Collecting olive

Dwight

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I have an European olive in my yard that took a real hit from the FREEZE this past Feb. I cut it way back and it's comin back. It also shot up a new tree about a foot away from the old stump soooooo I've decided to collect the stump and let the new tree replace the old one. Question : why do people cut offv the bottom of olives when collected and is this necessary ?
 

treekutter

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When I collect a tree my main objective is get the tree to live. It sounds like your tree has had a hard time. I would not flat cut until you have a healthy tree.
 
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I think if you are going to do this, you are taking a risk that it may not survive, this is true... at the same time if this is what you want to do, and you collect it, nurse it back to health and then do it, and it dies... one has wasted a whole lot of time, and money... sometimes you are damned if you do damned if you don't... Last option, is to just collect it and don't flat cut it !!!
 

Dwight

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Al right , now I'm confused as hell. If my root base looks anything like the one in the photos of the Olivehead site it's gonna need a five gallon bucket for a pot. Then how do I get it into a bonsai pot. The damn stump seems healthier now than the tree was before the freeze so why not try it and avoid all the hassle letter. If it croaks I havn't really lost anything cause it needs to go away anyway.
 
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dwight, when we are collecting bald cypress, we often cut really far back on the roots, pretty much stumping the roots.. so that it will be able to fit in smaller pots... If it is going to die, it would be better when collecting, than after spending much time on it...
I would be sure to use some very coarse soil, so that suffecient oxygen gets to the newly forming roots... Often times what I do when collecting, is that I put it in mostly pea-gravel, with a small amout of soil thrown in...
Also, you will probally have to reduce the foilage drastically, leaving just a couple of leaves.
 
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Dwight darlin',

Precisely when were you thinking of stumping this tree? I know you stay warm, but hours of daylight are as important as warmth in recovery as that is what stimulates growth. The link talks about trees being collected in July/August - which means you are likely 5-7 weeks off the collection period the individual was talking about. Collecting with roots now is more work, but your probability of success is higher. If you don't care either way, take your chances... you are after all in the glorious Republic of Texas.

Love always,

V
 

Dwight

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Damn straight Vic , yeahaw ! Actually I was gonna dig it in march or April like any other tree. Don't know nutin bout olives so I was goin with the established order.
 
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