Olive growing in the pacific northwest, oregon.
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It says on a guide here to “never bring your olive plants indoors during winter.” Why is that exactly? We have our two potted olives on a rolling platform and were planning to push them inside on nights that get below freezing. What is so wrong about this? Also, due to climate change or just regular weather cycle changes, portland oregon is not as cold or wet, however it can still get 10 or more degrees below freezing. Also there is much less rain nowadays, does this information effect the guidance I’ve received from this site?
Hi yeah I saw that it’s on this page. I think it’s because of the sentence just above it: “If you can’t bring your potted olive tree indoors, …”
My understanding is that if it’s a hassle to bring your tree indoors, or you don’t have space for it, then it’s better to never bring it indoors at all. Like, it would be worse to bring it indoors one year and then the next not do so.
So if you’re not certain that you’ll not be able to bring it in, then better to leave it outdoors and teach it to fend for itself. I agree the wording isn’t clear. I’ll send a note to @Nate the moderator here; he’ll know who to inform, maybe it can be reworded.
Other than that, your plan seems perfect to me. I’m sure your trees will do fine! What variety are they, do you know? I know some resist the cold better than others.
Freezing as what you mention is ok, as long as drainage is ok. Since you’re in pots, that should be easy to ensure. Stack lots of gravel at the bottom, even layer some type of geotextile or garden mat between the soil and the gravel to make sure that nothing comes to clog the holes even after a few years. That way you’re sure that there won’t ever be sitting – and freezing – water around those roots. If anything, the milder temperatures will benefit your olives, you might even get a small harvest in time!
Just so you know, with olives it’s a two-year cycle: one year you get a lot of fruit, the next almost nothing. Pruning helps level it out a bit, but still there’s that biennial behavior that’s interesting. Of course, that’s not considering all the possible pests, diseases, freezing hitting the flowers… life ain’t easy when you’re a plant!
Do tell if you have other questions. I have a few olive trees growing (not in pots though).
Ok, great, thank you so much for the quick response, and thanks for the link, I’ll check it out. Who knew there was so much to growing olives!
Ok, i have two pots, I think I will try the geo textile and gravel on one. Thank you so much for the info!
Sure thing!
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