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Olea europaea 'Montra' (Little Olive) - This is a bushy multi-stemmed, sterile dwarf olive with dark gray-green leaves that generally grows to a maximum height of 6-8 feet tall and about as wide but can be kept much smaller.
Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil and irrigate only occasionally to infrequently. It is heat and drought tolerant once established and tolerant to temperatures down to around 15 degrees F without damage - older plants are more cold tolerant with only some tip die back. This very popular compact non-fruiting variety makes an excellent low hedge, foundaton plant and it can be sheared to a rounded shape.
Olea europaea 'Montra' was discovered at Dick Zylstra's West Covina Nursery and was patented by Monrovia Nursery using a culivar name that combined the "Mon" of Monrovia and the "tra" of Zylstra to get the cultivar name 'Montra'. It received US Plant Patent PP6,266 issued in August 1988 that expired in 2006. Monrovia continues to market this plant under a trademarked name they own that is similar to the plants generally used common name Little Olive. For more information about Olea europaea see our listing for Olea europaea Manzanillo'.
This information about Olea europaea 'Montra' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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