AusBonsai

After a promt from
Andrew F in this thread viewtopic.php?f=9&t=14096&p=146209#p146209

"Go back for said olive. "

I did go back. It was just an olive tree with no movement so wasn't sure it would be worth the effort. WELL.......... I now have a couple of questions
1. Can I cut it back to just a stump. I so where can would you recomend cutting it back to.
2. Can I cut the base flat now or should I pot it up as is. It is quite rounded in the base so would be a lot easier to pot up if I cut it flat.

Thanks Andrew for the promt , just need it the back bud and grow.

Any suggestions with this one greatly appreciated as I have never collected an olive before.

Josh

Wow looks great man, Chop it down some more and in year youve got an awesome base to work with

Olea shohin for the win.

Ok, so looked up olive in the wiki and found the answers
Hi Andrew. Yeah happy with this base. I'll cut it back in the morning, flat cut the base and pot it up. I think a bit of carving on the base, a new leader and it will be the goods. i'm happy for my first olive to have a play with.

Josh

Best to chop it now, olives seem to bud very easily after they are dug.
If you pot as it is it should bud quite well but,
The root mass is too big
The trunk has no taper
You will want to chop it again next summer and by then most of the energy will be gone and budding would be sluggish. Cut the base flat at the widest point, no need to worry about keeping roots.
Chop most of the trunk off.

My 2c..

Bring it back to life (others can help here).

Then layer from the red line up..
Maybe work a line something like that marked in yellow...
All the area within the black oval is where I see the most immediate potential..

You can always play around with the big chunky base as plenty of options will come from here post chop/layer..

You could also chop straight across the base and do an Alpine esque forrest type arrangement too.
That would provide a total of 3 potential tree's and uses for this Olive.!

Keep us updated.

Thanks guys. Hadn't thought of the airlayer Boics. Do they grow from cuttings. I bought home a couple of big branches with good movement to try and strike as cuttings.

Josh

If they grow like I see them growing from radical trunk and base chops I can't see why they won't work from cuttings.
I have to admit that I am only commenting based on what I read and see on the net..
My personal olive Bonsai experience to this point looks like a doughnut = 0.
I've never owned one.

P.S. IMO the air layer option can potentially provide the most gratifying tree in the near term.
Furthermore you don't lose out on any other options that the base and trunk chop might present..

Lets see what some others think.

Hey Josh,

Not sure how into carving you are mate, but this one's gonna need a heap of it! I'd like to suggest you consider a slightly diagonal chop on this porker as that trunk is pretty featureless, so having it coming out at a bit of an angle may make a more pleasing design in the end. If it just shoots straight out, it may be difficult to design something pleasing. Olives tend to shoot from the top, so have a look at that top piece and see if it is worth air layering. If so, leave it nice and long. if not, chop it down hard now and seal it well with some wood glue. You could also decide where you want the tree to end, and then keep a section for a carved jin, but then just remove the bark from that piece otherwise all your shoots will be higher up.

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew Legg wrote:Hey Josh,

Not sure how into carving you are mate, but this one's gonna need a heap of it! I'd like to suggest you consider a slightly diagonal chop on this porker as that trunk is pretty featureless, so having it coming out at a bit of an angle may make a more pleasing design in the end. If it just shoots straight out, it may be difficult to design something pleasing. Olives tend to shoot from the top, so have a look at that top piece and see if it is worth air layering. If so, leave it nice and long. if not, chop it down hard now and seal it well with some wood glue. You could also decide where you want the tree to end, and then keep a section for a carved jin, but then just remove the bark from that piece otherwise all your shoots will be higher up.

Cheers,

Andrew

Thanks Andrew, That's good info, especially about shooting from the top.

Josh

Thought I would update this tree. Should I treat the carved area or leave natural. Should I let it weather first then seal or seal straight away. Any comments welcome. Anything else I should do.

Josh

Olivecrazy wrote:

That's it......

Hi Josh , mate you been looking at my hacking methods . Just for the record most adjustable drill handles will fit onto the Ozito router base collar and it give a safer more manageable machine .

Now that trunks is definitely looking the goods , and yes they sucker up like mad . Be good to see this in another 12 months .

Cheers Alpine

alpineart wrote:Hi Josh , mate you been looking at my hacking methods . Just for the record most adjustable drill handles will fit onto the Ozito router base collar and it give a safer more manageable machine .

Now that trunks is definitely looking the goods , and yes they sucker up like mad . Be good to see this in another 12 months .

Cheers Alpine

Yeah I gotta get a handle for it although I found it pretty good, gently does it. I will feed it like crazy now for the next year and see where it ends up. I'm thinking a reasonable sized tree would suit this stump so for now feed, feed, feed.
And what do you mean "your hacking methods...at least I put the chain down

Hi Mate , where's the ear muffs , come on safety first . No need to feed the bugger or it might get outa control . With the roots you left on it will take some watching . Mine need some serious stihl action as well, i cut 3 x 120mm branches off and it has powered on . Might have to get the 090 out a fell it like a Mountain Ash

Cheers Alpine