How do I grow an olive tree from the fruit of another?

November 22, 2009 10:31 PM

Is it easy to grow an olive tree from the fruit of my current tree?

I have a pendolino olive tree that's about three feet high, and it produced about a dozen olives that appear to be pretty ripe. Can I get another tree out of these, and if so, what's the best way to do it? Is it a simple as dropping them in some dirt and letting them do their thing?

posted by DakotaPaul to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Best answer: I'm jealous of your pendolino tree! I do not profess to be a horticulturist, but there are two key factors to consider of which I'm aware:

1. Olive trees generally propagate best by cuttings that are allowed to root rather than planting an olive. Pendolino, especially, is a fairly slow growing variety and growing from an olive would take forever to get a fruit-bearing tree.

2. Hybrids generally cannot be relied upon to propagate true to type from a seed. Hence, you can't just plant seeds from a hybrid fruit and expect it to grow into a plant with the same characteristics of the parent. I am not certain, but I think pendolino is a hybrid cultivar and threrefore wouldn't be able to be grown from seed in any event.

Taken together, I think what you're looking at is taking cuttings and rooting them to get your new tree(s). Some research online will tell you how to do this, or you could consult with a local horticulturist or county extension office to find out how to do this and whether it's feasible.

Good luck!
posted by darkstar at 11:26 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

Just backing up what darkstar said .... from the 1902 Encyclopaedia Brittanica Branches of various thickness are cut into lengths of several feet each, and, planted rather deeply in manured ground, soon vegetate; shorter pieces are sometimes laid horizontally in shallow trenches, when, covered with a few inches of soil, they rapidly throw up sucker-like shoots

Can't speak from my own experience but when I read that it sounded so strange it stuck in my mind.
posted by southof40 at 11:32 PM on November 22, 2009 [1 favorite]

In a bit of googling, I see that pendolino is specifically called a "cultivar". Cultivars are, if I'm not mistaken, clones that do not propagate from seed true to type (regardless whether hybrid or non-hybrid). It's the "variety" term that would signify a plant that could be expected to have the characteristics of the parent.

So I think you're looking at a cutting, rather than planting olives.
posted by darkstar at 11:33 PM on November 22, 2009

One last thoughgt: there's a product that used to be sold called "Rootone" that was a rooting hormone that would help induce cuttings to send out roots. I don't know if that particular one is still on the market (as I recall, it had an indole analogue which was a precursor in a hallucinogenic drug synthesis), but there may be other rooting hormones that you can use to improve your chances, if you're comfortable with that.

But again, I'd get some knowledgeable assistance on how best to do the cuttings propagation and they could tell you what's available.
posted by darkstar at 12:24 AM on November 23, 2009

Best answer: propagation
posted by caddis at 12:37 AM on November 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Awesome, thank you all for the answers!
posted by DakotaPaul at 4:53 AM on November 23, 2009

I would contact the county co-op extension office. That's what they're there for.
posted by Daddy-O at 7:16 AM on November 23, 2009