The olive tree can also be reproduced from the woody growths that form on its trunk, when it is old.
This kind of reproduction carries the mutilation of the trunk of the old olive tree. Cuttings can be provided from the ordinary process of pruning of the olive trees.
A dry soil has to be provided when the trees are in the nursery to establish sturdier roots. A weaker olive tree raised in dry land, will always develop with more vigor than a stronger tree coming from irrigated soil.
The young plants in the nursery should be protected from drought, only by hoeing, during the summer. When taking the plants from the nurseries, they will adjust themselves to the hot soils where they will be planted, than if they had irrigation during their growing period.
This practice is recommended for the south Europe, where spring showers and summer storms are frequent and bring to these young plants, the necessary elements for life, leading to the production of an excellent olive oil.
The olive tree doesn’t need much water, so we have to be careful with the watering given to the young plants raised in nurseries and hoeing should be performed, because it is necessary for their growth.
The best season for transplanting to permanent sites, those small one year old cuttings, depends on the selected location. If the location is dry and light, it should be done in the fall and if it is heavy and damp, it should be done in the spring.
In dry soils it is best to transplant the young rooted cuttings in the fall, while in the wet lands it is preferable to do this in the spring.
For soils that retain water and the humidity is permanent, the roots rot and the plant dies. In dry and light soil, when the planting is done in the fall, the water received during the winter, it is absorbed down to the lower layers of the soil.
Olive trees growing from cuttings, will produce olives and olive oil four years later. Trees bearing no olives, at an advanced age, must have been produced from cuttings taken from trees raised from the seed and were never grafted. The fact of the early olive fruit bearing, is a result of the propagation by cuttings and the exceptional climate and virgin soils.
When the olive tree raised from the seed, remains in the nursery for many years to develop sufficient strength to receive a successful grafting and when transplanting it, the tap-root and part of the top has to be taken off, the roots will suffer from the exposure to the air and will end up in a long and severe injury of its whole system, with results of delaying considerably the production of olives and olive oil.