Olives.
Originally uploaded by graybo.
You’ve read articles about Italian olive farmers claiming EU subsidies for groves that have already been grubbed up. What you may not know is that there is a whole industry dedicated to putting these ancient trees into very small pots and then selling them at hugely inflated prices to idiotic northern Europeans like you and me. So it’s a win-win for the olive farmer.
Do the trees survive? Are they quite shallow rooting?
Actually, they’re remarkably tough things. You’ll notice that the branches have been hacked back ruthlessly, yet are showing signs of regrowth. The same applies to the roots. So, given a bit of intelligent care, they can survive this treatment quite well.
The main problem is hardiness – they will not survive prolonged cold weather with sub-zero temperatures.
Damn – to late, I orded one for my allotment.