I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the plant.

On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:16:01 +0100, "Jo" wrote:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the plant.


Whilst I am definitely no expert on olive trees, we have had a small
one in a container on our terrace for several years. It was planted
in John Innes 3 compost in a 50 cms earthenware pot and located in a
south west facing position. It is now over a metre tall and a good
shape due to an annual trim. Apart from watering every couple of
weeks and a half strength dose of miracle grow twice a year we neglect
it.

rbel

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:16:01 +0100, "Jo" wrote:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved
house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the
plant.


Whilst I am definitely no expert on olive trees, we have had a small
one in a container on our terrace for several years. It was planted
in John Innes 3 compost in a 50 cms earthenware pot and located in a
south west facing position. It is now over a metre tall and a good
shape due to an annual trim. Apart from watering every couple of
weeks and a half strength dose of miracle grow twice a year we neglect
it.

rbel

Planted on the birth of a baby in the family?

That is the tradition in Countires where Olive Tree Plantations grow, that
an Olive Tree is planted so that when the 'baby' matures, the tree matures
so the 'baby' will always have an income.

Mike


--

....................................
Remember, a statue has never been erected to a critic.
....................................

On 18/04/2011 21:13, wrote:
On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:16:01 +0100, wrote:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the plant.


Whilst I am definitely no expert on olive trees, we have had a small
one in a container on our terrace for several years. It was planted
in John Innes 3 compost in a 50 cms earthenware pot and located in a
south west facing position. It is now over a metre tall and a good
shape due to an annual trim. Apart from watering every couple of
weeks and a half strength dose of miracle grow twice a year we neglect
it.

rbel


Any hints about the annual trim? Ours is getting
rather misshaped due to strong growth in the wrong place.

On Tue, 19 Apr 2011 17:58:43 +0100, Paul Luton
wrote:

On 18/04/2011 21:13, wrote:
On Sun, 17 Apr 2011 21:16:01 +0100, wrote:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the plant.


Whilst I am definitely no expert on olive trees, we have had a small
one in a container on our terrace for several years. It was planted
in John Innes 3 compost in a 50 cms earthenware pot and located in a
south west facing position. It is now over a metre tall and a good
shape due to an annual trim. Apart from watering every couple of
weeks and a half strength dose of miracle grow twice a year we neglect
it.

rbel


Any hints about the annual trim? Ours is getting
rather misshaped due to strong growth in the wrong place.

Our tree is not grown for fruit (although it does produce some) so I
now snip it back to what I consider to be a pleasing shape each
spring. I didn't touch it for the first four years and then removed
all the unwanted growth, cutting just above a shoot that looked as
though it was pointing in a reasonable direction. It then gets the
first of its bi-annual feeds.

rbel

On Apr 21, 10:27*pm, Sacha wrote:
On 2011-04-17 21:16:01 +0100, "Jo" said:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. *It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. *I have since moved house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. *Also, should I take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the plant.

These are not fast growing trees, quite the opposite, in fact. *As we
know they can live for hundreds of years and so tend not to be
fast-growing plants. * Putting plants into larger pots is not always a
good idea. *Only the root growth and the type of plant can tell you
that. *Why did you re-pot your plant? *Was the original pot full of
root? *With something like an olive, which grows naturally in dry,
stony and barren soil, a large pot full of wet compost could be a death
knell. * The bigger the pot, the higher the volume of wet compost round
the roots of a plant adapted to grow in poor, dry, hot conditions. *Yet
again - and I'm sorry to labour this point - you don't tell us where
you live so how can we tell you whether to put your plant in a bed? *If
you live in Northumberland, no, if you live in Salcombe, perhaps but at
your own risk. * *I know that I tend to harp on this subject but it
makes such a big difference to advice given that it's impossible to
underestimate its importance.
--
Sachawww.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Remember that the Old way was to just move the plant up one pot size
when you re potted.
If you just have room between the root ball and the new pot to get
your finger in on both sides then it's plenty big enough.
People tend to move a plant fron a 4" pot into something around 822 or
so. Ugh!

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2011-04-17 21:16:01 +0100, "Jo" said:

I have a small olive tree that was bought for me as a present some years
ago. It used to reside on a west-facing wall but didn't grow much at
all.
I re-potted it to a larger pot, but still nothing. I have since moved
house
and wonder where to place the tree in the new garden. Also, should I
take
it out of the pot and replant in a bed?
I'd be grateful for any advice as I don't really want to discard the
plant.

These are not fast growing trees, quite the opposite, in fact. As we know
they can live for hundreds of years and so tend not to be fast-growing
plants. Putting plants into larger pots is not always a good idea. Only
the root growth and the type of plant can tell you that. Why did you
re-pot your plant? Was the original pot full of root? With something
like an olive, which grows naturally in dry, stony and barren soil, a
large pot full of wet compost could be a death knell. The bigger the
pot, the higher the volume of wet compost round the roots of a plant
adapted to grow in poor, dry, hot conditions. Yet again - and I'm sorry
to labour this point - you don't tell us where you live so how can we tell
you whether to put your plant in a bed? If you live in Northumberland,
no, if you live in Salcombe, perhaps but at your own risk. I know that
I tend to harp on this subject but it makes such a big difference to
advice given that it's impossible to underestimate its importance.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon

Thanks Sacha. I live in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. I repotted the tree a few
years back as the original pot - way too small - was full of root, and I
only water it very occasionally. I never allow the soil to become wet.
A friend of mine, who also lives in Leigh, has a similar tree and keeps
hers in a shady spot in her garden and her tree has grown wonderfully - and
produces fruit!

Jo

I think you can over-emphasise the dry bit. We've just returned from southern Portugal, and it is very evident that that the olives are grown in the valley bottoms, where there is a source of water. Where the soil is drier on the valley sides, the preferred planting is carob, possibly fig (which has very long roots to seek out water), and cork oak. Where we go in Greece, too, there's a very clear colour difference in the landscape, with the greyer foliage of the olives confined to the valley bottoms.

In this context, I agree, it's not a good idea to overpot a plant used to sharp drainage, and not used to sitting in sogginess, but I wouldn't like people to come away with the idea that olives are like cacti in their water requirements!