The Journey of the Olive — The Bloom

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Spring bloom has arrived at Bel Lavoro.  The trees are covered in tiny cream-colored and lightly scented flowers.  Even though olive flowers do not produce much nectar, they are rich in pollen and therefore an exceptionally good food source for bees.  These tiny flowers mean one thing to us — Pollination! 

Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the flower enabling fertilization and reproduction — the making of an olive.  Some varieties of olive trees are self-pollinating, meaning that you can get fruit by having just one tree. However, there are some varieties of olive trees that are not. Those varieties need another tree or sometimes more than one tree for pollination, not of the same variety. The olive tree pollen is transferred from one tree to the other primarily by wind.

We planted three varieties of olive trees at Bel Lavoro; the Manzanilla, the Arbequina and the Chemlali.  Research recommends that grower’s plant at least three olive varieties in close proximity in their orchards to promote some cross-pollination.  This cross-pollination may increase the size of the olive crop by at least 10%.

The bloom brings hope, excitement and bees into the orchard.  Here at Bel Lavoro, we are inspecting irrigation, planting cover crops and looking forward to the harvest of 2020.