Olive Bloom

Well it's olive bloom season again. The bloom is heavy, and weather has been conducive to good pollination. The temperatures have been warm enough, but rain showers have washed some of the bloom away. This could lead to a natural thinning, which could be positive, because the bloom is so heavy. But it's too early to tell yet.

The sick trees bloomed early. I say "sick" because 4 days of very low temperatures, (in the teens), in December 2009 caused new growth shoots to split and open, allowing olive knot to enter, thereby disrupting the molecular structures of the branches. We'll probably have about 33% loss in production of Manzanilla fruit due to the 2009 freeze. Any varieties that were pruned prior to bloom will bloom directly after the sick tree bloom. Normally Manzanillas bloom first. Any trees that haven't been pruned will bloom last. Bloom will end in the next 7 to 10 days.