A Spanish Olive!

[Starfox]

G'day all,

Just thought I would share a little Olea Europaea that I picked up a couple of weeks back, I wasn't going to add anymore trees until spring/summer but seeing as these are practically a native species here and the one I wanted first I missed out on I decided to grab this little pre-bonsai while I could. It's 9 y-o already and seems to be settling in quite nicely.
So far I'm pondering what I will do with it come spring but I'm leaning towards giving a trunk chop either above or below the last bend and removing most of the branches and just keep a couple of leaders.
Not overly sure to be honest but I gladly welcome any suggestions.

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[shibui]

The straight upper trunk is definitely at odds with the strong lower bends. Pruning will help but will leave you with lots of growing to do. I find I need to prune very regularly to stop the strong, straight growth on olives and to get them to ramify.
Over here they have escaped from captivity and have become feral. In some places they are threatening to overwhelm our natives so lots get collected as possible bonsai. My local govt council has started targeting these in their roadside spraying program to try to slow the threat.

[melbrackstone]

Love the curves at the base.

Over here they have escaped from captivity and have become feral

On that note, it's amazing how many trees I've got in my yard, and also that we can buy for bonsai, that are classed as feral now!

[Starfox]

The straight upper trunk is definitely at odds with the strong lower bends. Pruning will help but will leave you with lots of growing to do. I find I need to prune very regularly to stop the strong, straight growth on olives and to get them to ramify.
Over here they have escaped from captivity and have become feral. In some places they are threatening to overwhelm our natives so lots get collected as possible bonsai. My local govt council has started targeting these in their roadside spraying program to try to slow the threat.

I agree, I'm 95% certain I will chop that upper trunk, maybe try and see if I can get that to root.
I know it will set me back time wise to let it grow out but as you say they come back strong and it will give me a chance to come to terms with the growth and the direction should become clearer.

Funny you mention the pest thing, it is the same here with Eucs, it breaks my heart to see Euc after Euc on the side of the road half mangled and half dead as they spray them too. Hopefully this year I can try and save a few of them on my travels before they get hit.

Love the curves at the base.

Yeah the base is what I like too, wish it was a little bit taller down the bottom but you got to work with what you have.

[Starfox]

A bit of an update on this, I finally chopped it back and potted it up in a colander this morning. A much easier job than I was expecting too.

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I gave it a good drink with seaweed juice after all is said and done and now to wait for recovery I suppose.
I also planted the top half of the trunk in some potting mix to see if it will strike, probably not but that is OK with me.

[kvan64]

It's rare to have those nice bents in olives. I would keep more and chop less but everyone has different view for a tree.
DK

[kcpoole]

Nice little trunk there
but more importantly, how do you get Jacobs Creek Chardonnay in Spain

Ken

[Starfox]

It's rare to have those nice bents in olives. I would keep more and chop less but everyone has different view for a tree.
DK

Hi DK, yeah not sure exactly who trained this up whether it was the shop or from elsewhere but the bends in it are nice and the roots were good so credit to them. I was planning on cutting back above the next bend but there was a slight reverse taper happening and I had trouble seeing it clearly so chose where I did. I have potted and bagged up the top half of the trunk so maybe that will strike.
I can definitely see what Shibui was mentioning about the fast long growth and the need to stay on top of it so hopefully now I can keep the new growth manageable.

Nice little trunk there
but more importantly, how do you get Jacobs Creek Chardonnay in Spain

Ken

Hah, they keep it hidden in the back corner of the supermarket in the international section, shame they don't have the sparkling version but beggars can't be choosers.