Olea Europaea, better known as olive, belongs to the Oleáceas family and is from Mediterranean origin. The name comes from the term “Olea” which means oil. Emblem of Mediterranean culture, it is a very widespread tree throughout Spain and highly appreciated for its fruit: Olives and the quality of the oil that is obtained out of it.
The old examples, often centennial, are currently used as ornamental plants, this because they can live for more than 1500 years and also because they are very easy to transplant in their age. there is a high number of varieties established in Spain, reaching almost 300, although we can emphasize on: empeltre, hojiblanca, cornicabra, chamomile, asebuche (wild olive), verdial and picual.

The Olive tree (Olea europaea) feels most at home in a sunny sheltered area, although it adapts to worse weather conditions, in a good moisture-permeable clay soil, but this can also be sandy soil. It is an evergreen plant and the olive only flowers at a low winter temperature and with many hours of sunshine in the spring. Flowers are cream-colored appearing between the end of May and beginning of June. If the temperature is high enough and the summer long enough, then there is a risk of fruit set and ripening.

Temperature: the safest way to keep an olive tree is as an container plant, but the older olive trees can tolerate short-term frosts of up to 15 degrees and outdoors stand and develop new shoots after (possible) frost damage.
Winter: in case of prolonged frost under -8 during the day, temporarily wrap the entire tree with a rope light, jute and / or fleece cloth (at most 2-3 weeks, then let air out)