The olive tree lifespan puts most other fruit trees to shame. A well-cared-for olive will live 300 to 500 years under normal conditions. Some trees keep growing and making fruit for well over a thousand years. No apple or peach tree comes close to these numbers.
How long do olive trees live in ideal conditions? The answer can stretch into the thousands. I walked through groves in Greece where the trees were older than any building in my home town. Standing next to a 1,500-year-old olive that still made fruit changed how I see my own garden trees.
Olives survive so long because they can regrow from their root system. Fire, frost, or disease might kill the trunk above ground. The roots just send up new shoots and start over. Single root systems can persist for ages this way. The tree above ground may change form many times.
The oldest olive trees in the world grow around the Mediterranean Sea. Scientists have verified trees over 2,000 years old in places like Crete and Portugal. Some claims push past 3,000 years though these ages are harder to prove. The center wood rots away on ancient trees so ring counting doesn't work.
A famous olive tree in Lebanon may be over 5,000 years old based on local records. The Sisters of Noah date back to biblical times. I visited these trees and felt the weight of all those centuries. No other fruit tree on Earth lives this long or keeps making food for so many generations.
Your backyard olive will most likely outlive you and your children too. The tree you plant today could still make olives for your great-great-grandchildren. Olive growing becomes a legacy project this way. You plant for people you will never meet.
Care for your olive with the long view in mind. Pick a permanent spot since the tree will be there for centuries. Give it good soil and drainage from the start. Water it well in the first few years to help roots grow deep. The effort you put in now pays off for gardeners who come after you.
Think of your olive as a gift to the future when you plant one. Your tree will watch over your property long after the house gets rebuilt. Few other plants let you leave such a lasting mark on the land. An olive tree is the closest thing to forever that most gardeners can plant.
Read the full article: Growing Olives: Step-by-Step Plan for Home Gardeners
