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<pre>It is most interesting that olives have gone wild in the Adelaide Hills.
Strictly speaking they should not be called wild as they are in fact
cultivated olives that have escaped. Australia does not have a real wild
olive population. What is strange is that they are so competitive with the
existing Australian vegetation.

Here in Italy it is general agreed that olives are introduced - some
thousands of years ago - but they do not go wild. When we took over our
olive grove it had be abandoned for many years and the olives were overgrown
with blackberries and old man's beard. The sort of plants you would find in
the Adelaide Hills. There were no self sown olives. Why? Either climate or
animals.

The climate is certainly colder. It is currently -4C outside and I hope
it does not get any colder or we will have serious damage to our trees. Does
this kill off seedlings?

Animals such as the wild boar and the porcupine certainly eat most of
the olives that fall on the ground (and some that don't from the lower
branches) but the stones would pass through and some would escape so that is
not a satisfactory reason.

Cheers Brian Chatterton.
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