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?

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?
--
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.'

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?

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.

--
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.'

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)

Cat(h) says...
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)


My young olive bush is outside permanently, planted last
year in the orchard with the fruit trees. The trunk is
quite thin at only around 1/2 inch, so I've put a section
of foam pipe lagging around it over Winter. It looks happy
enough at the moment and we get plenty of hard frosts.
--
David in Normandy.
To e-mail you must include the password FROG on the
subject line, or it will be automatically deleted.

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.'

Sacha wrote:

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.

Thanks Sacha.

I have taken your advice on board. Not much will survive in a hot
conservatory, but olives will.

In article ,
Saxman writes:
|
| I have taken your advice on board. Not much will survive in a hot
| conservatory, but olives will.

They won't like a seriously hot one - 50 Celsius plus - for that,
it is really only pomegranate, cacti (and 'cacti') of the things
people are likely to grow. Olives are Mediterranean plants, and
are adapted to typical summer temperatures of 30, perhaps 40 Celsius.
But, if your conservatory gets to 50 in the UK, its ventilation lacks
a certain something ... possibly, effectiveness?

Olives (and pomegranate, for that matter) aren't particularly tender,
provided that they don't get waterlogged. So far, it seems that all
of pomegranate, Feijoa and Callistemon rigidus are happy with me
outside in pots with the chilly but not cold winter. And both thyme
and rosemary seem hardier in pots than in the ground ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Do the leaves have any greyish/brownish spots on them?

An Oasis wrote:
Saxman;774244 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?

Do the leaves have any greyish/brownish spots on them?

Not at all. They look healthy.

"Saxman" wrote in message
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?

It's trying to tell you something by leaf dropping. I have 4 olive trees
(all planted out in the grass 2 Corregiola [sp?] and 2 Kalamatta) and leaf
dropping is not something they do much at all. In fact I can't ever recall
seeing any leaves below my trees.

They cope quite well outside with cold and it always get down to -5 in
winter here sometimes lower and they get no treatment given to help them
cope with the cold of winter. However, they do not like too much moisture or
too much feeding. I throw some pelleted chicken manure on my trees about
once a year if I remember ( I think I've remembered about 3 times and
they've been in at least 7 years) and because we have savagely hot summers
(over 40) they get an occassional watering, but they are doing well in a
hard and hungry spot on the edge of the grassed "lawn" where it runs into a
shaley section of land.

I'm in Australia and one observation I would make having read here for years
is that British gardeners seem to have a tendency to cosset their plants and
olives are one plant that shouldn't be. Don't treat olives (or Australian
natives) too well. Think of them as doing best in hard and hungry
conditions. Don't cosset, but make sure the pot is big enough too.

FarmI wrote:

They cope quite well outside with cold and it always get down to -5 in
winter here sometimes lower and they get no treatment given to help them
cope with the cold of winter. However, they do not like too much moisture or
too much feeding. I throw some pelleted chicken manure on my trees about
once a year if I remember ( I think I've remembered about 3 times and
they've been in at least 7 years) and because we have savagely hot summers
(over 40) they get an occassional watering, but they are doing well in a
hard and hungry spot on the edge of the grassed "lawn" where it runs into a
shaley section of land.

I'm in Australia and one observation I would make having read here for years
is that British gardeners seem to have a tendency to cosset their plants and
olives are one plant that shouldn't be. Don't treat olives (or Australian
natives) too well. Think of them as doing best in hard and hungry
conditions. Don't cosset, but make sure the pot is big enough too.

Thanks for the information. I've noted it.

The leaves appear to be dropping from the thickest branches and not
newer growth.

You might be interested in the link below about the Alice Springs Desert
Park.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/tv_an...d_index1.shtml

That's good news it means that your plants are not suffering from Peacock spot. Suggests to me that the central heating is probably the culprit.

On Mon, 11 Feb 2008 22:40:01 +0000, 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 have one in a pot which has been outside in a sheltered place for
the last 3 winters. I would cover it with fleece if we had hard
frost. When it was smaller I used to bring it in to the house for the
winter and it usually lost most of its leaves when indoors. I don't
think it was over-watered, just the dry air I think. It always
showed new buds quite quickly and has not suffered.

Pam in Bristol