Doctors say that olives are able to resist cancer cells, cleanse the body of cholesterol and increase the level of intelligence. In a canned, salted and stuffed form, they are present at each festive table. But, unfortunately, to be content with a healing and nutritious delicacy, many people can only attend a celebration. Experienced gardeners told us how to grow an olive tree at home and introduce delicacy into your daily diet. We will tell about this later in the article.
Meet the southerner
Even primitive people knew about the unique characteristics of olives. Homeland culture Olea europaea considered southeastern regions of the Mediterranean. Today, these evergreen trees with razragoy rounded crown are found in Mexico, Peru, Italy, Greece, Spain, Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Georgia, Crimea, and in the northern part of India. 
Due to the fact that the subtropical tree is not adapted to the harsh cold of the temperate climate zone, no one has yet managed to grow it on the street in our country. But in room conditions, many harvested good harvests. As it turned out, olive tree in a pot develops no worse than in the garden.
Did you know? Globally, the largest producers of European olives are Spain (4,556 thousand tons per year), Italy (3,150 thousand tons) and Greece (2,300 thousand tons). At the same time, 90 percent of the total crop is spent on processing into olive oil. Even without preservatives, this product can be stored for a long time.
On the globe there is no corner where you could find wild thickets of olives. Since ancient times, the plant has been introduced into culture and is still being widely cultivated for the production of oil. 
Botanists attribute olives to the Olives genus and describe them as evergreen trees or shrubs, from 1 to 12 m in height with a bluish thick and hollow trunk, gray bark, long and nodular branches, leathery leaves of narrow lanceolate shape, fragrant creamy or milky inflorescences oval fruit with a bone.
The family Olive also includes forsythia, ash, jasmine, privet, lilac.
A characteristic feature of olive trees is the gray-green color of the back side of the foliage, and inside it is silvery. And the leaves on the branches gradually renewed over a period of 2-3 years. 
In the subtropics, olives bloom from the second decade of April to the beginning of summer. In each paniculate brush up to 40 buds open. They eventually grow solid green, black or dark purple knuckles with an pointed spout and fleshy flesh. They ripen in 5 months.
Important! Gardeners have noted a sharp decline in yields for those plants that experienced a drought a month and a half before flowering and did not receive nutrients in the substrate. Cross-pollination will help to correct the situation to some extent.
In their natural environment, olives enter fruiting stage once in 2 yearstherefore, when growing indoors, you should not worry if it does not bloom once. Experts say that mature trees have been productive for over 20 years. After this period, they need to be changed to young seedlings. 
Where to buy and how much it costs
Thanks to technological progress today it is very easy, even without leaving your home, to get the most exotic and unique plant from any corner of the planet. But in the case of olive bushes, just look at any garden center or online store. Of course, the first option is much better, because by making a purchase, you can immediately visually assess the condition and potential of the plant. And in the second case, you can get the cat in the bag.
Regardless of your preferences to the place of purchase, choose those organizations that value their reputation and enjoy prestige among buyers. Therefore, having caught fire with the idea to get an olive tree, first of all study the market. 
Gardeners who have already dealt with this southern culture are advised to buy specimens that are over 2 years old. Be prepared that their price is much more expensive than annual seedlings. But it is justified by the sprawling crown and powerful root system. Such a tree is easier to transfer habitat change.
Did you know? In Croatia, all the olive plantings, which amounted to about a million trees, were burned by German soldiers during World War II.
Depending on the variety and age, in Ukraine European olives can be bought for 440-14000 hryvnia. Large plants at the peak of the growing season and fruiting cost about 22,000 hryvnia. In Russia, a small and medium southerner can be purchased for 5700-20000 rubles. But let these numbers do not frighten you - the costs will quickly pay off with invaluable benefits for your body.
Care and conditions for growing in the house
When the plant has already appeared in your home, it's time to take care of its placement. Let us figure out how to appease the subtropical southerner, what conditions she prefers, and what she needs for full development. 
Location and lighting
There is no need to think - the plant loves a lot of sun and heat. Therefore, it is most appropriate to put it in the lightest zone of your home. Small seedlings will comfortably grow on the southern window-sills, but for large-sized plants they will have to find the corner most lit by the sun's rays. Moreover, it is desirable that they illuminate the plant from morning to evening. As an option you can consider balconies and loggias. If we are talking about private homes, a pot of olive can be taken out on the terrace or in the garden.
Did you know? Olive trees can live half a millennium. Today in the world some specimens have been found that are over 600 years old. And they still give a small crop.
Temperature: summer-winter
Gardeners talk about the rapid adaptation of plants for indoor growing. It is noted that the yield of such specimens are not inferior to trees from the natural environment. But to support these indicators, it is important for olives to provide the necessary temperature regime. It is characteristic that in spring, summer and early autumn it is comfortable for them to grow with room temperatureand in winter it should be lowered to 10-12 ° C. 
This is done to maximize exotum budding. Consequently, in November it should be sent to a warmed balcony or a veranda. If there are no suitable premises, you can leave the pot in the same place, but get ready that this factor will be displayed on the number of fruits.
Like olive, strawberry tree, laurel, rosemary, myrtle are afraid of frost, so they are often grown only at home, greenhouses or winter gardens.
Watering
Naturally, thermophilic olives require enough moisture. Therefore, they need to be watered as the top layer of soil in the pot dries. Do not allow it to dry out, and make sure that when watering the water reaches the day of planting capacity.
Experts advise to moisten the roots of the plant 2-3 times a week. And in the hot season will need to irrigate and crown. Pay attention to the condition of the olive. Faded lifeless foliage speaks of insufficient moisture. But do not overdo it, because excess moisture has a bad effect on the development of olives.
