On 12/2/08 12:06, in article
, "Cat(h)"
wrote:

On Feb 12, 10:05*am, Sacha wrote:
On 12/2/08 08:14, in article ,





"Saxman" wrote:
Sacha wrote:
On 11/2/08 15:14, in article ,
"Saxman" wrote:

I have a hardy olive bush in the conservatory. *It appears to be losing
a lot of leaves recently. *Is this normal at this time of the year?

How are you watering it?

I probably water it about once week when the compost is looking dry with
a Baby Bio general feed.

I was doing that last year and it survived the summer (if you can call
it a summer) in the conservatory.

The plant does drop quite few leaves, but I thought for this time of
year, it was excessive?

I think you're probably over-watering it and it doesn't need feeding until
late spring and then once a fortnight at most with perhaps, a seaweed
extract. *Don't water it on any kind of strict regime, either now or in the
summer. *Think of the conditions in which they grow naturally - cold winters
that can be wet, followed by blazing hot, very dry summers BUT, very
importantly, with sharp drainage on rocky land.
Wait until the pot is dry, not just looking a bit dry on top. *Always let it
dry out between waterings and always make sure it's up on bricks or some of
those little clay feet, so that it can drain totally.
The type of compost is a mix of e.g. John Innes No. 3 and some multi-purpose
compost of a good quality.
I imagine your conservatory is frost-free? *If it isn't your olive tree's
compost might be frozen and it can't take up moisture through its frozen
roots. *This, too, will lead to severe leaf drop. * Keep it in the sunniest
spot you can and make sure it's not frozen at night and only water it when
dry, letting it drain completely between waterings.

--
Sachahttp://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Should he reallly keep it indoors all year round? I would at least
plonk it outside during the summer. In fact, snuggled up to the south
facing facade of the house, I might even chance leaving it out all
year round, right where my grapefruit tree lives. But I am in a
mildish climate.
But, OP, be warned, this is the opinion of a lay person who has killed
many a very good plant with inappropriate treatment!

Cat(h)

Oh he can certainly put it out during the summer. I didn't think to say
that because I thought it was obvious. ;-) But you're quite right to raise
it - people do sometimes hover anxiously over such plants and won't let a
summer breeze touch them - not that I'm saying John is doing that! Planting
it outside does rather depend on type and his location. It would certainly
need the shelter of a warm and sunny spot and perhaps a wrapping of fleece
in winter. But all does depend on location. For instance, David Poole, who
lives near Torquay and is about 30 to 40 minutes from us, has been known to
pick oranges from a tree in his garden at Christmas time. We, OTOH,
wouldn't be able to keep lemon or olive trees out in the garden in winter
unless we wanted to take a severe risk. We're too near Dartmoor and
sometimes get frosts of -5 or -6, rarely -7. David, AFAIK, gets almost no
frost, if any at all. OTOH, we've brought some Echiums through the winter
(so far) with just a couple of nights of wrapping them up, so maybe these
'warmer' winters are going to do us some good!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'