Hello there, I was wondering if Fig and Olive Trees are hardy in Vancouver (can they survive winters) and what kind of cultivars would be best suited to this climate. Thanks for any info that anyone can give me.
You may want to read this article on Figs in Canada. http://www.canadiangardening.com/finessing_fig.shtml Growing Olives in Canada will take me some thought as most of the Olives brought into Canada for processing are coming in from somewhere else. Olives do better in dry, warm climates. An Olive Oil that the misses and I learned of recently that warrants further attention is represented by the other link below. We bought some of it at a local Farmers Market and were quite impressed. http://www.pasolivo.com Jim
A fig should live for quite awhile if you are fairly near salt water, esp. in a neighborhood with a southerley aspect and good air drainage. Choosing a cultivar that bears well in cool climates and planting it against a south-facing (sunny) wall should give annual crops. The olive will grow in a similar spot, but may never produce much of a crop, freeze out in a hard winter. People grow olive trees in Seattle and Portland, but I have never seen a big one, even here (Seattle area), the mildest of the 3 metropolitan areas (Van.-Sea.-Port.). I don't remember if Dr Straley included the fig tree in his Vancouver tree guidebook, if he did then perhaps you can use it to locate and view examples. There may also be fig tree(s) in the fruit garden at UBC Botanical Garden, as well as at VanDusen.
Hardy figs in Vancouver My next door neighbour in Dunbar (a suburb of Vancouver) grows figs. Lovely green ones with a red inside. He doesn't know its name. My advice is to drive around the neighbourhood and look for fig trees. If you see a nice one, knock on the door and ask if you can have a cutting.
Figs, certainly...if you look around the Italian residential areas near Commerical Drive you'll see quite a few mature trees. Some in season will be loaded with fruit, a sight the neighbourhood birds clearly enjoy. Olives, I haven't see, although if I find one I'll plant it to try. I saw recently in Tokyo they'd been planted in several new rooftop gardens. Although Tokyo summers are hotter than Vancouver's, the winters are comparable for cold so hardiness may not be a problem. One of the rooftop gardeners claimed to harvest several bags full each year.
Figs and olives Fig trees grow very well here, the most popular variety is the brown turkey fig which you can pick up at any gaden center. They grow very fast, and with proper watering in the summer and good drainage you can have a large tree in five years. I came into contact with a man growing olive trees on one of the gulph islands (I think Galiano) and he was having great success with Frantoio olives. He had built an orchard of about 100 trees but he was in a very favourable climate next to the ocean. I acquired an Arbosanna olive tree this summer but I had to search for months, I've put it in a 60 gallon pot for now. I don't think it will last if I put it in the ground as the climate in Coquitlam gets much colder and wetter than on the Islands. I am gonig to keep my tree under my balcony for the winter to keep it out of the harsh weather. If you want to import Frantoio olives you can order them online from ediblelandscaping.com, good luck!
I grow sicilian fig trees quite successfully here near Buffalo, NY. I overwinter them in the garage so they get a dormant period...since both of mine are still babies from cuttings I don't expect large harvests yet...they are only a little more than a year old, but both have produced nice sweet figs already...I was told at the nursery that it takes 2-3 years for the tree to mature...when I lived in an Italian neighborhood last year, one neighbor kept his outdoors all year round!
I'm on Salt Spring Island, we have loads of fig trees here lots of variety, turkish, mission... I have a Russian Olive (Don't know the other name) at the school I work at, they seem fine, I don't know about the olives for eating though. Carol Ja
Russian olive is Elaeagnus angustifolia , not a true olive. It does make edible fruit, but they have a large seed with little fruit. Other species in the genus have better fruit. The olives we eat come from Olea europea.
