Olive Pruning Advice

[HelloMeteor]

This is a young olive I grew from seed (yes, seed). I think it's like 4-5 years old. The trunk is a bit discolored, not sure why. Not sure if that renders it ugly for life. I recently pruned it and it's growing new leaves, but the pruning clearly hurt it, as there are some dead/dying leaves near where I pruned it. I was hoping to keep this one forever pretty small, so don't like the huge-ish side trunk developing, with the two very young new sets of growth. Also there are a bunch of little lumps from previous prunings, and I'm not sure how to address those. Just looking for some pointers, mostly how to deal with that, and anything else. Is it trash, with the discoloration of the base? Should I just turn it into some cuttings? instead of keeping it relatively whole? I have been interested in bonsai for several years, but I have a hard time even keeping plants alive, mostly because I was living in upstate NY where temperatures can get to -20F in the winter and the "summer" growing season is about 2 months long, so my desert rose, olives, and medjool date palms were basically in an abusive household. I now live in Utah, about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, and a a desert rose I gave to a friend LOVED the blistering hot/dry summer.

 

[It's Kev]

edit profile so we can see where you are, some of us have never been to Freedomland

put your olive outside if it doesn't look like hell froze over

welcome to crazy

 

[eugenev2]

This is a young olive I grew from seed (yes, seed). I think it's like 4-5 years old. The trunk is a bit discolored, not sure why. Not sure if that renders it ugly for life. I recently pruned it and it's growing new leaves, but the pruning clearly hurt it, as there are some dead/dying leaves near where I pruned it. I was hoping to keep this one forever pretty small, so don't like the huge-ish side trunk developing, with the two very young new sets of growth. Also there are a bunch of little lumps from previous prunings, and I'm not sure how to address those. Just looking for some pointers, mostly how to deal with that, and anything else. Is it trash, with the discoloration of the base? Should I just turn it into some cuttings? instead of keeping it relatively whole? I have been interested in bonsai for several years, but I have a hard time even keeping plants alive, mostly because I was living in upstate NY where temperatures can get to -20F in the winter and the "summer" growing season is about 2 months long, so my desert rose, olives, and medjool date palms were basically in an abusive household. I now live in Utah, about 30 minutes north of Salt Lake City, and a a desert rose I gave to a friend LOVED the blistering hot/dry summer.

So so many things.
First off olives aren't a good match for your hardiness zone, so it's always going to be a up hill battle.
Secondly, keeping it small is relative, but if for example you like it the height it is currently, your pot is most likely way to big and deep. That pot is better suited for growing it out.
Dealing with the marks can be done by using things like branch cutters/concave cutters which cut further into the wood that helps wounds heal more flush.
The soil seams to be very peat/coco coir based? What's it consistent of, it could be too water retentive. Olives prefer a soil that dries out quickly.
Lastly its kind of hard to identify whether your pruning was harsh, based on no before pictures, as well as other factors such as soil, general health of plant before and so on comes in to play.
But olives recover well from hard pruning...if the plant was healthy

 

[HelloMeteor]

I care about hardiness zones - But I like what I like and will try to grow it anyway. Thanks anyway though. I do need some REAL bonsai tools rather than random clippers.
My main question is really WHERE to trim this one. I am thinking about chopping off part of the biggest branch because it has no taper.

 

[eugenev2]

I care about hardiness zones - But I like what I like and will try to grow it anyway. Thanks anyway though. I do need some REAL bonsai tools rather than random clippers.
My main question is really WHERE to trim this one. I am thinking about chopping off part of the biggest branch because it has no taper.

Personally i would give it a few weeks to recover before further pruning. You may get back budding in a area or even dieback which could influence your options. Also when you take the next batch of photos take it more in line with the soil and from the 4 possible angles ie front, back facing each of the branches. As the slightly top down pictures make it harder to see the taper

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nowhere for now. Sadly you are pruning this little olive way too much.

Sure they can take a lot of abuse, but this one needs to get strong now.

Let it grow, at least all year, likely a bunch to get it really strong and push the roots, then cut it back to wherever you want.
This shouldn’t mess up your aesthetic, but enhance it…. right now it needs a base. To do that one has to develop the tree enough to push a real lot more growth..

You can’t stop Mother Nature from doing what it’s supposed to. Check out this post to get some ideas.

Check out the media the trees are in. Not my favorite, I’m inclined towards pumice with 1/5 composed manure /bark, but it obviously

Bonsai requires time and patience, a lot of each!

Good Luck
DSD sends

 

[Esolin]

Olives are tough, but I agree this one is being worked too hard too young. It needs to be left alone to build strength and energy reserves in a nice little bit of thick trunk. Let it run wild and get runners that are two, maybe even three feet long, then work it when temps are warm and it's actively growing. They are brilliant at backbudding once they've got some strength. The dieback you're getting is a sign that it's weak. Working an olive during the cold dormant season might also cause dieback if the branches can't heal at the cut site in time to properly compartmentalize (olives are bad at callousing their wounds).

In short, let your seedling grow grow grow. It could be a great bonsai someday, but it's got to get a lot bigger first. With young seedlings, you're often looking at a 20 or 30 year project. It's a patience game.