Olives From Small Cuttings
Categories:
Fruit Growing
In the rooting of small soft-wood olive cuttings is it necessary to
cover same with glass - say perhaps prepare a cold-frame and put stable
manure in the bottom with about eight inches of sand on top?
It ceases to be a cold-frame when you cover in manure for bottom heat;
it becomes a hotbed. Varieties of olives differ greatly in the readiness
with which they start from small cuttings. Some start freely and grow
well in boxes of sand under partial shade - like a lath house or cover.
Some need bottom heat in such a hotbed as you describe with a cloth
over; some start well in a cold-frame with a lath cover. To get the best
results with all kinds, it is safer to use some more heat than comes
from exposure to ordinary temperatures - either by concentration, as in
a covered frame, or by a mild bottom heat. If you have glass frames or
greenhouse, they are, of course, desirable, but much can be done without
that expense.