Curiosities about olive trees

Pinking or flowering? Two stages in the life cycle of the olive tree

INTRODUCTION

Spring is the time when the landscape changes, transforms, almost seems to be reborn; it is during these months (March-June) that the first buds begin to appear on the trees and everything is tinged with new and brighter colors.

Our olive groves are also taking on a more colorful and vibrant appearance: small shoots are beginning to appear on the branches of our small olive trees between late March and early May. This first stage in the life cycle of the olive tree is called Mignolatura, followed after several weeks by Fioritura.

Pinking

The shoots of the olive tree are born in clusters on the branches of the tree and are called “pinkies“, from which the name “pinky” is derived.

Each pinky generally has between 10 and 30 shoots.

The pinking is one of the stages in the life cycle of the olive tree when the first shoots form and develop into small flowers.

This is a fundamental stage for the olive tree: mignolas are the inflorescences that will later turn into olives.

Throughout this period the shoots will grow to their final size and turn into flowers, which will remain closed until May, the month in which a new phase of the olive tree’s life cycle is inaugurated: flowering.

Flowering

Beginning in the second half of May, the inflorescences of the olive trees begin to open and we may see small, but beautiful, white flowers, typical of the olive tree.

The colors of the olive tree flower petals will change color in a very few days: they will change from light green to white.

The phase of flowering begins in May and usually ends in the first week of June.

Pinking or Flowering?

For many, the pinking stage and the flowering stage are one and the same phase of olive tree growth: in fact, they are very similar phases.

The main difference between the two stages is that during the former, i.e., the pinking stage, the first shoots are born and appear, while during the flowering stage, the inflorescences begin to unfold into true flowers.

All the flowers that hatch will represent potential fruits.