Plant Name:  Mission Olive

Botanical Name:  Olea, europaea (Mission)

Origin:  This variety is a cultivar developed in California by Spanish missions along El Camino Real in the late 18^th century.

Height/Physical Description:  40 to 50 feet tall and wide.  Produces small fruit that has lowest flesh-to-pit ratio.

Special Attributes: Tall evergreen tree with excellent resistance to cold temperatures.  Edible fruit. This variety is prized for its versatility in pickling and oil production.

Purchasing:  Private nurseries or online.

Planting Requirements:  Olive trees look their best when grown in deep, rich soil but will grow in shallow, stony and alkaline soil with little fertilizer.

Watering:  Drip systems are best.  Water every other day for 3 hours using drip for large, mature trees; one-hour drip for young trees.  If no drip system, use hose on low drip.

Fertilizing:  Little or no fertilizing.  Use compost for natural fertilizer and weed/moisture control.

Harvesting:  For greener olives, harvest in September.  For darker olives, harvest in November.  The olives are delicious.

Pruning:  Remove suckers at base of tree, cross branches or dead, broken and ugly branches.  Mature trees can withstand heavier pruning (no more than 30%), however, this may reduce the crop.  Do not prune within 24 hours of rain.

Pest:  The main pests that affect olive trees are “olive fruit fly.”  The larvae (maggots) eat the entire fruit.  Black scale and other types of scale can also be a problem.

Diseases:  Fungal disease such as verticillium, olive leaf spot, Anthracnose; and bacterial disease such a Crown Gall.

Additional Information:  Sunset zones:  8, 9, 11-24