Olive Trees: A Practical Guide to Growing, Pruning, and Harvesting

Are you trying to work out how to grow olive trees, how often to water an olive tree, when and how to prune olive trees, what fertilizer to use, or why an olive tree has yellow leaves or is dropping them? Olive Trees is a practical olive tree care guide built around the decisions that actually affect tree health and fruiting. It explains how to choose cultivars and compatible pollinizers, select a sunny, well-drained site, plant at the correct depth, establish young trees, manage olive tree watering, and choose and apply olive tree fertilizer without pushing weak, overly soft growth. Detailed chapters cover olive tree pruning for fruit and canopy health, flowering, pollination and fruit set, growing olive trees in pots, repotting and root-ball problems, winter care and overwintering, yellow leaves and leaf drop, root rot, olive tree diseases and pests, root stress and drainage problems, restoration of old or neglected trees, and diagnosis of common problems. The harvest section explains maturity, picking, sorting, rapid handling for oil, and safe home curing and brining of table olives. Seasonal calendars, diagnostic tables, practical checklists, and step-by-step decision guides help you diagnose problems and choose the right action before reaching for water, fertilizer, or pruning tools. The paperback edition includes 18 black-and-white illustrations that support the practical instructions. Whether you are planting your first olive tree, caring for a potted olive, restoring an older tree, or trying to improve flowering and harvest, this book gives you a practical system for healthier trees, better fruiting, and fewer avoidable mistakes.