Wintering the olive tree in a pot: winter protection for the bucket

Hardly any other plant brings so much Mediterranean flair to German regions as this one Olive tree. While it thrives outdoors in the Mediterranean region, it has hardly been found year-round in the garden or on the balcony in Central Europe. This is not least due to the fact that the real olive tree does not easily survive the local winter. It is not difficult to let the olive trees in the pot overwinter outside even in the icy season. The plant expert explains what is required for this.

Olive trees in the first years of life

The olive trees grow very slowly. If they are planted in a pot or bucket, they can usually easily be brought into winter quarters from outside in the first few years of their life. With increasing size, the circumference of the pot / tub increases and the weight increases accordingly. At some point it is too heavy to be transported safely from A to B.

For overwintering, this means that younger, smaller olive trees in pots can easily overwinter in frost-free locations. No special precautions need to be taken in this case. Larger specimens on terraces and balconies can then no longer be relocated and should be provided with winter protection so that they do not freeze to death.

tip: If you place a special coaster with castors under the pot from the start, heavy specimens can be moved into suitable winter quarters much more easily.

Overwinter in winter quarters

The best winter protection is moving to winter quarters. A heated apartment is not suitable for this, because in winter the real olive tree in the pot with the botanical name "Olea europaea" has to be cool, but frost-free. With the temperatures in an apartment, he could not keep his hibernation and gather strength for the next growing season.
If you adhere to the following points, the olive tree will get through the winter unscathed:

• Optimal temperatures around 10 ° C
• Bright location without direct sunlight
• Ideal locations in unheated winter gardens, hallways, greenhouses or in garden houses by the window
• Warm rooms or the dark cellar are not suitable as winter quarters
• Only bring in olive trees shortly before a prolonged frost
• Only move young olive trees to winter quarters before the onset of frost
• Ventilate winter quarters regularly
• Slowly reduce the watering amount to a minimum (otherwise the leaves will fall off)
• Water only occasionally during the winter season (there is little water required in cool temperatures)
• If the leaves fall off, make the olive tree lighter and / or slightly increase the amount of water again (chances of survival decrease)
• Do not fertilize in winter
• Get used to the outdoors slowly in March - but there must be no frost (avoid direct sunlight)
• When the outside temperature is around freezing point, it can stay outside on the balcony or terrace

Hibernate the olive tree outside in the bucket

If no suitable winter quarters can be found or if the effort is too much for you, the Olea europaea can also spend the winter outdoors under certain conditions. The basic requirement is that the average temperatures do not fall too low and that protection from the cold is provided.

Hardiness zone classification of the cold

The regions are divided into so-called winter hardiness zones using permanent statistics. These predict roughly where and which temperatures can be expected in winter. The division includes a total of eleven zone areas and extends from Z1 to Z11. For wintering outdoors, whether in a bucket or in the garden soil, your region should have a winter hardiness zone of at least Z8. That means: maximum average minus temperatures of around 12 ° C. Inquire in good time before the onset of winter which zone you are in if you cannot make a realistic assessment yourself based on the experiences of the past few years.

Winter protection for container plants

Proper protection against the cold in combination with a suitable location ensures that the olive tree does not freeze to death and continues to grow healthily in the next spring. Winter protection is important because plants cultivated in pots, in particular, are otherwise exposed to significantly more cold than specimens planted in the garden bed. The cold reaches the roots much more intensely through a bucket than through thick layers of earth, which usually only freeze on the surface. If the roots freeze to death or suffer extensive damage, the olive plant usually does not survive the winter season.

Measures for wintering outdoors

When the real olive tree is overwintered, the following measures should be taken for ideal protection from the cold:

• Start of winter protection at the latest when permanent frost is expected
• Since frost kills many pests, always wait for the first frosts before taking precautions to protect against the cold
• Place the bucket on an insulating surface - for example, styrofoam, wood and thick cardboard
• Choose a location protected from the wind, for example under a roof or on heat-emitting walls
• Cover the pot with air-permeable jute or plastic wrap (holes in the plastic wrap allow condensation to run off)
• Cover the substrate with a thick layer of straw, pine needles, sticks or leaves
• Surround the Olea europaea with brushwood, coconut or straw mats from the lowest trunk area to the crown
• Sufficient light must still be able to shine on the plant from above
• A location with a low roof is therefore not suitable (for example a garbage can shelter)
• In very dry winters you should water occasionally (only on frost-free days)
• Do not fertilize
• Cold protection can be removed when the outside temperature no longer falls permanently below -7 ° C

tip: With an electrical root heating from the specialist trade, even colder minus temperatures can be withstood. For the green area, a wrapped chain of lights helps on particularly cold days, which give off heat when switched on.

In addition, the following should be noted:

• It is better to water the olive tree less than too much - otherwise root rot threatens to destroy the plant
• Allow the substrate to dry slightly before the upcoming frost - then it will freeze less
• Fertilize your olive tree with a patent potash by mid-September at the latest - this strengthens the plant for the cold season