AusBonsai

Just a bit of an update. Thought i would repot my old girl as lately it would put on new growth then die back a little. Then repeat its cycle again. Thinking it needed a repot as it was still in the original mix it came in. After washing of the dirt i can now see why it was in the deep pot. There was a bigger stump down deep. To put it into a shallower pot it def needed a big cut. I didnt want to but was left with no choice unless i always want it in a deep pot. Olives are normally bullet proof but an old girl like this i believe they can be a bit more temperamental. I will be sweating it off for the next couple of months as to its health probably chopped nearly half the root off to get it into a pot

Looking good sammy. I haven't grown Olives myself but I know guys chop the bottom flat leaving no roots and they grow so it should be fine.

Did you consider planting it leaning to the left? It looks dead straight coming out of the pot with branches going down on the right and up on the left. A slight lean of about 10 deg would balance it nicely I think.

Yeh due to the root system on the back right it is difficult. After it gets astablished in this pot will be tilting it left in time. Will just let it grow for another year before any other work.

Please tell me you planted that stump as well!!!

Andrew F wrote:Please tell me you planted that stump as well!!!

...How much abuse can olives take...? Are they similar to figs?

They definitely are very tough. You can chainsaw an olive stump out without even lifting a shovel. No roots and not top then plant it like an oversized cutting and away it goes. No air layering required with these guys ha ha. All the same though im a bit worried about an old soul like this one.

A great progression Sammy! Decent looking carving too.

So, question is ....... That trunk tells a story of an old tree that's been hammered. What story will the branches tell and how will they work together?

PS: always nice when someone saves a dog and turns it into something decent! to the original seller!

Should change the title of this one to LIVING ON THE EDGE. After cutting the best part of the roots off this poor old girl almost had enough and died. She sulked for a bit then proceeded to drop off most of the foliage. All the older leaves fell and all the growing tips died back. I thought for sure she was on he final death roll. The dieing back finally slowed, then it sat there with no sign of growth for almost two months. All my other olives are growing strong so i was very worried for the tree. In the last 3 days finally it has some green buds pushing out. So for now i think it lives on. This is the 3rd time it has gone into a death roll in only 5 years . I better let it rest and recover for a full growing season before any more stress. For me or the plant ha ha.

Sammy

Great Work so far.

The African olive developed on the limestone coasts of South Africa, thus they respond well to regular applications of garden lime. Apply it twice a year. A good time is the start of summer and again at the end of summer. Almost always this will solve the problem of lack of foliage developing as mentioned in your last post. How much to use is determined by the size of the pot. Typically in an average sized pot one to two tablespoons in each dose immediately and gently washed in is sufficient.

Dennis Mc

Well done Sammy. By taking a risk and fixing the root problem early you now have a great frame to build on. I really like the carving, you took average material and put your own stamp on it.
Regarding the advice from Dennis - the wild olives growing around Adelaide are usually hybrids of African and European varieties and have adapted to the local soils which are usually fairly alkaline, so a little lime can be helpful. Remember though that Adelaide water is also alkaline so do a pH test so you know how much to add.

Also, check out this article on a Spanish olive to get some inspiration on wiring and what can be done.

http://ofbonsai.org/galleries/progressi ... mification

Matt.

Im gonna have to try lime on my South oz olives, they just dont seem to do as well as the ones Ive dug locally.

Im glad this old girl pulled thru though

Thanks guys for your nice posts. Love the olive watto in your link. Awsome in no time at all. Hope mine will get going quickly one day. Atm. Very slow growth. My other olives grow massively every year. Needing attention almost every month. This old girl though wants to take it slow.

It put on some good growth after repot so i now feel confident for a major cut back again. Here it is.my hope now is that it will put on stronger growth with better branch structure and ramification. Not the leggy growth that it has had in the past.

Growth still weak and slow but alive all the same. Probably looked better 2 years go

things improve next year