Oregon Olive Trees™

Oregon Olives 

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Oregon Olives

Oregon Olive Oil

Oregon Olive Trees

Trees for Sale

Introduction

Planting

Growing

Cultivars

Kalamata (origin - Greece)

 

Uses: Kalamata is considered by many to be the finest table olive in the world.  They are also supposed to make an excellent extra virgin olive oil; however economics are such that the value is greater when they are processed as table olives. 

 

Productivity: somewhat light bearing, especially when compared to precocious cultivars such as Leccino, but relatively constant bearing.  A small harvest is possible the year after planting, commercial crops in 6 - 8 years.  Considered a self pollinating tree; yield should increase with cross pollination, for which Pendolino can be used.

 

Fruit: medium in size amongst all the olives we grow, freestone with a high flesh to pit ratio of around 8:1, with excellent characteristics for table olive processing.  Culls and rejects processed for extra virgin olive oil will be a valuable addition to most any olive oil blend.  May also have problems getting as ripe as is traditional in Greece - we will probably be picking at the half-ripe 50% colored up phase.

 

Tolerances: a little bit more sensitive to cold as compared to our best adapted half dozen cultivars, but also sensitive to extreme heat (which is probably why it is not commonly grown in California).  Of a medium vigor, it is also said to be tolerant to olive fruit fly and verticillium wilt, if Oregonians ever start having those problems.

 

Comments: I think Kalamata is the olive tree with the most ambiance and feel; it has that essential olive-ness the all those European painters were trying so hard to capture.  This make it an excellent specimen or focus tree in the landscape, particularly suited if you live in an urban "hot-spot" or have a particularly warm microclimate (e.g. next to the southern wall of your winery, sandwiched between the asphalt visitors parking lot and your tasting room).  May be a bit too cold sensitive in our area for mass field plantings.

 

In the USA, Kalamata is always grafted as it is very difficult to root.  Usually Frantoio or Leccino is used as the rootstock, so if the top grafted Kalamata is killed, a valuable tree will still grow in it's place; or of course the re-growth can be grafted to whatever you choose (say, Kalamata!).  Care is like any other grafted fruit tree - suckers should be removed so they don't take over from the Kalamata wood.

 

Cleft grafted Kalamata tree:

The five olive trees in the foreground are Kalamata planted just prior to the worst storms we have had (in December 2008).  They were definitely set back by those storms and the following winters cold, but all are looking good today.  Kathy’s Grove; 10/20/10:

Green Kalamata olives.  Kathy’s Grove; 10/20/10

Green Kalamata olives, not much change in the following month when they all had to be harvested just ahead of an incoming early blizzard; 11/23/10: