Hey all.. First off, totally new to gardening, so I'll be asking some REALLY dumb questions, so ''dummy ahead'' warning in advance.. .. I'd like to know how we can plant an olive seed.. I mean, is there any special requirement for it, like in cherry seeds where they need a 3-4 month period of cold before planting out of season?... The seeds are from store bought green olives... Is it necessary to plant them immediately or will it be ok if they are a few months old, should the seed coat be removed prior to planting stuff like that... Any prod in the right direction is appreciated..
Olive trees really are neat looking plants, aren't they?
The pit of an olive in a jar of brined olives can't be grown. Olives that you eat have been pickled and brined, and will not sprout.
Growing an olive from fresh olives is usually a frustrating experience as very few germinate.Growing olives from seeds is promoted by assisting nature to break the hard shell. You can do this by pinching carefully with ordinary wire pliers until the shell cracks without injury to the kernel, or the shell may be cut into with a file, making a very small aperture to admit moisture.
Olive seeds in their natural condition germinate slowly and irregularly. They must be kept moist and planted about an inch deep in sandy loam.
Before experimenting with olive pits, crack a few to see if they have good plump kernels. Seedling olives must be grafted, of course, to be sure of getting the variety you want. For this reason growth from cuttings is almost universal.
Heyy, thanks for replying so quick.. .. And yup, they really are cool plants, especially when they spread out overhead when fully grown .. Thing is, I wanted to grow them for bonsai, basically, but I was wondering that won't black olives do? The bitter ones, which aren't pickled I think... cuz I dunno if the nurseries around here have any.. I asked there for cherry seeds too, and they just said since it's out of season, they have neither the plants nor the seed .. That's why I had to resort to trying to plant seeds obtained from store-bought fruit.. And there's a market nearby that sells them fresh, not in jars, so I wondered maybe.. Is there any chance that ANY kind of store-bought olive would germinate?
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Many people don't know this, but green and black olives are the same! The only difference between green olives and black olives is ripeness. Unripe olives are green, whereas fully ripe olives are black. So, it would be even better to plant a black olive seed (again, if the fruit isn’t treated or artificially ripened "black olives").
Olives make great bonsai trees because they are shallow-rooted and exceptionally beautiful plants (at least to me). I guess, if you bought fresh olives you have a chance of growing a plant..They are hard to germinate, but that doesn't mean you should not try! And keep us posted!
Thanks a ton, and I definitely will keep you guys posted... My dad might be going on a business trip to Athens in a few months and I'm hoping he's able to get some from there if these don't work... Thanks again for all the help..
creepycrawley wrote: Thanks a ton, and I definitely will keep you guys posted... My dad might be going on a business trip to Athens in a few months and I'm hoping he's able to get some from there if these don't work... Thanks again for all the help..
I am not certain if it is true that olive pits from a jar will not germinate. Olives, like cherries, contain a stone pit. If that pit is not cracked, there is a chance that the kernel/seed inside is still viable. Warmth causes a kernal or endosperm inside any seed to begin to expand, and water and warmth help the outer seed to soften so it can crack. I believe there is a chance, if the pit has not been compromised, that the inner seed may still be viable (but this is just a theory).
[While just a theory, a few days ago I was eating a salad and of course bit down on a pit, luckily, not hard. The pit was very small (manzanilla olive) smaller than a pea. The outer stone was not damaged (nor my tooth) so I planted it (the pit, not my tooth). If I find another pit in a jar, I will find a nut or use a vice to crack it. I will then try to remember to report back here if anything sprouts. I have built a greenhouse on the side of my house, so I do have warmer temps that should help germination (and to keep the plant alive through winter here in the mountains of n.e. Tennessee). Also, I believe someone commented that green and black olives are the same fruit. That is true to a degree. However, there are many different varieties of olives, and I have never seen a jar of green kalamata olives sold, so they may not be sold in the green form--and though I have seen kalamata olive oil sold, I think I read somewhere that it is not really from kalamata olives, but so called for some other reason. Regardless, I believe it would be more accurate to say that, generally, any singular species of olive can produce green or black olives (or any color in between, brown, purple, yellow); the unripened green olives are of course green and other colors are more ripe. I would also add that I agree that the riper the olive, the greater the change of the pit being viable; and there is a chance that a green olive is not ripe enough for the seed to have developed to viability. Time will tell. Also, like many fruit or even nut trees, seedlings grown from seed may not always produce the same as the parent, and the best bet may be from rooting a softwood or hardwood cutting. Also, I could be wrong, but though mature olive trees can withstand colder temperatures, young trees and seedlings cannot, so I would just guess and say that olive seeds do not need cold treatment in order to germinate.]
