Olive Tree in Container
Hi All,
I have a little olive tree, around three feet high, which I bought last autumn. I wrapped it up over the winter and bubble wrapped the pot. Although the soil in the pot appeared to partially freeze, It doesn't seem to be dead. That is to say, most of the the leaves are still on (a few came away with the fleece), and they are still green.
But then again it isn't particularly obvious that it's alive. I don't really see any signs of new growth. There are some small buds, but these were there in the autumn too. Also, the leaves towards the ends of the branches are somewhat curled up. Again, just as it was in autumn. It's a standard, and there's not much upward pointing growth, while the centre of the "lollipop" is rather congested.
I'm tempted to give it a fairly heavy prune; take out some of the curled up looking stuff and the central congestion. Does that sound like a good idea? Does anyone know of a guide to pruning olives in pots? I'd also quite like it to grow a bit taller, but I think they already pinched out the trunk. Anything else I should do? I haven't fed it up to now but I think I watered it enough.
Thank you!
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There's another thread about olive trees i'll bump it up for you.
Try this website ommthree.
www.olivegrovenurseries. co.uk
Thank you very much Lily!
Hi Ommthree I also have a Olive in a pot mine probably should be repotted now as it has been in the same pot for two years. According to my books on the subject. Olives should be planted in a gritty free draining compost, positioned in a sunny sheltered spot and can be pruned in late spring.Unfortunately this is all that my books tell me they don't go into detail on the actual pruning.But, one thing I do know is that you shouldn't over water. I always use rainwater. Hope this helps.
Thank you very much!
I think that my tree is too congested and there are signs of something having eaten a lot of the shoots last year. I remember there was cobwebby stuff which I got rid of with spraying, and while that hasn't come back, some of the shoots and leaves are stunted and misshapen as (I assume) a result of whatever that was.
I think I'll give it a bit of a prune in a month or so. I'll chop out some of the congested centre to let the light and air in, and cut back some of the more damaged branches to where the buds look healthier.
I'm just waiting for a sign of life this spring. Have your buds started to do anything yet?
Just been to have a little look and I do have some new leaf growth appearing.
Thanks for that. Mine has got something going on, I think. I'll give it a few weeks and see if things become clearer.