Description
(Olea europaea ‘Coratina’)
The Coratina is an Italian olive variety that grows relatively quickly and has a nice, naturally dense and upright growth habit. As with most trees, regular pruning will encourage an even thicker canopy to form. The dark green foliage is accompanied by small, white flowers in the spring before the tree produces fruit.
It’s a fairly adaptable variety, able to handle a variety of soil types, but they do prefer a hot and dry climate, so full sun and good drainage is a must.
Coratinas are much loved for their versatility, often considered one of the nicest dual-purpose olives available, used as both a table olive and for oil production.
While the fruit is a little on the smaller side, they have a very small pit, so there’s often a surprising amount of flesh to them.
The fruit starts green and will ripen to a purple-black the longer its left on the tree. They will fruit on their own, but having other olive tree varieties nearby can help encourage earlier fruiting and larger crops as well.
Olive trees are very much at home planted in the ground, but they can also live quite happily in a large pot, though they will require a bit more maintenance over time.
