trees. I personally will not it but it's me. I like olive trees. I bought very small olive plant in Lidl for 2.50 about 10 years ago in small plastic pot. Regularly trimming the side shoots and shaped as in photo attached. Trunk is very thin and needs support but it is nearl 5 feet tall. From day one little flower appears every summer and last year the few olives got as well. I am happy with that and if you wish you can try too. Trial and error probably but not big investment. 
  • geoff_phillipps13609geoff_phillipps13609 Posts: 1
    I am awaiting the delivery of my Olive Tree. The dutch supplier says they get all their Trees from Spain. They also give the following usefull info..  A supplied olive tree can be decades old. The olive tree grows an average of 1 centimeter per year. The prices for the trees are determined by age. An olive tree with a trunk circumference of 10-15 cm will be between 10 and 15 years old. The olive tree with a trunk circumference of 40-60 cm will be approximately 40 to 50 years old. The age of an olive tree with a trunk circumference of 60-80 cm will be approximately 70 years old. The Bonsai will be the oldest in terms of age, it can be up to 100 years old. Olea europaea is the Latin name for the olive tree and it can live for thousands of years! I am buying a 40-50 year old tree which is costing about 250 gbp. cheaper trees are smaller and younger obviously.
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