In spring, when vegetative regeneration resumes right after winter, the most delicate phase of olive cultivation begins: the blossoming of the olive trees, from which the small olives will be born and eventually yield the oil starting in October.
Climate and temperature play a crucial role at this stage: even the slightest spring frost can ruin all the blossoms, and unusually excessive heat can cause a similar effect. Furthermore, olive pollination occurs solely through air, without the help of bees or insects, which is why the right amount of wind is also needed to allow the tiny pollen grains to reach the flowers.
Given the particular nature of this pollination process, only 2–3% of the thousands of blossoms will actually become an olive, making this phase not only critical, but also extremely selective.
Of course, to allow as many flowers as possible to be pollinated, it is essential to keep the tree well nourished, so that it has the right energy to give birth to the small olives.
