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Olea europaea 'Manzanillo' (Olive) - An evergreen (ever gray) tree growing to 30 feet tall by 25 feet wide with gray bark and leathery gray narrow leaves. As with other olives it produces small pollen-rich white flowers in spring and fruit develops through summer into fall. The fruit on this variety is of medium size (about 1 inch long) and is prized for making good quality black olives and with enough oil for pressing oil.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil. It is heat and drought tolerant once established and tolerant to temperatures down to around 15 degrees F without damage - older trees more cold tolerant with some tip die back.
Olea europaea 'Manzanillo' is the most commonly planted commercial variety with a lower, more spreading growth habit than many other olive cultivars and it is one of the most often used varieties in commercial growing. It has smaller fruit than another commonly planted variety 'Sevillano', but with higher oil content. Olive pollen has been identified as a cause for "hay fever" and seasonal allergies to susceptible individuals so care sound be taken to not to situate plants too close to dwellings of those with a pollen allergy. The Manzanillo variety was imported from Spain in the late 1800s and replaced the then popular 'Mission' variety as it had larger fruit and was less susceptible to spring frosts and disease.
The origins of the olive tree are obscured since it is the oldest known cultivated tree in history, dating back more than 5,000 years. It is often cited as originally native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iraq, and northern Iran at the south of the Caspian Sea but there is some thought that it was derived from another plant Oleaster olea that still grows in North Africa and southern Europe. The name for the genus is derived from the Latin word for this plant 'oliva' which came from the Greek word 'elaía' and the English word "oil" is from this name for the tree and its fruit. The specific epithet refers to the area of its origin. We also grow the near fruitless variety Olea europaea 'Wilson Fruitless' and the dense growing dwarf variety Olea europaea 'Montra'.
Information displayed on this page about Olea europaea 'Manzanillo' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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