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Young olive trees

Does olive young trees need protection in the winter 

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  • I have 2 small eucalyptus trees. Do they need protection in the winter 
  • nick615nick615 Posts: 1,370
    I'm no expert but a few months ago a local garden centre donated a mature olive tree to the town, to be placed on the main roundabout as one enters.  They installed it themselves amid the expected glare of publicity and I can't imagine they'd have gone to that trouble if it was likely to fail miserably (W Cork).  I therefore suppose it will depend how 'mature' your youngsters are.
  • JoeXJoeX Posts: 1,783
    Does olive young trees need protection in the winter 
    It depends on where in the world you are and how cold the winter gets.

    https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=138
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    And also soil type and how windy it gets.
  • BenCottoBenCotto Posts: 4,290
    edited October 2020
    Mature trees can easily withstand temperatures down to about -10° C. Younger trees are a little more sensitive and would not appreciate their roots being frozen if grown in a pot. If you can, move the plant to a porch, greenhouse or unheated summerhouse from mid December to mid March. 

    If the pot is too big to move, protect the soil with something like a wrap of hessian sacking around polystyrene, and use a strong fleece over the branches when bitingly cold winds are forecast.

    Good news is that I have had made a giant cover of Terram to go over my very big terracotta pot containing an evergreen agapanthus. Doing that is now a virtual guarantee winter will be mild.

    This is the advice from our local olive nursery. Their advice of a September to May purdah is somewhat excessive and have admitted that when I have spoken to them. I don’t move my tree under cover until early January for the simple reason it gets decorated with lights at Christmas. However I would move it if extended snow or heavy frosts were forecast.

    https://www.olivegroveoundle.co.uk/4-tips-care-olive-tree-autumn-winter/
    Rutland, England
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 11,193
    Mine's about 4 years old, more of a bush than a tree, in a large terracotta pot by the front door. I don't bother to wrap it up in the winter any more but push the pot under the roof overhang in the corner. We are though in South West England and our winters are usually mild.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 8,876
    nick615 said:
    I'm no expert but a few months ago a local garden centre donated a mature olive tree to the town, to be placed on the main roundabout as one enters.  They installed it themselves amid the expected glare of publicity and I can't imagine they'd have gone to that trouble if it was likely to fail miserably (W Cork).  I therefore suppose it will depend how 'mature' your youngsters are.

    Cork is pretty mild compared to most of the UK. My OH's auntie lives near Cork (but inland) and leaves pelargoniums outside all year.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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