Olive Trees NZ: Complete Growing and Care Guide

Growing Olive Trees In NZ

Olive trees thrive in New Zealand’s warm, sunny regions with well-drained soil. Ideal for home gardens and orchards, they produce delicious olives and add Mediterranean charm. With proper regular watering, pruning, and frost protection—olive trees can flourish and yield fruit for years, making them a rewarding choice for NZ gardeners seeking both beauty and harvest.

Choosing the Right Olive Tree

It's crucial to choose the right variety. In NZ, you can find a range of Olive trees for sale, including traditional varieties and dwarf olive trees, perfect for smaller spaces.

Popular Olive Tree Varieties In NZ

The most popular olive tree varieties in New Zealand include:

• Olive Manzanillo: Versatile for table olives and oil, large tasty fruit with slight bitterness, hardy and frost tolerant.
• Olive Frantoio: Produces premium, rich, peppery olive oil; prefers warmer, sheltered sites with well-drained soil; slower to fruit but excellent oil quality.
• Olive Picual: High-yielding, disease-resistant, robust oil flavour, adaptable to various soils, increasingly popular in NZ.
• Olive El Greco: El Greco is a high-yielding olive variety known for its early fruiting and excellent oil quality, well-suited to New Zealand’s growing conditions.

The Plant Company has other varieties of Olives that are accompanied with a wealth of information.

Are Olive Trees Easy To Keep Alive?

Yes, olive trees are generally easy to keep alive, especially in New Zealand’s warm, sunny regions. They’re drought-tolerant once established, need well-drained soil, and require only basic care like occasional watering, pruning, and frost protection. However, they do best with good airflow and proper site selection to avoid disease and stress.

Caring for Olive Trees

Olive trees thrive in New Zealand’s sunny, well-drained gardens. With proper watering, pruning, and fertiliser, they grow strong and produce good yields.

Watering Requirements

Young olive trees need regular deep watering to establish strong roots. Allow the soil to dry out between watering sessions to avoid root rot. Established trees are drought-tolerant and require less frequent watering, particularly during warmer months.

Fertiliser Tips

Use fruit tree fertiliser in early spring to encourage healthy growth. Avoid excess nitrogen, which can promotes excessive vegetative growth.

Frost Protection

Olive trees are moderately frost-tolerant but young trees and new growth can be damaged by severe frosts common in some parts of New Zealand. To protect them:

• Plant trees in locations shielded from cold winds, such as near walls or fences.
• Cover young trees with frost cloth during cold nights.

Once the trees get above 1.5 metres tall, they are generally considered frost tolerant.

Pest and Disease Management

Common Pests

• Olive trees in New Zealand can be affected by pests such as scale insects, olive fruit flies, and aphids. Scale insects attach to branches and leaves, causing weakening and yellowing. Olive fruit flies can damage the developing fruit, reducing harvest quality.

Pest Control

• Regularly inspect trees for early signs of infestation. Treat scale insects and aphids with horticultural oils or insecticides. Use traps or biological controls to manage olive fruit flies, especially during fruiting season.

Common Diseases

• Peacock spot is a fungal disease that causes dark, circular leaf spots. It iis common in damp or humid conditions. Olive knot, a bacterial disease, leads to rough, swollen galls on branches and twigs, affecting tree health and productivity.

Disease Prevention and Treatment

• Promote good airflow by pruning to reduce humidity around foliage. Remove and destroy affected leaves and branches promptly. Apply appropriate fungicides as a preventive measure during wet seasons. Ensure trees are planted in well-drained soil to avoid root diseases.

Planting Olive Trees

Olive trees thrive in well-drained soil and prefer a sunny location. The best growing conditions in NZ include regions with mild winters and hot, dry summers. However, with proper care, olive trees can adapt to different environments.

When it comes to planting Olive trees, there are a few key steps:

• The ideal planting time is any time from autumn and spring. You can still plant in summer provided you maintain watering.
• Ensure the location receives plenty of sunlight, has well-draining soil, and has reasonable wind protection.
• Dig a hole twice as wide and just as deep as the root ball, and plant your tree, ensuring the graft union is above soil level.
• Firm in the tree and water thoroughly after planting to settle the soil around the roots.
• Scatter fruit tree fertiliser across the soil surface after planting and repeat the application in spring of each year.
• The tree should be staked to afford additional support.

Do olive trees grow well in NZ?

Yes, olive trees grow well in many parts of New Zealand, especially in warm, sunny regions with well-drained soil. They thrive in areas like Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne, and parts of the North Island. With proper care, such as adequate watering, pruning, and frost protection, olive trees can produce healthy foliage and a good fruit harvest.

Pruning Olive Trees

The best time to prune olive trees in New Zealand is late winter to early spring, just before new growth starts. This timing helps the tree recover quickly and reduces the impact on fruit production.

How to Prune

Focus on removing dead, damaged, or diseased branches to maintain tree health. Thin out crowded areas to improve airflow and light penetration, reducing the risk of fungal diseases. Shape the tree by cutting back overly long branches to maintain a balanced structure. You can be very aggressive with pruning Olive trees as they are vigorous plants that will sprout new shoots.

Benefits of Pruning

Regular pruning promotes better fruit quality and yield by allowing sunlight to reach the inner branches. It also helps maintain a strong framework and makes harvesting easier.