Olive is an evergreen tree belonging to Olive family. His homeland is Africa, Australia, the southern parts of Europe and Asia. In the world, the olive tree is known for making healthy oil from it, and the fruits - olives - are pickled. There are many legends about its origin. Despite the fact that the olive grows only in warm countries, it can be grown at home. This can be done from seed - bones. However, to eat tasty fruits from such a tree will not work - they will be tasteless and will appear only 10 years after planting. Plants in this way can be grown only for decorative purposes. How to grow an olive tree at home, read our article.
Requirements for planting material
If you have already gathered to place a bone in the ground from just eaten canned olives, then we hurry to disappoint you - such planting material will not germinate. You will need only the seeds of fresh fruit, which can be purchased at a specialty store.
Ash, lilac and jasmine, as well as the olive tree, are the most well-known representatives of the olive family.When choosing a seed planting method, you should know that the germination process will be quite long - about two and a half months. And germination in this case is quite low - for example, out of five planted seeds, only two or even one can ascend. Usually germination is not more than 50%.
Did you know? The ancient Greeks revered Oliva as a tree of life and longevity. It was considered such because it was almost impossible to destroy it. Even broken by lightning, it could live for a long time. If it is necessary to uproot a tree, then for this it is necessary to remove its roots within a radius of five meters, otherwise even from a small residue it will grow again. In the wild, the olive grows on average for half a century.
Preparation: germination
To start the stones should be placed in an alkaline solution (10%) for 18 hours. This is necessary in order to somewhat soften the shell, which in such a state will be able to break through the sprouted shoots. After treatment, the seeds are washed and dried. In the soil they must be placed only in a completely dry form. The sharp end before planting incised with a knife, shears or file off. 
It is also possible to place the stones for several weeks in a bowl with wet compost for germination. Capacity will need to be kept at a warm temperature, constant humidity and with sufficient intake of sunlight. Such a procedure can help increase the germination rate.
The soil
The best substrate for planting the olive will be the following:
- river sand - two parts;
- sod land - one part;
- garden land is one part.
If you use the purchased substrate, then you need to mix the soil for growing cacti (three parts) and ordinary soil (one part), slightly diluting the mixture with sand.
Capacity
Capacity for planting olive must initially be large - not less than 60 cm in depth and width. Prerequisite are drainage holes, which will be good to let in excess moisture or to take the required amount of liquid from the pan. The main enemy of the evergreen tree is the increased soil moisture, death is like its stagnation.
At the bottom of the pot as a drainage you need to lay a layer of fine charcoal or brick chips. 
Landing
It is necessary to plant the seeds in the prepared soil not too deep - at a distance of 2-3 cm.
For successful rooting and germination indoors, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at + 20 ° C. You also need to maintain high humidity, proper lighting.
The emergence of sprouts should be expected after two or three months.
Learn how to grow loquat, grapes, muray, plum, apricot, date palm and papaya (melon tree) from the seed.
Conditions and care for the seedling
The best place for growing an olive will be a window sill located in the south or south-west. It is there she will come enough sunshine. If it is not enough, the plant will signal to you about this dropping the foliage. In this case, you will need to look for a lighter spot for the pot or additionally install a source of artificial lighting. 
Caring for an olive tree at home is simple and no different from caring for most houseplants. It will consist in watering, spraying with dry air, dressing, pruning and transplanting.
Watering needs regular, as drying of the top layer of soil. The plant suffers a drought badly - the foliage begins to dry up and fall off. However, the tree will react to constant waterlogging and even worse - right up to complete destruction.
Important! Watering olive should be carried out only at a distance of several days tap water of room temperature.In the vegetation phase (from April to September) The tree must be fertilized. Organic fertilizers should be alternated with mineral. It is recommended to do this once every two weeks during the period of active growth and weekly in the spring-summer period. Starting in October, all feeding should be stopped, otherwise it will be difficult for the plant to survive the winter period, and it will not bloom in the end.
In the summer, it is necessary to periodically wipe off the olive leaves from dust. In winter, when the heating is turned on, they will need to be sprayed.
In winter, the olive should be left alone - water as little as possible, do not feed and move to a cool place (+ 10-12 ° C). Only under such conditions can it bloom.
When the flowering occurred, the tree should be placed in a room with a temperature of + 18-20 degrees.
A year or two after planting, the plant should be transplanted. To do this, use the method of transshipment (together with the earthy clod, without opening the root system). Carry out a transplant in the spring. Olive is transplanted annually until it reaches the age of five. Then the intervals between transfers should be increased to two to three years. 
Important! For the olive is important acidity of the soil. She prefers an alkaline substrate and can not tolerate too acidic soils. Thus, when transplanting to make peat in the soil should not be.After transplanting, as a rule, the tree quickly goes into growth. After two or three years in the spring or early summer, the olive tree in a pot sheds leaves and acquires a new one.
Every year should be carried out sanitary pruning of dry branches. It is also possible to carry out the forming hairstyle - it is not difficult for the plant to recover from it. Oliva is perfect for bonsai art lovers, because of its crowns you can form various types of miniature trees. 
Lower branches and leaves should be regularly removed - so the plant will be better to grow.
Since this evergreen tree has rather hard foliage, it is not damaged by pests.
Does it fructify at home
With proper planting and care, the olive "from the bone" will bear fruit, but the fruit from the tree planted in this way will not be suitable for food. An important condition for fruiting is warm temperature, dry air and sufficient light intake, i.e. the creation of a climate as close as possible to the natural one.
In nature, evergreens are pollinated by the wind. At home, this will have to be done manually - with a brush. Olive blossoms yellowish small flowers with a pleasant aroma. Flowering tree, obtained from the stone, should be expected at the age of 10-12 years. 
The period after pollination to the phase of full ripening of fruits lasts from three to three and a half months.
Did you know? The color of olives varies with the degree of maturity. At first they are green, and then as they mature they can be painted in yellow, pink, purple, brown, blue, purple, black. Thus, black and green olives, which are most often sold canned in stores, are the fruits of a single tree, simply harvested at different stages of maturation.The process of growing the olive tree at home from the stone - quite lengthy and time consuming. It should be resorted to only as an experiment or for the purpose of interest, observations. If your main goal is to grow a full-fledged fruit tree, then it is better to use the cutting method for growing. And the easiest way to buy ready-made seedlings in a container. Such a tree can bring about 2 kg of olives at home.
