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Olive tree pruning

Shereene267Shereene267 Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hiya , I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to encourage my potted olive tree which is about 6ft tall to grow more side branches from the main stem, it’s seems to just keep getting bushier on top and I’d like it to have a more rounded shape . Many thanks 😊 
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Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    *Bump*  :)
  • Shereene267Shereene267 Posts: 4
    Thank you AnniD ! 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Once they get to that size, the only way to encourage more branching lower down is to prune back the lower branches or even all the top growth right back to where it is more sparse, which is drastic. Pot grown Olives tend to be far slower growing. Hard to advise without seeing a photo.
  • Shereene267Shereene267 Posts: 4

  • Shereene267Shereene267 Posts: 4
    Hard to make out because of the tree behind , thanks borderline . Maybe some harder pruning is the answer , Would now be the right time of year ? 
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    Yes, it's best to correct it now if you want to make it more into a rounder shape. Now is a good time to do it, and the top sections need at least half removed to start closing the gap 
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2021
    I bought a mop head olive tree in a pot about 5 years ago. (1.5m stem x ca0.5m diameter head )

    I know olives won't grow as dense as bay or box, and I like it's rather open shape.  But i want to keep it at about the same(ish) height and a head ca 1-1.5m diameter. At the moment if I trim the top it just bushes out and continues to grow upwards. If I trim the lower branches they grow very weakly or die back.

    How do I encourage growth at the base of the mop?

    PS.  I am familiar with bonzai, but it would need an awful lot of bendy wire to train it.  I tried with string, but rather ugly and not effective.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I think I'd experiment with cutting a branch back to three buds ... as one would with an HT rose  ... see what happens to that branch ... if it triggers strong fresh growth you'll have your answer and you can repeat it with other branches the following year.  

    Although in Mediterranean areas olives are pruned throughout the winter, in the UK I would wait until bud-break in the spring.  This will (hopefully) avoid frost damage to new growth ... and of course pruning at bud-break will stimulate more growth which is what you are after ... whereas olive farmers are seeking a tree with more air and light circulation.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2021
    Dove.  I have done a lot of experimenting over the 5 years (probably more; time flies).

    If I cut back the top hard (Feb/mar) or just pinch out (summer), it carries on upwards.  No stimulus to the lower branches. If I cut the lower branches they die.

    I have never pruned a standard HT rose, but most I have seen have had an ugly , upward-growing shape, just what I am trying to avoid.  I have a mophead holly, also a portuguese laurel (as at Hidcote); both are difficult to train to a globe, but easier than the olive.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited September 2021
    Perhaps I should have said "... as one would with an HT rose, when pruning it properly..." 🙄
     It seems that your initial thoughts were the same as mine.  
    Of course, it's always going to be an uphill battle trying to make a plant grow contrary to it's nature ........ best results with pruning are obtained when accentuating natural tendencies rather than going against them, as I'm sure you'll agree. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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