olive next move

[matlea]

Hi all,

This is an olive that ive had for some time. It's been neglegted in the past to the point where all the leaves dried up and almost died. had it in a clear plastic bag for some time and managed to bring it back.... just!! growing well now but has a way to go yet!
The first couple of pics are where it is currently - 35cm high - (wish i had some older shots... it was basically a straight stump -chop chop!). I'm thinking of rotating it slightly and using the small upper branch as the new leader to condense the height. will also extend the left pad at the base. hopefully this is going in the right direction rather than proceeding as it is with extra height. will also let the current leader grow to thicken the transition a little more.... one step at a time! hopefully it will be good in a few years.



Cheers

Mat

[Olivecrazy]

Nice olive

[Andrew Legg]

I'd say its already good Mat, and that given a few more years and the plan you have, it will be great!

[matlea]

Thanks guys, been wanting to collect some more of these and try some carving, just have to convince the boss to give up some more balcony space!! I'll post some pics when I do the next trim.

[bodhidharma]

It is indeed a nice looking Olive. I am not being critical but the gap in the root system catches my eye a lot and takes away from the presence of the tree as a whole. Two considerations would be to 1) cut it off, which would spoil the trunk flare, or 2) scrape the cambium vigorously and find a rock, roughly the same colour, and insert it in there. Eventually the tree and it will become one and fill that gap. Lower the tree slightly in the pot when this has happened and it should take care of the problem. Or you could tell me to mind my own business.

[matlea]

Thanks for the comments...thats what this site is all about!! Yes the gap has always been an oddity... and something that has niggled away at me. Your suggestion sounds interesting.. not something i would have thought about but worth a serious look (now to find a rock! ) With the rotation of the tree and lowering in the pot it will go along way to helping the issue of the gap.

Also did a quick chop of the top to reduce the overall height of the tree... should be better for it in the long run.... although the angle of the recent pics I took should have been slightly adjusted....hmmm next time!

Anyhow, again thanks for the feedback

[roka]

Something like this

[matlea]

Could chop the tree, yet another option, but would like to keep the root flare at the base. Has anyone tried the toothpick method on olives to introduce more roots? Seen it done on figs.

[karraway2]

You would need to put a rock or something there as the tree just makes me want to keep turning my head in the direction that the tree makes you think it is about to fall over....

Something like this

[kcpoole]

You could tilt it to the left like in te first shot, and then just plant it lower in the pot?
This will tend to hide the hole a bit but not detract from the root flare

Nice tree

Ken