Olive Tree In Texas
The sweet fruit of cordia boissieri commonly called texas or mexican olive is a valuable food source for birds and wildlife but considered slightly toxic to humans if eaten fresh.
Olive tree in texas. They may wish to grow olives in containers for portability since they will need to provide cold protection during winter frost periods. In contrast texas sometimes has severe winter. The best area in texas to attempt commercial olive production is in the southwest region north of laredo and southwest of san antonio known as the winter garden. The olive is an exotic fruit crop in texas.
The undersides of the leaves are covered in fuzz with deep yellowish white veins. However the indigenous people of the rio grande river valley in southern texas and mexico have traditionally made cooked jellies and dyes from the fruit and use the wood for firewood and carpentry. Fruiting of the olive tree which occurs in the winter depends completely on temperature more precisely what agriculturalists call vernalization. Olives are native to the mediterranean basin which usually has mild rainy winters and hot dry summers.
In contrast texas sometimes has severe winter freezes that can kill olives to the ground. Growing olive trees in texas. Texas olive is an evergreen to semi deciduous tree reaching fifteen to twenty feet tall and about twenty five feet wide. It is named after botanist pierre edmond boissier.
Olive tree is an owner of value add multifamily real estate in dynamically growing urban markets throughout the united states. Unless you live in isolated pockets of east central and south texas you will need to grow your olive tree as an ornamental and here s why. However texas gardeners can try to grow olive trees in their yards. Common names include anacahuita mexican olive white cordia and texas wild olive.
Olives are native to the mediterranean basin which usually has mild rainy winters and hot dry summers. Cordia boissieri is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the borage family boraginaceae. When i bought the property in 1998 it was unimproved pasture land graced by ancient oaks. It has multiple trunks with a dark gray bark and deep green oval leaves that are large and leathery in texture.
Olive tree s highly disciplined approach focuses on uncovering undervalued investments typically due to poor management deferred maintenance market mispricing or a combination of each. In a severe frost texas olives may loose their leaves. Its native range extends from southern texas in the united states south to central mexico. Past severe winters such as the freeze of 1983 caused many of the texas olives to freeze and die here in san antonio.
About the orchard a short distance from downtown san antonio is one of the first commercial olive orchards in texas sandy oaks olive orchard owned and operated by me saundra c.