My AccountOlives – A California Standard
Learn more and then sell more of this Mediterranean landscape classic.
Olea europaea Standard – Fruiting Olives: Manageable and Beautiful Ancient symbols of peace and plenty, Olives, or Olea europaea, are easily as familiar to most Californians as our native Oak. The genus name, Olea, means oil-bearing, a reference to the popular oil obtained from the drupe (fruit). Fruit Facts
If sited correctly, (away from sidewalks, driveways and other hardscape), the easiest way to handle the fruit drop is to plant an "olive swallowing" groundcover underneath. Groundcovers are a practical and beautiful solution. Excellent choices include low growing Ceanothus cultivars such as 'Yankee Point' or 'Joyce Coulter', yellow flowering Acacia prostrata and Acacia redolens, or deep blue flowering Sollya heterophylla.
If sited correctly, (away from sidewalks, driveways and other hardscape), the easiest way to handle the fruit drop is to plant an "olive swallowing" groundcover underneath. Groundcovers are a practical and beautiful solution. Excellent choices include low growing Ceanothus cultivars such as 'Yankee Point' or 'Joyce Coulter', yellow flowering Acacia prostrata and Acacia redolens, or deep blue flowering Sollya heterophylla.
Bamboo Pipeline supplies many of the fruitless or nearly fruitless varieties such as:
Olea europaea 'Wilsoni' - Discovered in a grove of 'Manzanillo' olives, it has become the most commonly sold of the fruitless varieties. It is believed by some that Olea europaea 'Fruitless' and 'Wilsoni' are one in the same cultivar. Narrow silvery-green leaves and a shapely form make this a popular selection among landscapers.
Olea europaea 'Majestic Beauty' - An open, upright grower, this cultivar is considered nearly fruitless – an important distinction as it can very rarely produce a small crop of immature fruit (drupes). One of the few Olives to be grown in a standard as well as a multi form, 'Majestic Beauty' has an airy and fluffy look which makes it useful for screen/hedge applications as well as specimen plantings.'Swan Hill Olive'® - From Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia. Introduced to California and Arizona nurseries in 1972. Its leaves are a deep green. Bears no fruit and more importantly to some, it produces little, if any, airborne pollen.