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Sad Olive Tree

j.sakerj.saker Posts: 1
in Problem solving
Hi, I was hoping someone would be able to offer some advice on my sad looking Olive tree. We inherited it 4 years ago, it had a hard start as had been hacked out of a pot and had a lot of root damage, we repotted in the same pot but changed soil and continually add new soil and feed but due to being in Switzerland wrap and insulate the pot and trunk over the winter months.
last year it was doing really well and then suddenly in early March it started dropping leaves, since then it had dropped nearly all its leaves.
when I take a sharp knife to the branches they are green. We have watered and feed. 
But are not sure of a next step. 
Any help would be greatly appreciated. 🌳

Posts

  • clematisdorsetclematisdorset Posts: 1,348
    There have been quite a few queries about olive trees. Is the weather becoming more spring-like now? Have you checked the pot too - could it have become water-logged at any point, especially when the olive tree was wrapped? Hopefully others might have some ideas. I have new growth on mine, but I lost quite a few leaves and stems from mine which are also in pots.
    Sorry to witness the demise of the forum. 😥😥😥😡😡😡I am Spartacus 
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,493
    Hello @j.saker and welcome to the forum.

    Oh dear.  It certainly does look sad when it should be sending out new leaves and flowers for this spring weather.

    If it shows green on the branches, then it would probably be best to leave it until new growth appears and then prune the branches down to the new growth.  It isn't the right time to prune, but there seems to be a lot of branches and it needs to have some removed to thin it out in the middle and give it some breathing space.  I'd be inclined to just leave it alone for the time being.  The warmer weather is not far away.

    Whereabouts in Switzerland are you?
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited May 2023
    See my comments on another thread.

    The best time to prune is when you are in the mood.
     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
    bédé said:
    … The best time to prune is when you are in the mood.
    I’ve always taken that quote (usually attributed to Christopher Lloyd) to have been made with his tongue very much in his cheek … he had an impish sense of humour.  While being ‘in the mood’ is a preferable state for performing most tasks, gardening and otherwise, it is not the only prerequisite for the timing of a successful pruning session, and it would be a shame if inexperienced gardeners took the quote to mean that you can prune with gay abandon at any time of the year and still achieve positive results. 

    Pruning at the wrong time of year can result in the loss of a year’s flowers and fruits; the bleeding of sap resulting in stunted growth in some plants, or the possibility of fungal infection such as Silver Leaf  in prunus. 

    There are reasons why experienced gardeners do things how and when they do, and while it’s good to have an open and questioning mind, I cannot think it’s helpful to advocate a random approach to a less experienced gardener seeking advice. 

    😊 

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





  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Sadly this quote gets churned out weekly by our resident "expert", without any thought to what use it is to people who come here for advice.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,718
    I saw this "in the mood" earlier when I looked, I thought I had better go away before I type something that I might get banned for! Not useful advice at all.
  • Red mapleRed maple Posts: 1,138
    Not a helpful post Bede.
    It’s possible it could be suffering from shock if its roots have been hacked as you say. Perhaps topping up the pot with some fresh compost might help, along with a feed. (I’m not sure what feed to suggest, though; perhaps someone with more experience of olive trees will be along to offer advice about that or an internet search might help you).

  • Red mapleRed maple Posts: 1,138
    Apparently, a feed with liquid seaweed mix fortnightly might help. (Just googled). 😊
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