Olive Picholine

Olive Picholine Details

Olea Picholine is a popular French variety of Olive tree and is grown for its high yields of medium sized fruit. These can be squeezed to produce an oil with a distinct taste or eaten fresh. The fruit mature to a dark purple-black colour in autumn and originate from white-cream flowers borne in summer. It requires another variety such as Leccino or Manzanillo planted nearby to aid pollination. It carries grey-green foliage on twisted stems and on branches that are slightly drooping. This evergreen typically grows to 6 m tall and the same wide but can be trimmed as necessary. Best performance with this variety is achieved when planted in full sun on a well-drained site. It is tolerant of dry soil conditions, frost, and cool climates, but will benefit from wind protection while establishing. Olea Picholine is one of the more popular cultivars that is often used for fruit production. This olive tree also makes for an impressive specimen, and is useful for screening, as a windbreak, for topiary, or for trimming into an open hedge. For an olive tree hedge, space the plants 75 cm to 1 m apart.