Reports from the Rio Grande Valley indicate no fruit production on olive trees there, and reports from Corpus Christi indicate that fruiting is very sporadic. The olive may be grown as an ornamental in these areas. In North and West Texas and the Hill Country, the frequency of freezing temperature is too great to allow for cultivation of olive. Because very cold, dry air may sometimes invade the entire state during severe winters, damage to the olive is a threat almost anywhere olive trees are planted in the state, with danger increasing the further north you go. Efforts must be taken to protect olive trees, especially young ones, from damage when severe cold takes hold.
Young bark is green, but older bark is gray.
In the Mediterranean, olive trees are known to live for over a thousand years. If the top is damaged, a new tree will sprout from underground parts. Under the proper conditions, at about five years of age, the olive will begin to bear the familiar olive fruit. Fruit is borne on panicles, or fruiting branches, arising from buds above the point where the leaves join the stem on the previous season's growth. Only perfect flowers can become fruits.