Journal October 24, 2014 - Ascolano olive cutting

Today the first cloned olive cutting was removed from the protective dome to begin its adjustment to normal growing conditions.  On sunny days the plant will join its parent plant in the greenhouse, however, for the first year I will treat it as I would a tropical houseplant.


When the plant was removed from under the red/blue LED grow light I noticed that the upper leaves had lost their bright green coloring and are starting to fade to yellow.  That may be due being too moist, or lack of nutrients, possibly iron.  As soon as the soil begins to dry I will start the plant on a normal feeding and watering schedule, which should correct the discoloration problem.

As this is my first successful conventional cutting, I named the plant Il Primo, which is Italian for the first.

The variety is: Ascolano (Ah-sko-lah-noh) This large light green olive is native to the Marche region of Italy. The Ascolano is famous for its huge size, soft texture and delicate taste. Often served as an hors d’oeuvre, the Ascolano can also be the perfect complement to pastas and salads.

Another unusual variety should, hopefully, be joining my arborium very soon.  The photo above shows a Donkey olive seed just breaking dormancy in vitro.  I seriously doubt that I could have gotten this seed to germinate using conventional methods.

The Halkidiki olive, also known as Chalkidiki, is grown exclusively in Greece in a region that is adjacent to Mount Athos. They are also known as “donkey olives” because of their large size and make excellent table olives.