Figs-easy. You may want a variety like Desert King which produces primarily a summer crop. The winter crop ( most figs produce two crops) will likely not bear as much. Olives- The olea europea that is most popular here (portland) is the Arbequina, from Spain. It seems quite hardy (we're colder than you) and I planted one this year and I have two olives on my tree as we speak> they grow slowly and need good drainage and max sun. Jim Gilbert from OneGreen World said that they have had them for several years and they don't have problems in the winter so far. Mission is another olive around here. They are kind of new. I think people thought only of Greek olives earlier, which would all die. John
Thanks Eric, Good thing to know about that Russian olive, I've never been inclined to pay much attention to it as I don't eat many olives. Cheers Carol Ja
I have two fig trees and an olive tree in Burnaby. I have had a green fig tree for 4 years and it produced about 10 figs this summer. My other Tree is a Red (almost black) fig tree and I planted it last Fall and this year It had two figs only. The Olive tree I just planted 2 months ago and it looks great. I will try to cover it somehow this first winter to protect it so it becomes bigger and tougher to face next winter without any protection. I also have a Persimmon tree, a cherry tree with 4 types of Cherries Grafted, and a Walnut tree. I am now working on a Chestnut and an Almond trees...Wish me luck...This has been a passion of mine for a very long time.
Hey! I was just researching the same thing and came across this link: http://olivetrees.ca/ They grow and sell olive plants in BC, and would definitely be worth contacting. Not a bad idea to purchase the plant from a small-scale local producer :) Good luck! Erica
What's temperature did you reach? I think you should check the hardiest cultivars....here in Italy we have "Leccino" and "Leccio del Corno" that are suitable for frost-zone.
Also note that the Russian Olive is on the BC Council of Invasive Plants list: See: https://bcinvasives.ca/documents/GMI-Snapshot-Legal_April2013.pdf
Also note that the Russian Olive is on the BC Council of Invasive Plants list: How has your Arbequina olive tree faired since your post here over 14 yrs ago? How would you rate it for its ornamental value? Robust qualitis? Drought tolerance? Have you pruned it much? Aprox how tall and wide is it now? Any information you have gleaned through your personal experience would be invaluable to me! Thank you :-)
Anyone in coastal zone 7b to 8a have a: Olea europaea ‘Eddy’s Winter Wonder’? How old is it now? How high & wide? What ornamental qualities does it have ? How are it’s fruit, ie: flesh to pit ratio, harvest time, production?
Arbequina does fine here in full sun and good drainage. However, I emailed a guy who grows olives primarily in NW ORegon and he said that Frantoio is a better choice. It likes our weather better and grows to be a bigger tree, but I haven't found Frantoio at a reasonable price. I am growing them so I can make olive leaf extract, as I keep reading how amazingly healthy it is. The olives are kind of a pain and I can buy them cheaply.
How old is your Arbequina? How tall & wide has it grown to? Do you prune it much? If you are able to post an image, that would be great!
Last I checked, my arbequina was alive and well after, say, 14 years. 7 foot tall, 3 foot wide. We moved from that house, so I can't be sure. No pruning whatsoever. No image. I don't live there.
Not very well so far. The first three Olive trees did not survive the winters in Burnaby but the one from last year did survive in a pot inside the house. However, I am planning to leave it inside this winter and I will have it in my back yard next spring. The Green fig tree is producing enough for myself, my neighbors and my friends :) . The Persimmon tree is producing over 200 Persimmons a year. The Walnut tree is now huge although I prune it every year, it started producing two years ago but the Squirrels are stealing all the walnuts. The Cherry tree is not doing well at all and I am thinking about replacing it with a new one. It looks healthy and it has beautiful flowers but no Cherries. This year, I am planning on starting four types of trees from seeds, a black plum tree, a Chinese Chestnut tree, a Peach tree and a Pistachio tree.
I don't know about the other two, but the plum and peach do not come true from seeds. If you just want to see what you get, then no problem, but if you are expecting a particular variety of plum or peach, starting from seed is not the way to go. Also, check on the pollination requirements for what you get. How beautiful are the flowers? Might it be an ornamental cherry? Also, only a few cherry varieties can self-pollinate. You'd think for cherries in Burnaby, there would be plenty of other appropriate pollinators nearby, though.
Yes, I know that growing from seeds is not always successful and trying to plant Pistachio in Burnaby is not ideal but I would love to try all kinds of trees. I started my Walnut tree from a walnut and it turned out very beautiful and fruitful. As for the Cherry tree, I bought it with five types of Cherries Grafted and I got one Cherry last year and Two Cherries the year before, so it is not ornamental and Pollination should not be a problem since I have a neighbor who has bees and a very successful Cherry tree.. It could be bad soil or Aphids but the leaves look very healthy. I will give this tree one more year and replace it if it doesn't give me any Cherries. Thanks for your feedback.
Thank you for the update! Wishing you good results with your other experiments - I’d love to know how it all turns out. Cheers!
