Olives
Arbequina
Commercially planted in super-high-density orchards, the low-vigor Arbequina olive tree bears fruit earlier than traditional varieties. When planted in a wider spacing, this variety will exhibit a spreading, somewhat weeping canopy and grow to a medium size. Prized for its mild oil, the Arbequina olive is small and yields a very aromatic and fruity flavor that is low in bitterness. The Arbequina olive makes an excellent base oil for blending. The cold-hardy Arbequina tree is fairly disease-resistant and pest-tolerant, especially when planted at a lower density where airflow reduces foliar disease. Arbequina is self-fertile, but produces higher yields when planted with a pollenizer such as Koroneiki or Arbosana.
Coratina
The Coratina olive tree is widely planted in the dry Puglia region of Southern Italy. This late-ripening cultivar loves long, hot growing seasons where it slowly produces excellent, large fruit. In Italy, Coratina is harvested quite ripe (with black tips), resulting in a fruity flavor with floral notes. This variety can be strongly bitter and pungent if harvested green. Although it is used commercially for oil production, the Coratina olive can be picked as a green table olive. Coratina is a good candidate for stone-milled oil and offers a better shelf life than oil from milder varieties. The fairly disease-resistant Coratina cultivar can be susceptible to garden insects such as scale. The dense, spreading Coratina tree features medium vigor and requires a pollenizer such as Frantoio or Leccino. This variety is not recommended for cooler coastal locations where early frosts may occur.
Frantoio
The name "Frantoio" means "olive mill" in Italian, and the Frantoio variety lives up to its name, as it is one of the world's premier oil varieties. The medium-sized fruit also makes a good table olive after curing. The aromatic Frantoio offers a complex flavor with notes of almond, green apple, fresh-cut grass and artichoke. The variety features a delightful balance of fruitiness, bitterness and pungency. Frantoio is highly frost-sensitive and is susceptible to common garden insects such as scale and diseases such as olive knot. Growers are advised to apply winter copper applications and dormant oils. Frantoio is self-fertile, but increases yields when pollenized by one of the other Tuscan varieties such as Pendolino or Leccino.
Koroneiki
Originating on the island of Crete about 3000 years ago, the Koroneiki olive remains most popular in Greece where it is grown almost exclusively for oil. Koroneiki boasts an intense flavor profile, which starts as a robust fruity aroma and finishes with a peppery zing. Koroneiki holds well to the tree, making it a little more work to harvest compared to other varieties. As expected, this native of Greece is frost sensitive. Koroneiki is fully self-fertile.
Leccino
The sweet, spicy Leccino olive is grown primarily for oil and is more palatable at press than most varieties, making it a good candidate for olio nuovo: the freshest possible extra virgin olive oil right off the press. The fruity flavor hints of cinnamon with little bitterness. This early black Tuscan variety is far more cold tolerant than Frantoio. The vigorous Leccino tree exhibits a dense, slightly weeping growth habit and good general disease resistance. It can, however, be susceptible to verticillium wilt, black scale and sooty mold. The Leccino variety requires a pollenizer such as Pendolino or Frantoio.
Manzanillo
The most popular table olive in California, Manzanillo is a large, round freestone with a high flesh-to-pit ratio. Although Manzanillo oil is good quality, it can be very difficult to extract if water content is high. For oil extraction, fruit should be harvested while relatively green. As the Spanish Manzanillo olive ripens, the flavor becomes fruitier and less bitter, but the water content increases making it better suited to curing than extracting. The Manzanillo tree is moderately vigorous with a spreading growth habit and medium density. Though partially self-fertile, yields will increase when Manzanillo is pollenized by Sevillano or Ascolano. This variety is moderately cold hardy, but offers less disease and pest-resistance than other olive varieties and should be treated with preventative applications of copper during cold months.
Mission
The Mission olive was used for oil production in the Spanish missions of Baja and Alta California in the late 1700's. The Mission olive is a large, erect tree used for table olives and oil production. This variety is tolerant of cold, salinity and drought. The Mission tree is susceptible to peacock spot, verticillium wilt and olive fly, but moderately resistant to olive knot. A consistent preventative program is recommended to manage disease and pests. The freestone Mission fruit produces a bitter flavor when harvested green, but matures to a complex blend of buttery and tropical flavors. Though partially self-fertile, Mission will set fuller crops when pollenized by another olive such as Sevillano or Ascolano.
Pendolino
The Pendolino olive is used mainly as a pollenizer in Tuscany where its appeal is limited by low disease-resistance and a harvest-hindering, weeping habit (thus the name which, in Italian, describes a train falling off its rails). However, as a landscape specimen, Pendolino offers many desirable characteristics such as good cold hardiness, and a dense, weeping canopy. It flowers early and profusely with a long bloom, but it is self-sterile and must be paired with another variety such as Leccino. Though small, the Pendolino olive produces a moderate amount of good quality oil with a very mild flavor, low bitterness and delicate pungency. The mid-season Pendolino is sensitive to olive knot and highly susceptible to verticillium wilt and sooty molds.
Picual
The Picual olive comes from Spain where it earned an undeserved reputation for poor quality due to over-production and poor processing. Newer plantings in Chile, Australia and New Zealand are proving the value of this highly productive, early variety. Picual is easy to harvest and contains a high content of easily-separated oil with pungent flavor that stores well. In Spain, Picual is a popular table olive known to be high in beneficial chemicals such as oleic acid and vitamin E. The Picual olive is cold hardy and self-fertile, but produces higher yields when paired with a pollenizer such as Manzanillo.
