Olive tree problem

Lorns · July 2022

I bought an olive tree for my sister as a wedding gift. Loved the symbolism of it and thought it would be a nice gift idea.

A while ago the leaves started browning and falling off on one side. My sister was desperate to fix it and didn’t want to tell me. So she watered it more often (once a week) and started giving it a liquid seaweed feed once every two weeks (she read this might help online). Unfortunately the rest of the leaves turned brown and now it is completely bare 😱. She told me the other day.

They have just moved to new house and have no where to plant it at the moment. It is in a pot.

I do feel it might be something to do with lack of water as it is in a pot and soil mix is very free draining but really hoping it is not dead and beyond help at this stage.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you

JennyJ · July 2022

What size is the pot, and how long has your sister had it? Once a week watering is probably nowhere near enough for a tree that size in a pot and it could have dropped all its leaves because it didn't have enough moisture to support them. Tell your sister not to feed it unless it regrows leaves. It would be like giving a very ill person a huge meal.

I don't know whether the scratch test, where you gently scrape off a bit of bark with your nail to see if it's still green and moist underneath, works for olives, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who knows.

Pete.8 · July 2022

Was it planted in multi-purpose compost?
If it was, then that stuff drains like a sieve usually.
If not then maybe as you say, just a general lack of water.

You can try snapping twigs at the top - if they snap cleanly, that bit is dead. If it bends there's hope.
Also - Using just a fingernail scrape the bark on the main trunk to reveal the colour underneath - if it's green, then it's alive. If it's bone dry and white, then it's not alive.

Liquid seaweed is good - and if you can use rainwater to water/feed that will help too.

Olive tree problem

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