Gardening Question from Ben:

I had a question regarding the lack of my 2 Olive trees not being able to produce any olives. Can you let me know what might be the issue?

Someone told me that I had to cross-pollinate by planting an olive tree already have olives, is this true?

We are located by 410 and IH 10 Interchange in San Antonio, Texas 78213.

1. The age about 10 years
2. One is Barouni Tunisia
3. The other two we bought them from rainbow Gardens ten years and they were two years old (probably Californian Olives)

Thank you for any guidance.

Answer from Pat:

My first thought was that you accidentally purchased fruitless varieties but for this to happen twice seems strange. Flower buds on olive trees are formed on previous year’s growth. Is the growth from the previous season being damaged by frost or cut off? Is something damaging the buds or the flowers? Olives can be pruned without harm but it will reduce fruit. Also you probably know they often alternate good and bad years for fruit, one year a huge crop, the next less. Olive trees take temperatures down to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. They love hot summers and San Antonio, Texas should be a place where they would grow so this is a bit of a mystery. Don’t overfertilize. Perhaps they are growing in a lawn and getting a lot of irrigation and nitrogen. This can create growth with little or no fruit. Make them feel stressed, they are more likely to set fruit.