AusBonsai

Hi all, i've had this olive now for about 11 years myself. I bought it from a guy in Euroa, a country town in Vic. I have repotted it a few times since then, my guess is is about 25-30 years old. The trunk at the base is about 4 inches accross. Height about 30cm from top of soil.

It has never fruited for me, i always presumed I was pinching back too regularly. But the last 2 years or so I stopped trimming/pinching back as much, trying to let it grow a little, thinking maybe it might not like that, and then get happier/healthier and fruit, but still no.

How can I get it to fruit please???? Every year I see all the olives on the streets flowering then fruting so much, it depresses me, what am I doign wrong?? I feed, periodically, i guess not too often, as mentioned in another thread, however it seems healthy. It was last repotted about 2 years ago too.

Not all olives will fruit.

I have heard different reasons, from its cos its in a pot, to not enough potash ect ect, but I personally think you don't want it to fruit. You want to refine it, get the leaves as small as possible.
I have never seen one here or in Europe fruit. From reading, the only tree's you want fruit on is crab apples, quinces, illex, hawthorn, pomygranat, persimmon's and a few other deciduous species (pines and larches, but that is the pinnical of care!). I am yet to find an evergreen beside pines displayed in Japan with fruit.

I've got an olive with olives on it, I think the only reason it has olives on it though is because it has one metre long sacrifice branches and they're on the end.

but i want it toooooo........

it would be sooooo awesome !!!!!!!



Anyways, I love the tree, so will just wait and see I guess...

You would like fruit even if it takes away refinement?

You wont get any fruit whilst trying to produce a bonsai from it. One or the other, bonsai requires constant pruning whilst allowing to fruit requires uninhibated growth.
Peter

It's going to be nice. I have a number of old collected olives and none have ever shown signs of developing fruit. I think, unless you have a large olive bonsai, that you don't try this. At the stage your tree appears, it is time to start styling before the wood sets like olive-concrete. I have found that olive branches are very varied in their onset of hardness when it becomes difficult to shape them. One I have long had I can only shape young branches. Others I can wait till later... if I were you I would start wiring.