Mega Olive Cuttings

[Webos]

There are quite a few species which will strike off of thick cuttings....Crepe Myrtle for example will strike easily from really big fat pieces of trunk

[Greth]

Crepe Myrtle wouldnt surprise me, quite often two branches will meet and graft naturally. I saw a program once where a chap had made a grove of sculptured Crepe Myrtles, he did enough of these approach grafts to make the plants into baskets, etc, quite bizarre. Always wanted to try it

[TheNumber13]

Wow, am I thankful for this thread.
It inspired me to turn the tops of the 6 olives I collected into many cuttings. They are from branches, not trunks, but same principal I think.
I now have 20 on their way, ranging from about 5-10cm in diameter (and a few smaller ones), all taken from what would have been scrap. Just random bits of branch.
One month on, and at least 5 are showing some new shoots one them. Inspired me to cut 3 branches off some other trees, and now I have another 15 cuttings on their way. Here's hoping all goes well!

So... Great thread! Thankyou

[roka]

Wow is all i can say.No wonder they tell us to eat olives and use olive oil.What it does in our body must be super too.

[Josh7]

Hi all,
I am selling my leased house in Melb shortly, and am thinking of getting a load of Olive cuttings (and the base of course) from the tree that i transplanted there some 3 years ago.
I'd just like to ask a few Q's so i don't stuff this up.....
1. Is the tuber the obvious outwards taper at the base of the trunk (where the roots are)?
2. Does it need to be cut there, or will it produce new roots from the cambium wherever i cut it? (and out of any cutting i make from further up the existing tree?)
3. As per Dugzbonsai site, the cambium at the new base gets angled cuts through it - do you need to add rooting hormone or a sealant to the core of the tree at the base?

Silly questions, i know, but like i said, i'd rather be positive about the process than to stuff up a golden opportunity for some fantastic specimens.

[Chris]

Good stuff ozzy love your chainsaw work see you Sunday for the next round of chainsaw massacring.

[BonsaiFish]

Wow (as roka said), what a great topic!!!

Can't recall this technique being mentioned at The School (maybe my head was in the sand that day?) but will definitely be mentioning it

All I need now are some olives like Ozzy finds

Thanks, Russell

[ozzy]

Good stuff ozzy love your chainsaw work see you Sunday for the next round of chainsaw massacring.

Yeah no worries, I'm thinking of ordering one of these chainsaws for those hard to get bastards





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf_zD45i ... re=related

[Jester]

Forgive my naivety and lack of knowledge on the subject Greame but are you saying that with the way you cut it at the stump, with no roots, this thing will actually take root again and continue to grow??? Can u share some more details with us pls. Eg What size pot / planter will it go into? Any special soil requirements / treatments? How long before sizeable roots reappear and the tree starts to grow foliage?? I am very interested. Thanks for the post Greame.

Regards

John

Hi guys, this is actually my first post here, will do an introduction soon I promise.
As far as Olives go, I have never "dug" one out of the ground. Far to much wasted energy.
My method is to cut the tree back to a bare trunk, lopping the top off at a selected height where the taper ends and then scrape the soil/rubbish away from the base of my selected tree. I then give the tree two or three wacks with a matic to break any and all roots and break the tree out of the ground. If the selected stump has a very large trunk/ lignotuber then I will cut through the "bulb" at its thickest part with a saw, just to make it a bit lighter to carry home. If the tree is light enough to carry with ease then I leave this cutting 'till I get home where I can use a chainsaw. I don't like using chainsaws in public parks, which is where all my SA Olives came from. (With permission to dig of course)
By the way, I have left Olives up to a month between "digging" and planting and can't remember loosing one yet.

[Jamie]

the tuber is a mass of energy stored for the tree, they will strike from that sort of cutting as such with no drama. you can soak them for a week in an ST solution if you feel the need. best thing to do is to cut the chamfer into the base around it just like on dugzbonsai.com then put it in a free draining mix in a grow box.

jamie

[AGarcia]

Here's my contribution to the post. This stump was collected in Adelaide (just after the AABC two years ago, thanks for organising the dig, Adelaide club). The bottom was sawn off and shipped to Brisbane by Greyhound bus. This is a year later being put into its first bonsai pot.

[AGarcia]

The wife just pointed out that i don't have a shot of the finished product (repotting took longer than expected, working into the night).

[Josh7]

That's a lot of root growth for one year. Great stuff.

[Jamie]

thats a monster!! i look forward to seeing its first wiring

[Handy Mick]

This thread has been awsome . I wish i was around when this story came to light!
Does anyone know if these olives are just wild olives of does it go for all types?
Since they take so easily, can you do it at any time of year like a willow?
The reason I ask is that my girlfriends old man has a small olive farm in Mudge, about 1200 trees and they are selling.

Thanks in-advance
Mick