Olive · Daqing, Heilongjiang, China
When to plant olives in Daqing
Main outdoor window
4 May - 1 Jun
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
27 April
In Daqing, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 Oct - 31 Dec
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Daqing
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the tree
4 May - 1 Jun
After the last frost, once the soil has warmed. This crop is never fully dormant, so it cannot be planted bare-root in winter.
Harvest
1 Oct - 31 Dec
Olives through the year
Against the frost risk in Daqing
Why these dates
Tolerates short spells near -10C once mature. Young trees are considerably more tender, and prolonged wet cold kills more olives than dry cold ever does.
Olives are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. Nor is there a dormant season to plant into: this crop keeps its leaves and keeps growing through the winter, which is exactly why cold damages it. The window on this page therefore waits until the last frost in Daqing has passed and the soil has begun to warm, giving the roots the longest possible run before the cold returns.
Daqing sits in zone 4b, which is colder than this crop is rated for, so it will need winter protection or a container that can be moved under cover. The dates below still describe the right time of year; the open question is survival rather than timing.
Do not expect a crop in the first year. A plant set out now should give its first worthwhile pick around year 4, and will then produce every year after that, which is what makes the planting decision worth getting right the first time.
Also in Daqing
Other fruits to time
Growing olives in Daqing
When should I plant olives in Daqing?
Aim for 4 May - 1 Jun in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 14 May - 11 Jun - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will olives be ready to harvest in Daqing?
Expect to start picking around 1 Oct - 31 Dec, based on 180 to 220 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will olives tolerate?
Tolerates short spells near -10C once mature. Young trees are considerably more tender, and prolonged wet cold kills more olives than dry cold ever does.