Olives thrive best on barren, sandy soils

Olives thrive best on barren, sandy soils

The perfect soil for olive trees

Olive trees thrive best on sandy, dry, and loose soils. Good olive soil contains rather few nutrients and must not be too acidic or too loamy. In particular, loam is not suitable for an olive, because the solid soil encloses the roots too tightly and thus causes them to die off. Also peat has no place in good olive soil, after all, this component increases the acidity of the soil.

also read

  • Olives need sun - in every season
  • Olive harvest - traditional and modern
  • Most olives are not self-fertilizing

Mixture for olive soil

So that your olive tree feels comfortable, it is best to mix the potting soil as follows:

  • As the bottom layer, pack pebbles or tapped pottery shards in the pot. These provide the necessary drainage.
  • Now mix a third of coarse sand and two thirds of commercially available potting soil.
  • Now plant the olive tree in there.

Special citrus earth can also be used

The olive tree does not mind a high proportion of lime in the substrate because it is used to this from its native soil. As an alternative to the mixture described, you can also use special citrus earth, as citrus fruits have similar soil requirements as olives. A good drainage is absolutely necessary, because moisture and especially waterlogging are not tolerated by olives. Your sapling will respond to too much moisture by shedding leaves.

Tips & Tricks

Plant your olive tree at the latest when the roots are already peeking out of the planting hole - in this case the pot is too small. At best, repotting takes place in spring after the winter break in growth.