When to prune

Dempo1

Hi all,

Have this (Olive Tree, I think) at side of the house, it's done extremely well but beginning to look like a badly managed Afro

Can it be pruned and when? I find the only draw back with these trees, is it has a relatively short full leaf bloom/Foliage season and gets a little untidy looking when leaves start to discolour / shed, not sure if thats a disease as such or just the nature of this tree. Advice on pruning would be appreciated, I don't want to damage it. Picture to follow, not sure why one can't be added at start of thread.

Dempo1

Here goes

The Continental Op

Wrong tree wrong place? But hard to say that when its growing so well, although probably growing too well.

I'd leave it this year because its covered in flowers who know you might get something from them?

Otherwise its shortening back branches and removing some of the overcrowding. Not a quick or easy job.

Google tells me that spring or early summer is the time to prune so you can assess the crop and prune accordingly but I suspect you might want to prune back beyond the fruit.

Dempo1

The Continental Op wrote: »

Wrong tree wrong place? But hard to say that when its growing so well, although probably growing too well.

I'd leave it this year because its covered in flowers who know you might get something from them?

Otherwise its shortening back branches and removing some of the overcrowding. Not a quick or easy job.

Google tells me that spring or early summer is the time to prune so you can assess the crop and prune accordingly but I suspect you might want to prune back beyond the fruit.

Thanks, why do you say wrong Tree, place? I've actually had it in various areas of garden and it's thrived here, almost too much, is it not a type of Olive?

lrushe

Olives don't need to much pruning, a bit of a shape in Spring and then you can take out any dead or crossing/rubbing branches now to open out the crown and let light in to help ripen any fruit you might get.

Dempo1

lrushe wrote: »

Olives don't need to much pruning, a bit of a shape in Spring and then you can take out any dead or crossing/rubbing branches now to open out the crown and let light in to help ripen any fruit you might get.

Thank you

The Continental Op

I'm just saying its growing far better than most people might expect.

I don't see any problem pruning it but to do a good job will take a lot of time and care.

If there is a lot of growth back along most branches I'd consider pruning every branch back the the last leaf. Then thin out whats left.

The problem being that you might then stimulate a lot of new growth which will then need thining out.

loyatemu

has anyone managed to grow olives here? I know my wife's folks have a tree in their garden, fairly sheltered spot on the eastern side of the country, never get any fruit.

The Continental Op

loyatemu wrote: »

has anyone managed to grow olives here? I know my wife's folks have a tree in their garden, fairly sheltered spot on the eastern side of the country, never get any fruit.

We've had a couple of fruit on a very scrappy shrubby tree that has a hard life, but I wouldn't take that to mean we grow olives here

Dempo1

The Continental Op wrote: »

I'm just saying its growing far better than most people might expect.

I don't see any problem pruning it but to do a good job will take a lot of time and care.

If there is a lot of growth back along most branches I'd consider pruning every branch back the the last leaf. Then thin out whats left.

The problem being that you might then stimulate a lot of new growth which will then need thining out.

Ah, I understand, yes I was nervous about putt it there initially but it really has done well, that side of house get great sunshine from lunch time onwards. I choose here partly has it makes a nice feature in full bloom and the Trunk won't grow to wide and unmanageable.

An additional, un intended use is Christmas, I put fairy lights on it and it looks brilliant albeit a chore taking them down

lrushe

loyatemu wrote: »

has anyone managed to grow olives here? I know my wife's folks have a tree in their garden, fairly sheltered spot on the eastern side of the country, never get any fruit.

There are fruitless varieties, they tend to be faster growing as they don't use up energy making fruit.

Dempo1

lrushe wrote: »

There are fruitless varieties, they tend to be faster growing as they don't use up energy making fruit.

I think mine is fruitless, I've never seen olives as such, love the tree but Olives I could never take too

The Continental Op

Dempo1 wrote: »

I think mine is fruitless, I've never seen olives as such, love the tree but Olives I could never take too

What am I seeing at the near the tips of a lot of the branches.

Dempo1

The Continental Op wrote: »

What am I seeing at the near the tips of a lot of the branches.

Hang on, I'll take a closer pic

Dempo1

Close up

The Continental Op

Thanks some of those buds looked bigger further up the tree.

Dempo1

The Continental Op wrote: »

Thanks some of those buds looked bigger further up the tree.

You got me thinking have I an olive farm on my hands thanks

lrushe

Dempo1 wrote: »

You got me thinking have I an olive farm on my hands thanks

Has the tree ever flowered?
You need flowers to get fruit, Olives can self pollinate so you only need one tree.

Dempo1

lrushe wrote: »

Has the tree ever flowered?
You need flowers to get fruit, Olives can self pollinate so you only need one tree.

Hi, it's never flowered as such, just leaves. The only dissapointing aspect of this tree is the season for leaf foliage quite short but actually looks very sculptural (if that's the right discription) during autumn and winter

Dempo1

lrushe wrote: »

Has the tree ever flowered?
You need flowers to get fruit, Olives can self pollinate so you only need one tree.

I've actually a few I've grown from cuttings and doing well in pots, attached an example , planning to plant into ground later in the year

standardg60

If your intention is just to have a nice mop headed shape now is the perfect time to give it a really good trimming, as any chance of frost has passed. Just make sure to leave some leaf. I wouldn't worry about thinning it at all.

In the future, once you have a desired tight shape, just after flowering (if it does) is the right time to trim.

Dempo1

standardg60 wrote: »

If your intention is just to have a nice mop headed shape now is the perfect time to give it a really good trimming, as any chance of frost has passed. Just make sure to leave some leaf. I wouldn't worry about thinning it at all.

In the future, once you have a desired tight shape, just after flowering (if it does) is the right time to trim.

That's exactly what I'm hoping to achieve and thank you