Always willing to learn of Black Olives

malik

Well, i am always willing to learn about anything. i've been working with Bucida Spinosa for about 2 years now and have had success. I have always done my pruning in spring and summer, but I was wanting to do some light pruning now during the winter. Just removing a branch and some light wiring. I know by the book and from my own experience that many tropicals can handle pruning year round, but the black olive seems to be pretty finiky and i wanted to see if anyone has experience with them. Any useful tips I may not know will be great as well. Tips about pruning them or feeding them. Got potting them and general care for them down. here is what i plan to do with it. Give me some feedback!

Attached Images

	tt2.jpg (58.2 KB, 44 views)
	tt.jpg (56.7 KB, 33 views)

__________________
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it" -Winston Churchill

Advertisement

irene_b

Ron Martin always said to wait on any pruning, or repots to the middle of summer or when your eyebrows slide off your head from the heat and humidity ;o...
Mom

And I have killed several from not following those directions!

__________________
....MOM....
Student of Life
Student of Nature
http://gongshi.freeforums.org/index.php
http://bonsaivaultforum.freeforums.org/portal.php

Asus101

Here in SA we collect these weeds with no roots at all and they live. How on earth do you guys kill them with a light prune?

eminart

Because, as americans, we always like to one-up the other guys.

__________________
"I want life in every word
to the extend that it's absurd....." -- the postal service

lagunamadre

I prune my black olives when they are growing, period. When they put on new growth, the internodes are usually too long, so I cut back the new growth 1/3 to 1/2. The long internode area left, will fill in later. I also remove most of the shoots started in the branch crotches.to make branch structure visable. These shoots will probably grow vertically, and possibly change your design. As touched on before, black olives can be difficult, but the main problem I've seen is watering. Too much or too little will drop leaves in a hurry. Enjoy.
Larry

malik

very true...a black olive will drop it's leaves very easily. They do not enjoy roots pruning very much either. you must do it in the hotest month of the year! They are not as fragile though as some suggest. In fact, after repotting last year, i accidently watering with soapy water and filled the pot with soap! I rinsed it out completely and waited to see the effects. The tree dropped every single leaf!

But after about a week it put on new growth and looks better than ever! Tricky tree at first , but when it acclimates to your climate and regime, it is not too bad to care for.

I like this idea. it is nice to have a post started about a certain type of tree and have everyone give their feedback and tips on growing it.

__________________
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it" -Winston Churchill