Landscape Trees

Landscape Trees

An olive tree (olea europea) is a popular Mediterranean ornamental tree easily recognizable and which can be grown under almost any climate condition and soil type. Adaptable and resilient, olive trees can either grow intermittently in rural and coastal locations or can be cultivated in the urban areas such as in your own garden.

If you wish to grow them in your own garden, here are practical tips you can follow:

While olive trees are hardy types of ornamental trees, it is still best to choose a site in your garden where sunlight is available most times of the day and strong winds can be avoided. A sunny location will work best if you plan to have a more fruitful tree.
Cuttings of 12 to 18 inches long from a two-season-old, fruitful tree, around 1-2 inches in diameter should be made, not from a new growth. Use a rooting hormone to treat the cuttings before planting in a medium-sized pot.
To promote good root growth, the soil should be kept moist, but not too excessively wet to cause rotting or molding.
When growing them in containers or pots, use a good half mix of multipurpose quality compost and a compost for growing mature shrubs and foliage suited for outdoor containers such as John Innes No. 3 if you plan to do long-term cultivation.
Choose and plant your olive trees in free-draining soil to avoid too much water retention during the rainy season. Olive trees are tolerable of alkaline and acidic soils while sandy soils can take advantage of the added organic compost. While clay soils can also be used, they require more drainage and if this is not possible, a raised bed will be ideal.
Regularly loosen the soil to allow unrestrained root growth.
Resist over-potting. You can always re-pot to a slightly bigger pot when the tree starts to progress in size.
In young olive trees when the roots are not yet too hardy to hold the tree firmly, use stakes to hold the body in place.
Prune lightly in mid-spring, heavier during early or mid-summer. Avoid it during winter and take extra care in autumn times. Olive trees thrive best under good sunlight and you should allow time for its recovery before wintertime comes around.
Water them regularly especially during summertime. While olive trees still thrive well in a hot environment, keeping them moist is still recommended especially when your goal is to have them produce good fruits which normally come around after four years.
Olive trees are still tolerant of winter temperatures between -2Â°C and -5Â°C and should not cause for worry. In much lower temperatures though, protect the trunk and crown areas with layers of horticultural fleece. When re-potting, add layers of bubble plastic inside the pot or simply wrap the pots tightly with the same materials.

Always a favorite for landscaping, olive trees can grow to as much as 50 feet in height and 30 feet in total spread. This evergreen trees are beautiful landscape sights whether in urban areas or in coastal locations; outside large recreational areas or within the intimate confines of home gardens.

Whether it is the fruits of the olive trees that is your goal in growing them, or just for decorative or ornamental purposes or even both, having them in your own garden will always be a pleasant experience.

Graeme Olsen writes for USA Flowers On Line.

Looking for teardrop template for landscape design around tree trunk.?

I am a minor landscape designer looking to make my work easier. I am in need of a template that would make it easier to design around trees. Some people use basic cirlce designs others want kidney bean designs and there are those that would like a teardrop around their trees. Usually I would have to take a strand of rope and lay it out in whatever design is desired. I would like to have templates created so that all I would have to do is place them around the tree, trace it out, and then dig.

why not use a piece of thin galvanised steel up to maybe a foot wide ... it should bend easily to a teardrop shape or a kidney-shape and would make a flexible template that would be easy to carry from job to job.