In winter, watering is rare, given the state of the earth in the pot.
Important! If the olive winters in a room near the central heating battery, be sure to spray its crown with water.
Air humidity
When analyzing the climatic conditions of the growing range of European olives, it becomes obvious the need for its regular irrigation. Experts advise to do this in the evening or in the morning so that ultraviolet rays do not burn the foliage. In summer, the procedure can be repeated daily. You can also alternate it with watering the soil in a pot or do it at the same time. In the rest of the seasons to humidify the air is not necessary. 
Top dressing
During the peak of the development of the plant will need two dressings for a month. In the spring, when biomass is actively developing, it is recommended to introduce nitrogen-containing substances. These components contribute to early budding. A week later, you can already make complex mineral fertilizers. Some growers are advised to feed the olive tree throughout the spring and summer period.
At home, you can create a whole garden of miniature trees and shrubs. Arbutus, laurel, thuja, cotoneaster, larch, euonymus, Thunberg barberry, Japanese spirea, Persian lilac, Benjamin ficus are suitable for this purpose.
Pruning
The plant tolerates pruning, so many owners tend to turn their exotic into a beautiful green ball. In this case, it is necessary to work with a secateur in the spring, when the culture wakes up after winter hibernation. During the formation of the crown, pay attention to the competing branches and, if possible, remove the one that is weaker. For a good harvest, it is important that all sprouts receive light equally.
Important! If there is no increase in shoots on the olive, then the tree lacks moisture. And the exposure of branches indicates poor lighting.
The height of indoor plants is limited to 80 cm, in the process of shearing trying to remove old unproductive branches, since the maximum number of fruits appears on the growth of the past year. 
Do I need a transplant
If you think about how much an olive tree lives and bears fruit, the question arises about the appropriateness of its transplant. Indeed, as the root system develops, the store container becomes cramped. Therefore, when you notice that the size of the plant and the pot do not match, you will need a new pot. Experienced gardeners advise replanting olives every 2 years. Otherwise, their roots will be cramped, which is displayed on the growing season of the culture.
The process of transplantation is best carried out by perevalivaniya earthy coma. The flower pot should be large a few centimeters in diameter and always made of clay. This material allows the roots to breathe.
Soil for the olive tree is suitable for any. The main thing that he was not sour. Improves productivity liming. Most often advised traditional soil mix for many indoor and garden plants:
- peat;
- leafy and turf soil;
- river sand;
- humus or compost.
Did you know? The fruits of olive trees are 70 percent water and 30 percent - from fat.
All ingredients are mixed in equal parts and add a little mineral fertilizer. At the bottom of the flower container must put clay or chipped broken brick. Alternatively, you can use the universal purchase soil for flowers. 
Also, transplants are needed for the used olives as a reanimation agent. This applies to supersaturated specimens, which began to rot roots. Understanding the problem is not difficult in the external state of the plant - it sheds leaves and looks lifeless. In this case, in addition to the elimination of damaged root processes, their disinfection and transplantation will need to cut the tops of the stems.
Reproduction by cutting
To get a new olive seedling can be done in different ways, but cutting is most popular with gardeners. Harvest planting material in the summer, when the plant is in its prime. To do this, it is enough to cut the upper part of 2-4-year-old sprouts at the level of 20 cm. The thickness of the cutting must be within 3-4 cm.
It is advisable to leave it for several hours in a growth stimulator (Ecosil, Kornevin). Then it can be put into the water before the appearance of the roots, or immediately half-deepen into a wet sandy substrate. The main conditions for successful rooting of the workpiece are traditional factors for many plants:
- good lighting without direct ultraviolet radiation;
- temperature - not lower than 20 ° ะก;
- high humidity.
Important! Olives, grown from seeds, enter the fruiting stage at the 12th year of life, and those that were obtained from cuttings give the first crop for 3-4 years. This nuance must be specified when buying a seedling in a flower shop.
A month later, the stalk will delight young shoots. The "bed" must necessarily be covered with plastic film or glass. It is also important to spray a cutting from a spray bottle daily. After 4 months, it can be transplanted into a new container.
Diseases and pests: prevention and treatment
Olive trees resist well diseases and pests. But in conditions of excess moisture, lack of light and other adverse factors resulting from improper care, are exposed to attacks of pathogenic fungi, bacteria and harmful insects. Among the worst enemies of olives should be distinguished tuberculosis. The disease is manifested by large blisters on the bark of the branches and trunk. To cure the scourge of the plant almost fails. But in cases of small foci of infection, it is desirable to cut tubercular formations and treat them with copper sulfate.
Also from waterlogging on the tree may appear spotting, rust, all sorts of rot. Save the plant from fungal mycelium can be loved fungicide. Well proved: "Maxim", "Fundazol", "Skor".
Important! Sick plants should be limited to watering and placed on sunny areas, providing them with good ventilation.
Among parasitic insects, olive moth, whitefly, and scale insects are dangerous for olives. Insecticides are very effective in the fight against these pests: Aktara, Aktellik, Detsis, and also recommended to use Karbofos and Pyrethrum. It is necessary to use drugs, accurately following recommendations of producers. And do not forget about the measures of their own security.
And in order not to reanimate the healing southerner, fertilize it in a timely manner, monitor the amount of moisture in the room and in the room, do not forget about the flower requirements regarding lighting and maintaining heat.
As you can see, the care of the olive tree is minimal, and the benefits of them are enormous. In addition, the homemade fruit you provided for decades.
