Leggy olive hard prunning

[abdismoz]

Hi, I am new to this forum so please forgive me if it is inappropriate to post here.

I have bought an "olive bonsai" online this october. It was nothing closer to how it looks like at website. But i kept it. It is very tall and weak.

So i thought hard pruning could make it stronger. But I am not really an expert and not sure how to do without killing it. I attached a photo of it.

Could someone please where should i cut. Would it be too much if I cut 20 cm from ground right before it is branching. Its total height is about 45 cm. By the I think it is an olea europeae.

 

[luvinthemountains]

Hi, I am new to this forum so please forgive me if it is inappropriate to post here.

I have bought an "olive bonsai" online this october. It was nothing closer to how it looks like at website. But i kept it. It is very tall and weak.

So i thought hard pruning could make it stronger. But I am not really an expert and not sure how to do without killing it. I attached a photo of it.

Could someone please where should i cut. Would it be too much if I cut 20 cm from ground right before it is branching. Its total height is about 45 cm. By the I think it is an olea europeae.

Very cool...welcome!

Olive trees can make great bonsai, but this one is very early in the process of becoming one. I suppose someone better than me could make an "instant bonsai" out of it by heavily wiring and bending the trunk into a contorted shape. But I do not think that chopping it down low is going to be doing yourself any favors at this point. Trunk chopping is a method for introducing movement and taper into a heavy trunk. Decide how thick you would like the base to be in the end, grow it out unrestrained until it reaches that thickness, then cut it back and grow a new section of trunk until it is half the size of the base, and cut again. The process will require excellent growing conditions - bright light and proper watering and fertilization.

 

[Tieball]

Not to be discouraging to your desire to chop, but if the tree is weak as you say, hard pruning is not a good solution to make stronger. This olive needs to grow healthy before chopping. It’s a stick right now. The top you have is what is fueling the growth of the trunk. Growth, healthy growth, is needed. Let it grow with plenty of sunshine and adequate watering. When the lower trunk near the soil is really close to a thickness that you want, and the roots are healthy, then chop it low. Yes, it will take a lot of time.

I have, over the years, had starter trees that looked like this one. The best path I took was to just set the tree aside, take care of it as needed, and let it grow unrestrained to a high height. Most grew to about 9’-10’ in height before any chopping. This height growth built a thicker base trunk. Setting the tree aside kept me from fiddling around with it which would prevent strong growth.

Add your location to your profile. It will help with targeted comments.

 

[LuZiKui]

I agree with the other responses. Let it grow and strengthen before anything major. Olives typically throw out a ton of new branches along the trunk if they are growing healthy so work on getting more growth out of it and then you will probably have some better options of where to cut it to choose a new leader.

In addition, when it's warm where you are at I would look to get it in a bigger pot. I would make sure there is some inorganic material in the soil, like perlite or pumice. Then give it some time and let it grow!

 

[abdismoz]

Thank you all very much for your replies. I was thinking about topping it because it is already 45 cm at height but trunk width is not even 7mm on thickest point but as i said before I am just a beginner.

I will wait for winter to pass an when spring comes I am going to share new picture with you and ask for advice again.

 

[Shibui]

First thing is that olives respond great to trunk chops, in fact they respond well to all pruning. You can cut an olive anywhere and the stump will sprout new shoots. You could cut your olive at 2 or 3 cm and still get plenty of new shoots.
Second thing has been mentioned above. Whether you SHOULD chop that olive now or even next year. Depends what you want to aim for. Beginners want a bonsai instantly and expect a skinny trunk to turn into aged, fat trunk bonsai in a few months but the reality is that all plants take time to grow. We sometimes spend 10-20 years growing a good trunk for bonsai. You will definitely be disappointed if you hope for a good bonsai from that olive in a few months. Olives are also quite slow to develop and thicken so it won't be quick.

Trunks thicken faster if they grow a lot. Leaving a tree to grow free is the fastest way to thicken a trunk. Pruning definitely slows thickening. Small pots definitely slow growth and thickening.

If you just want to prune and end up with a short bushy olive with a skinny trunk you can go ahead and prune but I would wait until late spring or summer when the olives are growing for best results.

 

[abdismoz]

Thank you sir, but my aim is not getting fat and old looking bonsai and I know it is not easy the have one. What I'd like is getting a healthy tree with an aesthetic looking height/width rate.

I was wondering if it could live without its leaves only having 20 cm of trunk till sprouting new ones and I learned here it is not really possible.

 

[PonderingSage:]

If you do end up chopping it, cut the discarded part up into sections and plant them… olives root easily … then you have 6 trees

 

[abdismoz]

Cool, If the trunk dies after chopping I would still have 5 trees.

 

[Nivel]

Like LuZiKui said I will wait till spring to re-pot it in a bigger pot and let create a better root system. With a substrate with good drainage, full sun and water it will start developing sprouts on the lower trunk and suckers from roots. I will wait for this sprouts to grow a bit and them chop above them in summer.

 

[abdismoz]

Wow I didn't know that. So lower trunk can sprout even if I don't prune it?

 

[leatherback]

Wow I didn't know that. So lower trunk can sprout even if I don't prune it?

yes.

 

[LuZiKui]

Wow I didn't know that. So lower trunk can sprout even if I don't prune it?

Just FYI, here are some pictures of a trunk chop I did last year and how the tree responded. You can see that it sent all sorts of sprouts out from the roots and the base of the tree. Actually you have to keep pruning them because they send out new shoots constantly when they are vigorous.


And like @PonderingSage: said, if you put the cuttings in some soil you've got a good chance that they'll root. The picture below is the portion of the above tree that I cut off after about 4-5 months. Now I have a bonus olive tree!!!