My olives - Seeking advice, ideas, and opinions

[TheNumber13]

Hi there,

These are my olives; they are pretty much the extent of my bonsai-ing experience, so I thought I would put them up here and see what you all think. After any ideas you have, be it for specific design or what step I should take next,

I dug them up about 18 months ago. They got chopped, top and roots, and potted in such a way that they still look good and get watered with all our other plants. This week I re-potted, got rid of the rest of the leftover large roots (as there are many fine ones now), and got rid of a few unwanted shoots (doubles, wrong place, etc.).

26.08.11 Olive 1.JPG

26.08.11 Olive 2.JPG

26.08.11 Olive 3.JPG

26.08.11 Olive 4.JPG

26.08.11 Olive 5.JPG

26.08.11 Olive 6.JPG

08.11 Olive Roots.JPG

I know at least some of what else I need to do, but am unsure of when it is critical for each part to be done, or if it would be better to leave some things alone.

So I mainly want to know if there is anything else I should get done ASAP. Otherwise, I'll just do it when I feel comfortable or have a better idea of the final plan. Things like carving (tops, bumps etc), branch shaping, trimming ends of shoots etc. I am not so sure about.

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think please!

[Andrew Legg]

Howzit Mate,

I'd give 'em another year of just establishing their roots and growing freely. Digging a plant up gives it quite a hammering so give it time to recover well and it will more likely than not be a stronger healthier plant down the line.

There is some good potential there!

Cheers,

Andrew

[TheNumber13]

Thanks Andrew, that's pretty much what I was thinking, good to know there's nothing at all urgent. Hopes are high for a couple of these.
Actually, I think I was hoping that something would need to be done. Getting a bit antsy, need to have a bit of a fiddle. Guess it's time to find some new stock to dig up.

[Andrew Legg]

If I were you mate, I'd go out and get some stuff you can use to scratch that itch. More yamadori will just make the itch bigger! Go get yourself something that is healthy and ready to work on. Growing season is here so not a minute to loose!

[TheNumber13]

When I get out near a decent nursery, and some funds to spare, I think that's what I'll need to do. Spring is coming on quick though.
Until then, stocking up for future years with free trees sounds good

But... I also think I'll get some carving practice and try to fix up the taper on #3 above.
Black bit is where you'll see inside/dead wood, with the back of the hole being higher than the front. Hopefully it would continue to grow taller than this little sketch (very rough).

Plan 1.Ba.JPG

Does anyone think this is a reasonable design idea for this tree? Any better ideas?

It might be drastic for my abilities, but I'll take it bit by bit. If it doesn't work, I still learn, and I'm goin on another olive dig soon to stock up.

[ozzy]

Hey this one for an example can be cut back to one of those lower leaders rotated a bit and turned into something decent, more than likely though you'll just think I'm crazy.

[TheNumber13]

Thanks Ozzy, nice too see what a different set of eyes can see, especially when its a little bit out there. Never would have pictured it that way myself, but it looks pretty darn good.
I'll definately keep that plan in mind, but its a bit too crazy for my current abilities I think. It's my favourite olive stock at the moment (10cm thick, fairly nice looking base), so I'll get some practice in before being too drastic with that one.