Koroneiki Olive Tree

For a full-flavored oil and handsome, fruity olives, choose the Koroneiki Olive Tree. If you garden in zone 8, and you want an outdoor olive tree, choose Koroneiki. This classic Greek variety dates back 3,000 years, so that is quite the recommendation, and it is still widely grown today. This is a self-fertile variety, so you will harvest a good crop from just one tree – many other varieties need cross-pollination, so this one is perfect if you don’t have a lot of space. The fruits are especially handsome, being dark mahogany brown, so for an ornamental potted tree it’s a great choice as well. Outdoors it will grow into a full-sized tree with a near-black trunk and silver-gray leaves, but in a pot it will be smaller, and it can be pruned as much as needed to keep it just the size you want it to be. This variety produces small to medium-sized fruits with a powerful flavor when pickled, and the oil is rich and tangy, ideal for salads and where you want that ‘olive oil’ taste to stand out. Great on a lawn, in a natural garden, shading a terrace, or in a pot, perhaps framing a doorway, and bringing the true Mediterranean look to your summer outdoor space.

• A classic Greek variety, dating back 3,000 years
• Produces a spicy, bold oil with real character, and dark fruits
• Very cold tolerant, and can be grown outdoors all through zone 8
• In colder zones grow as a potted tree, bringing it indoors for winter
• Self-pollinating, and will give a big crop even when grown alone

Plant your Koroneiki Olive Tree in full sun, which it really loves. Grow it in any well-drained soil, including poor, sandy and rocky soils, where it is perfectly happy to be. This tree prefers neutral to alkaline soils, so add garden lime when planting if your soil is acidic. Water a new tree regularly, letting it soak deeply to encourage deep rooting for drought tolerance. Established trees are very drought resistant, but while fruiting some water will give the best fruits. Water a potted tree only when the soil is dry half-way down inside the pot. Deer don’t eat it and pest or disease problems are relatively rare and don’t affect its ornamental value. Prune as needed for size – hard pruning is tolerated well. Fruits develop on stems from the previous year, so prune immediately after harvesting if being grown for fruit.