Our Olive Trees
Our olive tree nursery
We currently grow ten cultivars (cultivated varieties) of fruiting olive trees in our production nursery. We also have hundreds of trees planted in groves for the purposes of propagation and potential oil production.
The owners of OTG have been involved in agriculture and horticulture for decades. Our commitment to excellence in our field is evident in the quality of our plants. We produce and ship only the highest-quality trees and we possess the expertise to answer our customers' questions correctly and completely. We will be here for you after the sale.
Get your olive trees from the professionals who know and tell! Want to visit the nursery? Contact us for an appointment.
Check Our Blog page for information on planting and care of olive trees.
Olive Trees, Yesterday and Today
In its native region, the Mediterranean Basin, the olive tree has held a special place in human culture for 8000 years. Ancient Greeks crowned the victors of Olympic games with wreaths of olive branches. The Romans used them in lustral rites. In the Hebrew and Christian religions, the olive branch has always symbolized peace and brotherhood. There are also many references to the olive in the Koran.The olive is the most important oil-producing plant in the world. It is thought that the first agricultural machinery was developed to extract olive oil.
Olive wood, hard and tightly-grained, is prized for carving and furniture making.
The olive tree's beauty has motivated artists through the ages. Olive images are found on ancient Greek vases, Etruscan friezes, Impressionist paintings and modern textiles. Picasso's image of a dove with olive branch is the international symbol of peace.
In the Mediterranean Basin, olives have traditionally been grown on the poorest soils, often on the fringes of agricultural viability. Premium lands were reserved for the more demanding fruits, vegetables and grains.
Because it originates in a region of little rainfall, many assume that the olive tree will not thrive in other regions. This assumption, though perhaps intuitive, is not supported by the facts. Old groves in Spain have been retrofitted with irrigation, resulting in a significant increase in yield. Olive culture has now been introduced into North and South America, Australia, New Zealand and even China and India, as the world's cultures move to secure for themselves the benefits of the world's most healthy food oil. In the U. S., there are oil-producing olive groves in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
For the gardening enthusiast, it is possible to have olive trees almost anywhere. London's Kew Botanical Garden has an olive tree that ripens a few fruit on occasion. In Paris, France, many hotels and restaurants have potted olive trees near the front entrance. Several people have reported having grown olive trees in New York City and Chicago, where they are wrapped and covered for winter protection or even dug up and buried horizontally in the ground for the winter, to be resurrected in the spring. Olive trees can be grown outdoors without winter protection in areas where winter temperatures rarely fall below 20 degrees F. Depending upon variety, mature trees can withstand temperatures of 15 degrees or even lower if the duration is not long.
Whether olive culture is commercially viable in a particular area is a matter of scientific analysis and experimentation that takes years to determine. We are not in the business of advising would-be olive farmers or supplying trees for commercial grove development.
In pots, which can be moved indoors for the coldest periods, olives can be grown almost anywhere. The semi-dwarf varieties, such as certain clones of 'Arbequina' and 'Koroneiki' particularly lend themselves to container culture. These varieties grow to about 15 feet in height and can be easily pruned to the desired shape. They are also early to produce fruit, often within one or two years of planting a small tree.
Olive trees perform well in coastal environments. We at Olive Tree Growers maintain a grove on St. George Island, in the Florida Panhandle, just a few steps from the Gulf of Mexico. These trees withstand salty winds, searing sun and porous, sandy soil, thriving gloriously and producing fruit.
There are over 2000 cultivars (cultivated varieties) of olive developed over thousands of years in the Mediterranean Basin. Most of these remain local to their area of origin but some 150 cultivars have been dispersed to the major olive producing regions. At Olive Tree Growers we currently produce ten of the most commonly cultivated varieties. We offer several oil types and some that are also used for table fruit.
We have been growing olive trees in Florida since 1989, initially as landscape accents in coastal Panhandle sites. Now in north central Florida, we grow olive trees in the landscape and also are experimenting with oil production.