Olive Trees
scousenel
Posts: 1
Morning everyone,i need some advice please. I've been given an olive tree as a present,which is fab. However i have no idea how to look after it in the winter. I have read that i can put bublle wrap round the roots but i'm worried that if we get a warm spell it will "sweat".I've got an unheated conservatory so i've put it in there for now..I live in the west midlands & the garden doesn't get any sun in the winter.Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks
0
Posts
Last winter we lost almost half of our garden because although it is south facing it is open to the elements all round except for immediatly in front of the house. This year we have been advised to wrap vulnerable plants in gardeners fleece which will protect the plants but allow them to breathe and then to cover them in some form of polythene wigwam with holes made in the sides so that the plants do not "sweat". This should mean that they are protected against the hard frosts and bitter winds that we get, but also that any rain sleet or snow will run off the wigwam cover - we certainly cant afford to replace ev erything again, so are hoping that these measures will be effective - they might be worth a try for you. Certainly friends of ours, similarly situated, who lost olive trees last year are trying the same tactics.
I had a small olive tree in a 10cm pot which sat outside all last winter. Admittedly my garden was buried under a cosy blanket of deep snow for weeks, but it went down to -16C. My olive came through it with barely a leaf lost. They're tougher than you think. Still, if you can protect the roots it would help the plant. You really don't need to coddle the top growth, unless it has been grown soft this year and isn't well hardened by now. Just wrap the pot in bubble wrap and leave the top growth open, so no sweating in mild spells. Let's hope we have some mild spells!
gardeners fleece is a good idea, I think its the freezing wind that they dont like as they are quite a hardy plant and can tolerate cold weather, their leaves may suffer but the plant itself will probably survive unless it goes a lot below freezing.