Description
(Olea europaea ‘Manzanillo’)
The Manzanillo is a popular Spanish olive tree that’s praised for its large, high-quality fruit. The tree itself is a decent grower with a bit of a tall, lanky habit, unless its regularly trimmed. Major pruning before spring as well as regular tip pruning the growing season will help the canopy thicken up very nicely so they’re able to provide good screening and a bit of shade, too.
As with many olives, the Manzanillo really thrives in Mediterranean-like climates, but it can be quite adaptable to different soil types and it tolerates drought pretty well, too.
While they can, and sometimes are, used for oil production, the Manzanillo makes very good table olive thanks to its excellent texture and taste. The fruit has a good flesh to pit ratio and can be pickled when its green or black, though it’s usually recommended to pickle them before they’re fully ripe in order to retain some firmness. Fruiting can happen when the trees are relatively young, though the crop yields will be much higher when the tree reaches a bit of maturity, usually between 8 – 10 years.
Many olives can produce on their own, but will fruit earlier and more reliably if grown with another olive variety. Manzanillo can struggle to fruit on its own, so giving it a partner tree of a different variety is recommended.
Pollination options include Frantoio, and Picual.
