ST donates trees to Kennedy Grove
When a company plants a few hundred trees to green a dry corner of the Mediterranean, the olive is often the natural choice. Hardy, near-immortal and freighted with meaning, it is as much a symbol as a crop — which is exactly why people plant it.
Every so often a company or a community plants a grove — a few hundred olive trees on a scrap of dry, stony ground — to green a landscape and mark an occasion. Malta, a hot and largely treeless island, has seen thousands of trees go in this way over the years, olives prominent among them. It is a small story that opens onto a much bigger one: why, of all trees, the olive is the one people reach for when they want something to last.
The tree built for hard ground
The olive is almost designed for the job. It thrives on thin, rocky, alkaline soils where little else will grow, needs remarkably little water once established, tolerates drought and salt air, and shrugs off heat that would kill a softer tree. Cut it down and it resprouts from the stump; burn it and it often comes back. This toughness is why it clothes the poorest hillsides of the Mediterranean, and why it is such a sensible choice for greening a place like Malta, where soil is thin and rain is scarce.
Nearly immortal
An olive can live for centuries, and a few celebrated specimens are plausibly thousands of years old. Because the trunk hollows and regenerates rather than simply ageing to death, the tree keeps renewing itself in a way that makes a human lifetime look brief. Plant an olive and you are planting something your great-grandchildren may sit under. That longevity is a large part of its symbolic weight — read about the extraordinary ancient survivors in the oldest olive tree in the world.
Why we plant it as a symbol
The olive branch has meant peace since antiquity, and the tree carries associations of permanence, the sacred and belonging across many cultures. That is why it turns up at commemorations, on civic land, in school grounds and memorial groves far more often than a purely practical planting would explain. When a company plants olives to mark an anniversary, it is choosing meaning as much as greenery — a living, near-permanent gesture rather than a quick splash of colour.
| Why plant olives | Hardy, long-lived, symbolic |
|---|---|
| Soil | Thrives on thin, rocky, alkaline ground |
| Water | Very drought-tolerant once established |
| Lifespan | Centuries; some plausibly millennia |
| Resilience | Resprouts after cutting or fire |
| Meaning | Peace, permanence, the sacred |
Takeaways
- The olive greens dry, stony land where softer trees fail.
- It is near-immortal — a planting for generations, not seasons.
- Its symbolism of peace and permanence is why it is chosen for civic and memorial groves.
- For fruit you need the right variety and patience; young trees take years to crop.
Planting olive trees: common questions
Why are olive trees used to green dry land?
They thrive on thin, rocky soil, need little water once established, and tolerate drought, heat and salt air — so they survive where softer trees fail.
How long do olive trees live?
Centuries routinely, and a few celebrated trees are plausibly thousands of years old, because the trunk hollows and regenerates rather than simply dying of age.
Why is the olive a symbol of peace?
The olive branch has signified peace since antiquity — famously the dove returning one to Noah — and the tree carries associations of permanence and the sacred across cultures.
Will a newly planted olive give fruit?
Not for years. Young trees take time to establish and crop, and fruit quality depends on choosing a suitable variety for the climate.
Do olive trees survive fire?
Often, yes — they resprout vigorously from the stump and root after being cut or burnt, part of what makes them so resilient.
People plant olives when they want something that outlasts them, and the tree obliges. It asks little — poor soil, scant water — and gives back for generations, which is why it turns up at anniversaries and in memorial groves far more than a purely practical planting would explain. If you plant one hoping for fruit, be patient and pick a variety suited to your climate. If you plant it as a gesture, you have chosen well: few living things say permanence quite like an olive.
Drawn from general olive horticulture and Mediterranean reforestation practice.