We do pop it outside for awhile when the sun has come out these last few days. We bought from a good supplier and they kept some of theirs in a poly tunnel. Our conservatory isn't heated but we haven't covered it at all in fleeze or wrap.
We bought from a good supplier and they kept some of theirs in a poly tunnel. Our conservatory isn't heated but we haven't covered it at all in fleeze or wrap.
Polytunnels are humid and not warm. With the mild weather Greenhouses and polytunnels are not being heated and they are very humid.
Olive trees are hary to half hardy. They are not tender plants. So there is zero need to fleece or wrap them inside a conservatory even if we get 2010 temperatures again.
Hi, it sounds like my olive tree might be suffering from a similar problem i.e. some leaves are dying while others look fine. I bought it 2 months ago and it seemed to be doing well as a couple of new branches shot out. Then a lot of leaves became dry and fell off. Now a black stain is sort of spreading across some of the leaves as they curl up and die. In addition, the two thickest branches have gone black. I am watering it sparingly because it is taking a long time for the soil to dry out. It was in a south facing room and now it's in a north facing room. It's not near any heaters. I don't know if it's ill or if I'm not taking care of it properly. Any thoughts?
Olive trees really need to be outside or in a cool conservatory. A north-facing room will have low light levels, especially in the winter. They need high light levels even in the winter, and in cool condtions they need roots to be kept dry. Don't water it any more until the soil completely at least an inch below the surface. Do you have a greenhouse or similar that it could be moved to? It would shock it too much to move it outside now.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have two relatively large olive trees in terracotta pots on my patio at the back of the house (up against the sides of french doors so not completely exposed) and every winter I have problems keeping them healthy. I have tried religiously wrapping and unwrapping them in fleece when frosty, using large fleece pop-up tunnels (1.4mhigh by 1m width) to protect them from wind and frost, moving them against a sheltered house wall, and just leaving them without any fleece cover, and by the end of February every year their leaves all drop off in the space of about 3 weeks. the trees do recover by the end of August, but they they don't look their best just when we are outside and want to enjoy them. This has happened for 4 years running now, so what am I doing wrong? I do also try and keep moisture levels correct, not too dry but not too wet. Any help would be appreciated and we are at our wits end. We don't have a greenhouse to keep them in over winter, and the constant on-off with fleeces etc and worrying all winter if the frost will kill them this time is getting ridiculous. Thanks one and all!
I wouldn't water them at all in the winter - many Mediterranean plants can cope with low temperatures if their roots are almost dry, but cold and wet is very bad for them.
What sort of compost are they in? I would use John Innes loam based compost No 3, with added grit at a ratio of 3:1 to ensure really good drainage. Also keep the pots raised up on feet to enable the pots to drain well.
I would bubble wrap the pots really well, but I wouldn't fleece the top growth unless the temperatures drop to -5C or below.
Also, remember that even evergreen trees drop their leaves at some time during the year, they just don't drop them all at once in the autumn like deciduous trees. It may be that this is part of their normal behaviour, but it's being made more noticeable by having a degree of root rot due to the roots being too wet in the winter, causing them to struggle.
Good luck.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank you! I was worried that in the winter they were too dry as the leaves were very crisp and begun to curl a little, I had expected some leaf drop but these trees seemed to bear a grudge and drop far too many- I will try a no water approach (except rainfall- which I presume is ok?) the compost they are in is as you suggest - but I think I had been more worried about the foliage during frost than the pots. i will try bubble wrap method too. Fingers crossed as I love these trees and would hate to loose them. Thanks again!
Posts
We do pop it outside for awhile when the sun has come out these last few days. We bought from a good supplier and they kept some of theirs in a poly tunnel. Our conservatory isn't heated but we haven't covered it at all in fleeze or wrap.
Polytunnels are humid and not warm. With the mild weather Greenhouses and polytunnels are not being heated and they are very humid.
Olive trees are hary to half hardy. They are not tender plants. So there is zero need to fleece or wrap them inside a conservatory even if we get 2010 temperatures again.
I believe that an important part of the trick is to keep the roots dry when it's cold
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That is the key with most arid and Mediterranean plants.
Wished my PMs worked
Hi, it sounds like my olive tree might be suffering from a similar problem i.e. some leaves are dying while others look fine. I bought it 2 months ago and it seemed to be doing well as a couple of new branches shot out. Then a lot of leaves became dry and fell off. Now a black stain is sort of spreading across some of the leaves as they curl up and die. In addition, the two thickest branches have gone black. I am watering it sparingly because it is taking a long time for the soil to dry out. It was in a south facing room and now it's in a north facing room. It's not near any heaters. I don't know if it's ill or if I'm not taking care of it properly. Any thoughts?
Olive trees really need to be outside or in a cool conservatory. A north-facing room will have low light levels, especially in the winter. They need high light levels even in the winter, and in cool condtions they need roots to be kept dry. Don't water it any more until the soil completely at least an inch below the surface. Do you have a greenhouse or similar that it could be moved to? It would shock it too much to move it outside now.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I have two relatively large olive trees in terracotta pots on my patio at the back of the house (up against the sides of french doors so not completely exposed) and every winter I have problems keeping them healthy. I have tried religiously wrapping and unwrapping them in fleece when frosty, using large fleece pop-up tunnels (1.4mhigh by 1m width) to protect them from wind and frost, moving them against a sheltered house wall, and just leaving them without any fleece cover, and by the end of February every year their leaves all drop off in the space of about 3 weeks. the trees do recover by the end of August, but they they don't look their best just when we are outside and want to enjoy them. This has happened for 4 years running now, so what am I doing wrong? I do also try and keep moisture levels correct, not too dry but not too wet. Any help would be appreciated and we are at our wits end. We don't have a greenhouse to keep them in over winter, and the constant on-off with fleeces etc and worrying all winter if the frost will kill them this time is getting ridiculous. Thanks one and all!
I wouldn't water them at all in the winter - many Mediterranean plants can cope with low temperatures if their roots are almost dry, but cold and wet is very bad for them.
What sort of compost are they in? I would use John Innes loam based compost No 3, with added grit at a ratio of 3:1 to ensure really good drainage. Also keep the pots raised up on feet to enable the pots to drain well.
I would bubble wrap the pots really well, but I wouldn't fleece the top growth unless the temperatures drop to -5C or below.
Also, remember that even evergreen trees drop their leaves at some time during the year, they just don't drop them all at once in the autumn like deciduous trees. It may be that this is part of their normal behaviour, but it's being made more noticeable by having a degree of root rot due to the roots being too wet in the winter, causing them to struggle.
Good luck.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thank you! I was worried that in the winter they were too dry as the leaves were very crisp and begun to curl a little, I had expected some leaf drop but these trees seemed to bear a grudge and drop far too many- I will try a no water approach (except rainfall- which I presume is ok?) the compost they are in is as you suggest - but I think I had been more worried about the foliage during frost than the pots. i will try bubble wrap method too. Fingers crossed as I love these trees and would hate to loose them. Thanks again!