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Olive Trees

Sam PatamiaSam Patamia Posts: 15
in Plants

Hi I have an olive tree planted outside and it is getting very 'leggy'. Should I prune it and if so how much and when?

Thanks

Sam

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 9,083

    Hi Sam - I've read somewhere that pruning is fine and best done around July -(of course it may have been an Australian site.... image)

    Many of the groves around the Med have trees 00's yrs old and they're pruned very hard.

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Sam PatamiaSam Patamia Posts: 15

    Hi, it was quite a big bush until we had a puppy and was growing in the conservatory but it was pruned by the pup image.

    I have a veg plot and planted it in there a couple of years ago after the incident hoping it would recover and is now about thigh height.

    I will leave it until Spring as suggested. Do they produce fruit in this country?

    Thank you

    Sam

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Billericay, EssexPosts: 9,083

    My Olive is outside facing south in a huge pot and it does flower and set (tiny) fruit.

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • pr1mr0sepr1mr0se Posts: 1,172

    Thank you for reminding me!!!  I have an olive in a large planter in the garden - somewhat hidden in the middle of an island bed (don't ask!)  We are finally on the move, so all my potted plants/cuttings are in a huddle on the patio - and I had forgotten all about the olive.  Tomorrow I shall retrieve it, check the shape and overall health, and give it a light prune in the spring. 

    It was bought some years ago as a tiny plant at the Eden Project, and has done remarkably well since then.

     

  • Sam PatamiaSam Patamia Posts: 15

    image

  • GardenvikingGardenviking Posts: 144

    Ummm, my olive tree is about 10" high at the moment. That means I have to get it in for the winter, as the winters are very hard here. I have a sheltered spot for it when it gets large enough to be transferred into the grounds. The question is when is the olive tree large enough to live permanently outside?

  • Sam PatamiaSam Patamia Posts: 15

    Hi Garden Viking, I would leave it indoors until the frost has passed next year but then again mine was a very sad chewed twig and is now thriving.

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