The olive tree is an ancient crop that has been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. In Germany, the easy-care and robust plant is usually kept in a bucket.
Olive tree does not tolerate frost
From his home countries - e.g. B. Italy or France - some olive varieties are quite used to frost, but Italian or southern French winters cannot be compared with the winters in Germany. The sub-zero temperatures that prevail in this country, which can last for days or even weeks, usually mean death from freezing for unprotected olives. It is therefore advisable to keep the tree in a bucket in order to keep the tree transportable and to be able to put it in a more protected place if necessary.
Do not keep olives in the room
Olives are not suitable as houseplants, it is best to place your olive tree in a sheltered spot on the balcony, terrace or in the garden. The plant not only needs a place that is as full of sun as possible, but also one that is sheltered from the wind. In addition, olives need a lot of air and will wither quickly if they are only kept indoors. You can put your tree outside as soon as there are no longer any frost periods to be expected - pay particular attention to night frosts! - and ideally bring him to his winter quarters as late as possible.
Plant olive tree
In most regions of Germany, planting the olive tree in the garden is not advisable. The weather is usually too cold, especially the winters are too long and frosty. Free-range husbandry could only be successful in a few wine-growing regions in the south of the Federal Republic, but only with appropriate protection in winter. In the cold season, you should protect your olive properly - whether outdoors or in a bucket:
- Do not hibernate olives too warm, temperatures around 10 °C are ideal
- especially protect the roots from frost, otherwise they will die
- root heating is always advisable for olives that overwinter outdoors
- The trunk and crown also need protection, for example with special heat protection mats
- Always make sure there is enough sun and water regularly
- the colder it is, the less you have to water
- when there is a lack of light, the tree sheds its leaves
Olive groves in Germany
Between 2005 and 2007 there were some efforts to plant olive groves in the Cologne area and in Saxony. However, these plantings all froze in the harsh winters of 2008-2010. Currently there is only one experimental olive grove in the Kraichgau between Heidelberg and Karlsruhe with around 40 young trees.
tips and tricks
If possible, only buy robust olive trees that have grown in a harsher climate than the Mediterranean region. These are used to a different climate than Spanish trees, for example, and can therefore cope better with the German climate.