Greetings-wild olive tree-

[The Robot]

Hello.
This is my first post in this forum and i am quite new to Bonsai.
Well i collected a wild olive tree about a month ago (late december).
I live in Greece and the weather was not that cold.
I made some cuttings and a major Flush Cut (pics 4,5) because there was a big Branch that i didnt need.
I also made some root prunning and cut the major woody root in the center.
My purpose was to place my tree in a bigger pot for about a year and not in a bonsai pot from the beginning in order to help it find its balance and maybe get thicker.ther base of my trunk is about 8cm and the height is about 30 cm(its quite good)

Here is my "training" tree


I have made some terrible mistakes:
1)maybe i shouldnt have cut the major central thick part of the root ( i dont know how is it called).
2)i watered it quite regular about twice a month (i read that in the beggining you should not water it a lot)
At this moment i see that the leaves have yellow spots and they are a bit dry.
3)After the major flush cutting i made i didnt use any cutting paste (i was not aware of its importance).Now after reading more articles i realized that flush cutting is the worst thing that somenone can do to a tree.I am afraid that my tree will not make it after all and even it forms a callus there would be a fungal danger.
I have to say that i feel really bad now about the harm i have caused to that tree but there are so many things that you cannot know from the beginning.
Thats all.
I would apreciate if anyone would like to help with this.
Thanks in advance,
The Robot

 

[Poink88]

Hi Robot and welcome to BNut!!!

Please put your location and zone if possible at your profile so it will appear next/below to your username. Most people here won't read your first post or forget where you are after a while.

I like your frame...I am working on similar design for mine but made of steel so I can re-use it and have more strength in case I need it. Haven't gotten to it yet.

Regarding your tree...it is probably better if you chop the entire thing off just a couple inches above the base and grow new branches from there. It might sound shocking but that is what I'll do if this is mine.

Almost like what was done here http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?10063-elm-chop-induces-feelings-of-regret-nausea

Good luck!

 

[The Robot]

So you would suggest me to cut under the Flush cutting?And what about the proportions after that.The top of my trunk would be very thick
At this time i have a good shape as far as the trunk is concerned.
Do you think that is going to die if i leave it like that?
And about overwatering,do you thing that this is the reason of my yellow leaves?

 

[Poink88]

(Again, if this is mine) I'd cut it at the red mark...
View attachment 30471

As with water, it depends on your soil, how much roots you have, wind, temperature, amount of foliage, etc. Healthy plant uses a lot of water, dying one doesn't.

Stick a bamboo skewer on your soil and leave it there. Check if it is wet about an inch below the top. If it is, do not water yet.

By the way...this plant is outdoors right?

 

[daygan]

You've given some good information about the situation that you're tree's in, and I think I can guess already where the problems are, but I think if you give a few more details, it might be helpful for us to help you diagnose the exact problems and suggest potential resolutions.

1. What kind of pattern does the yellow and dryness take? Is it yellow on the veins of the leaves, in random spots, on the flesh of the leaf while the veins remain green, or around the edges only?
2. Can you take a close-up photo of a few of the leaves and post them?
3. When you cut the tap root (the large middle root that you removed) were there many other smaller roots left on the tree?
4. About how much root structure was left in terms of a percentage of the mass of the trunk and branch structure?
5. You say you were watering a lot, but it seems that you also stated that you were only watering twice a month. Did you really only water your tree twice in the course of one month? If not, approximately how many times did you water it (per month, week, or day, whichever term is more logical to use)
6. What kind of soil is your tree in?

I honestly don't have any experience with olive trees, but I understand there are some on this forum that do, and from what I gather, developing roots even on trunks which have had all of their roots completely removed is not difficult, so you may not be in as much trouble as you believe (but don't take my word for it!).

 

[The Robot]

Well guys it seems that i had two good trees and destroyed them due to my impatience.
Wish someone else with more experince had found them.
Here is a photo of a branch with a sample of my yellowish-brown leaves View attachment 30472
There were many roots after cutting the tap root-although i took most of the soil from the root ball.
the soil i used was a common gardening soil.I used this because i chose a big container and i thought that i wouldnt have bonsai pot conditions that need extra fine drainage.
I watered about 3 times in 40 days.but enough water each time about 1/3 to 1/2 of a litre.
But here is something that might help more.
From the same place i got one more multi trunk olive tree.
In this one i cut a little from the root ball.
I used the same soil in a bigger container for this one.
Today i decided to get it out to see whats going on cause i had brown dry leaves that dont fall easily.That is a sign of fungal disease as i read.
Here is a pic of the other tree. I am posting this in case it would help.