Does anyone have any experience growing Olives?
I found this on Wikipedia;
And since I had no Idea what calcareous soil was, I found this;"Olive trees show a marked preference for calcareous soils, flourishing best on limestone slopes and crags, and coastal climate conditions. They tolerate drought well, thanks to their sturdy and extensive root system. Olive trees can be exceptionally long-lived, up to several centuries, and can remain productive for as long, provided they are pruned correctly and regularly.
A calcareous soil, however dry or poor, seems best adapted to its healthy development, though the tree will grow in any light soil, and even on clay if well drained; but, as remarked by Pliny, the plant is more liable to disease on rich soils, and the oil is inferior to the produce of the poorer and more rocky ground.
In general, a temperature below 14 °F (-10 °C) may cause considerable injury to a mature tree, but (with the exception of juvenile trees) a temperature of 16 °F (-9 °C) will normally cause no harm."
But I was unable to find anything about them being cultivated in America and where, if the were.calcareous soil , soil formed largely by the weathering of calcareous rocks and fossil shell beds. Different varieties usually contain chalk, marl, and limestone and frequently a large amount of phosphates. They are often very fertile, as in the case of the buckshot soils of the S United States. Sometimes calcareous soils are flinty, thin, and dry. They often form a large part of the soil of deserts, which may prove very fertile when sufficient moisture for crops is applied
I'm wondering how a few Olive trees would fare in Texas. It looks like they would survive the cold here easily, since ~20 is as low as it typically goes.Olives are the most extensively cultivated fruit crop in the world.[24] Cultivation area has tripled from 2.6 to 8.5 million hectares in the past 44 years.
The ten largest producing countries, according to FAO, are all located in the Mediterranean region and produce 95% of the world's olives.
I'm wondering if they can withstand temperatures as high as a possible 110 or so?The Mediterranean type of climate features mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
Average annual temperature in Greece ranges from +14C (57F) to +30C (86F). However, since Greece is generally a mountainous country, real average temperatures vary considerably from region to region.
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