Grow beautiful olive trees in your San Antonio home landscape.
Olive trees, known botanically as Olea europaea, are subtropical evergreen trees that are native to the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Basin. Olive trees grow best in climates that experience hot, dry summers and mild winters with warm days and cool nights. Located in the northern part of South Texas, the city of San Antonio is one of the few regions in the state of Texas that has a climate that is suitable for growing olive trees. With proper site selection and care, you can successfully grow an olive tree in your San Antonio home landscape. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Plant your olive tree in a location that meets its very specific cultivation requirements. Look for a planting area that gets full, direct sun for a minimum of six hours each day and offers sandy, loamy, well-draining soil. Position the tree's crown at the same level it was growing in the nursery container to reduce the risk of fungal diseases and root rot.
2. Deep-water the olive tree after planting to moisten the surrounding soil all the way to the tree's roots. Continue to water your olive tree regularly to maintain slightly moist soil. Note that, while olive trees are considered drought tolerant, San Antonio-grown olive trees will perform best when provided with frequent supplemental irrigation.
3. Fertilize your olive tree with a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer twice each year to ensure that your tree has the nutrients it needs for successful growth. Apply the first application in the early spring, as soon as new growth is observed. Apply the second fertilizer application in December to encourage healthy fruit-bud development. For best results, follow the application instructions on the fertilizer package.
4. Provide winter protection for your olive tree to prevent it from being killed by cold winter temperatures and freezes. Mound 1 1/2 feet of fresh topsoil around the bottom of the tree's trunk in November. Remove the soil mound in early April, when the weather warms up again.
5. Prune the olive tree in the early spring to remove any diseased, damaged or dead branches. Use sharpened and sterilized pruning shears to make clean pruning cuts. Make sure to avoid damaging the branch bark collar when removing branches from your tree. Consult the branch collar diagram included in the Resources section for more information.
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