hello all,
went for a little visit to the garden center today and lo and behold they were having a sale..... ;D on said sale was an olive tree, around 7/8ft tall for £37 :o is this a good price would you say? anyhow that's quite a lot of money for a churchmouse like me and i dont want to buy something that will not over winter. so i live in cornwall and the plant would be in a v.big pot next to a southfacing spot that is well sheltered, is it ok to pot it up now (it's in a very small pot currently) and what would i use to pot it up mpcomost or something grittier? will it over winter ok ,and is it ok to keep in a pot long term? ireally really want it! thanks you, gg x x
An olive tree that size would often sell for around £150 so it is a very good price although they are usually badly described & the somewhat misleading phrase "Can easily be grown in a pot, as they seldom need re-potting" is often used to describe them.
If it was planted in the ground it would tolerate temperatures down to -10°C but in a pot you will probably need to offer a bit of protection in the form of thick bubble wrap around the pot to protect the rootball from freezing.
Go very easy on the water during the winter wether you plant it in the ground or keep it in a pot left it outdoors there will probably be no need to water it at all but if you kept it in a pot & brought it indoors it would need watering occasionally bearing in mind that overwatering olive trees can cause root rot & loss of leaves.
I'm not sure where to start with the planting. I suppose the best place to start would be about planting your olive in the ground. Your olive wants to be a large tree that will grow to be about 7 to 12 meters tall (up to 40 feet) and up to 4.7 meters (15 feet) wide. The roots of a tree will grow BEYOND the mature crown.
Here's some info on olives.
http://www.metrotrees.com.au/treehandbook/page-listings/olea-europaea-selections.html
http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week283.shtml
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2374/
If you plan on putting the tree in a pot, you will need a pot that is at least 70 cm (about 27 inches) tall and wide. A pot should be about one third the size of the plant. My main concern is the condition of the rootball. I'm certain that it is so rootbound that you will have to cut the pot from the rootball. In order for the tree to anchor itself either into the ground or another larger pot, and the roots to not continue to circle, you will need to do some work. I would suggest that you try and remove as much of the dirt as possible from around the roots and try and untangle the roots as much as possible. You may need to cut a root or two that is circling. I would suggest that you use a hose to rinse off the soil and attempt to loosen the roots before planting it either in the ground or a pot. You will definately need help with such a large tree. The roots will need to be spread apart or they will continue to circle and the tree will be unstable and could fall in a storm if planted in the ground. Here's some info on how tree roots grow.
http://www1.br.cc.va.us/murray/Arboriculture/TreeCare101/below/root_collar_exam/nursery.htm
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/218130_wingate31.html
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources/DD7501.html
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG089
http://msucares.com/lawn/tree_diseases/images/rootball.gif
If you decide to plant the tree in the ground and you are able to unwrap the roots, you will need to stake it until it can establish it's roots in the soil:
Plant:
http://www.tree-planting.com/tree-planting-8.htm
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extpubs/plantsci/trees/f1147w.htm
Stake:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1141.html
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1201/staking_trees.asp
Mulch:
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/Pubs/garden/07214.html
http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/columngw/gr070616.html
If you have to keep it in a container then I cant offer much advice other than suggesting you read through these links.
Growing trees in a container:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0701/olives.asp
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1101/trees_container.asp
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles1104/rootpruning.asp
baccy man, thank you very much for that comprehensive answer ;D. i'm deffinately off to buy it tommorow!! i take your points about being potbound and thank you for the links on staking as i really had no idea how to do that properly. my plan is to keep it in a pot for only a year or at worst two as we are planning a house move very soon, and i deffinatelly dont want to leave it behind! ;D right i better get reading, best wishes, gg x x
Hi,
I bought an olive last year and planted it in a pot on the patio. I mixed in loads of grit to make the compost very free draining, and also put crocks in the bottom of the pot. It survived the winter outside (I live in Exeter) without any protection. I did buy some fleece, but it never got quite cold enough to put it on!!! The plant has thrived. It was about 2 ft tall when I bought it and its now between 4 - 5 ft!! I would buy some fleece just to be on the safe side, and keep an eye on the weather. I think though that its waterlogging that's the main enemy, so if you can give it the drainage it needs then you should be OK
HTH
KittyKatt
grogirl if it`s not too late, have look @ top topiary.co.uk or eastofedenplants.co.uk may be of help for those of us who would like to buy an olive tree
Mine has been outside now for 3 years, no fleece, no problem, even had small olives on this year. The first year I left it in its pot but had it buried in the ground so I could lift it and keep it safe if it got cold, but I never bothered bringing it in as it was quite a warm but wet winter.
When I planted it in its permanent spot I attacked the rootball with a fork and knocked out all the compost from the rootball before digging out a huge hole to spread the roots in soil and 10m gravel mix.
It has grown from 2metres to 3metres since then with a bit of frost burn in the 2006 spring. This is on the Isle of Wight which has similar weather to Cornwall and in a courtyard garden that is protected from wind but not the cold.
£37 from a garden centre! I would not let that one get away, the last one I got for a client cost £1,200, mind you it was a lot bigger. Query the bill if it shows vat there is zero vat on fruit trees and olives are fruit.