I do not believe that olives are heated in processing, because they are soaked in lye and then brined in salt. However, any time that you can safely crack or remove the outer stone pit, it will increase the chance and speed of germination. I did this once with some jujube stone pits. I went through my collection of nuts and bolts and found a nut that was just slightly thinner than the seed itself, but wide enough where the seed could be set inside the nut. I then set the nut with the seed inside it on a cement floor (an anvil or anything solid metal would also work) and gave it a good whack with a hammer. Having just the right nut, a little thinner than the pit, will allow the pit to crack but the seed inside not to be damaged. Another method would be to hold the pit in a pair of vice-grip pliers (or any pliers if you don't have vice-lock) and then slowly grind down the ends of the pit, a little at a time, and stop before the endosperm is damaged. A third option would be to, instead of using pliers to crack it--like another person suggested-- use a stationary vice itself... by that method you will be better able to control exactly how much pressure is put on the pit without crushing the seed inside... slowly tighten the vice with the pit inside, a little at a time--and give it 15 second or so in between tightening, because it will also eventually crack under the pressure without cranking it more, once you find the right poundage, and thus you will have the least chance of tightening too far and damaging the seed.
A few other ideas about olives in general. Often some brands or batches of green olives are too salty. If after you open the jar, you pour out about 1/3 of the brine and refill with water, that extra water will leech out some of the salt and make the olives less salty.
Also, GREEN olive juice is GREAT to use in making any Italian salad dressing (in addition to the vinegar and oil and spices) and even in using as part of the brine to refrigerator pickle your own vegetables (such as cutting up raw red and green cabbage, cucumbers, celery, onion, carrot, garlic, cauliflower, bell peppers, even string beans or sugar snap/snow peas, etc., even water chestnuts, put all the cut vegs in a container, add your favorite italian dressing, green olives and brine, pepperoncini peppers and brine (if you like those), your own spices, black pepper, dill, oregano, rosemary, etc., (you will have to experiment to find the flavor combo you like best, so make a small batch the first time)... put in the fridge and in 3-4 days it will be ready to eat and can be eaten as meal by itself in the summer; though TOO much will make you feel too acidic. But it is an awesome healthy salad and goes well with various meals. (some other vegs can also be added, such as tomatoes and broccoli, but they tend to go mushy far sooner, so if you add those, don't let it pickle much more than a 3 or 4 days, eat those pieces out... while they are still perfectly healthy if they are mushy, they aren't as appealing). If I am going to make 2 gallons, I will use the whole jar of green olives and brine, and the whole jar of pepperoncini and brine... of course, depending on the size, the average size jar... 20 oz or so.
Also, while BLACK olives can also be added to that mix, BLACK olive brine should not be consumed at all... it contains a toxic chemical (oxalic acid, if I remember correctly, the same chemical in rhubarb leaves and potato leaves that makes them toxic).
thanks, that is good to know... but at what temp and for how long? Those would be determining factors.
My body also is a Temple, and was in disrepair beyond hope, but thankfully it was repossessed by the builder and is under extensive professional renovation.
.. I'd like to know how we can plant an olive seed.. I mean, is there any special requirement for it, like in cherry seeds where they need a 3-4 month period of cold before planting out of season?... The seeds are from store bought green olives... Is it necessary to plant them immediately or will it be ok if they are a few months old, should the seed coat be removed prior to planting stuff like that... Any prod in the right direction is appreciated.. 
.. And yup, they really are cool plants, especially when they spread out overhead when fully grown 
.. That's why I had to resort to trying to plant seeds obtained from store-bought fruit.. And there's a market nearby that sells them fresh, not in jars, so I wondered maybe.. Is there any chance that ANY kind of store-bought olive would germinate?
