I planted this Arbequina Olive tree this spring here in Richland, WA and it had a great seasonlots of new growth. We love this tree and really want it to do well. We are not looking for huge fruit production, simply we love the look of the olive tree and enjoy it in our backyard. I wanted to make sure I am taking care of it properly. Ive attached a few photos. You can see all the new growth on this tree My questions are: 1) Should I prune this tree? When/how? Should I do thinning cuts, or cut back the growth from this past season? 2) The white thingthis is a solar blanket sold to me by our local nursery. The Arbequina is cold hardy to zone 7, and we are a 6B/7A so its on the edge. Ive wrapped the trunk and the roots with this blanket (mulch covering it). It does allow water to pass. Has anyone heard of this? The last thing I want to do is encourage rot with this blanket, but I do want to protect the tree. 3) When should it bloom/fruit? Do I need to do anything to help it along? 4) Fertilizer/Compostany suggestions? As a reminder - We are zone 7 (although, probably closer to a high 6). My soil is like beach sand when I dig. At the recommendation of the local nursery, I added soil amendments to try to help the tree (cutting out grass around the base) and mixing native soil with compost. Thank you in advance for the help.
The local nursery was wrong, do not amend planting hole back-fill when doing any additional planting from now on. If anyone told you an olive tree would survive the winters there, they were also wrong about that. There is a reason why olive trees are a feature of the landscape in California but not north of there. The wrapping of the trunk will not protect the rest of the top from burning up as soon as it gets too cold for it. Dig the tree up and plant it in a tub filled with potting soil, and place it in an intermediate area where it will not freeze up hard at anytime during the winter. If all you have is a dark place like a garage, then you will have to lug the tree in and out with changes in the weather - all winter, every winter. 9 degrees F. is forecast for Richland this coming Monday, with a couple nights of 18 degrees F. before that. If you want to keep your tree in good shape, get it inside as soon as possible. Definitely do not leave it out through 9 degrees F.
