Content
- Do olives need special heating in winter?
- Hone over olives properly
- How useful are heaters?
- When plant heaters should be used
- What speaks against plant heaters
- Tips & Tricks
Do olives need special heating in winter?
In Internet forums and in some garden counselors it is said again and again that olives could hibernate without protection outdoors. This statement is simply wrong, because olives are Mediterranean plants and tolerate no (prolonged) frost.
Hone over olives properly
Especially older olive trees do not hurt short-term frost, they often know this from their home. Long-lasting and deep frosts, however, result in the tree dying. Olives and young trees kept in pots, in particular, should therefore be protected extensively, provided they are intended to overwinter outdoors. These are best set up in a bright, but not too warm place - for the resting phase are optimal temperatures from just above freezing up to about 10 ° C. But even time-honored solitaires can not survive the winter without proper protection.
How useful are heaters?
Experienced gardeners will advise you to equip outdoor olives in the winter not only with a thermal cover, but also with a heater for the roots and for the trunk. In winter, especially the roots are endangered, because they should freeze through long-lasting ground frost, the whole tree dies. On the other hand, if they are kept, the olive usually drives out again. Special root heaters are therefore quite useful, they protect the most sensitive parts of the olive from the cold. Special plant heaters are available for the roots, the trunk and also for the crown.
When plant heaters should be used
What speaks against plant heaters
But beware: Plant heaters not only have advantages, so they should actually be used only at really low and / or longer lasting freezing temperatures. Olives go into the vegetative phase at temperatures of about five degrees Celsius, which in turn can lead to dehydration in the deepest winter. Therefore, plant heaters should never be set too warm, because this bothers the plant in its winter rest period. In addition, the heat attracts predators such as mice, but also mushrooms and scale insects feel very well on heated plants. In addition, there is the problem with many heaters that they only very one-sided warm and some parts of plants remain unheated. In such a case, warming wraps are the better choice because they provide even heat.
Tips & Tricks
Wrap your olive with a standard outdoor string of lights, then wrap the trunk and crown with a thick fleece material. The roots can be covered with a thick layer of bark mulch (at least 25 centimeters!) And against moisture with a foil.