European Olive is this normal?

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This tiny olive was growing great up until about a week ago, then it started dropping leaves. I read that these trees are tough and will drop 1/3 of the leaves during the winter. Well this one has dropped half or more of its leaves. Is this normal? I don't see any bugs or scale.

It's in my tropical room with avg temps 77F - 68F humidity avg 65% - 45% . The soil is inorganic but does have some green algae matter on the rocks. Is that from overwatering? The soil gets dry every two days or so.

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Shibui

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I'd suspect too wet for too long. Olives are dry country trees and the algae growth is indicative of too wet.
Also check light levels. Leathery leaf and silvery leaf plants like lots and lots of sun.
Good news is that olives are tough. Some of mine outdoors had excessive foliage loss last winter but appear to be OK now it has warmed up again. Come spring and outdoors it should gradually recover.
 

leatherback

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Olives are not really tropical trees. They need dormancy, afaik. Treating temperate species as tropical can get you into trouble.
Dropping of leaves is normal when in dormancy. But as you do not provide the conditions to go dormant, this is not normal.
 
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I'd suspect too wet for too long. Olives are dry country trees and the algae growth is indicative of too wet.
Also check light levels. Leathery leaf and silvery leaf plants like lots and lots of sun.
Good news is that olives are tough. Some of mine outdoors had excessive foliage loss last winter but appear to be OK now it has warmed up again. Come spring and outdoors it should gradually recover.
It's under grow light for 13 hours a day inside. Guess I thought it was getting dry enough under the lights.

Olives are not really tropical trees. They need dormancy, afaik. Treating temperate species as tropical can get you into trouble.
Dropping of leaves is normal when in dormancy. But as you do not provide the conditions to go dormant, this is not normal.
Huh. It had this tag. So, I've been treating it as a tropical. And when I looked up the scientific name I saw this. The european olive can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 9–11.

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Too much algae😵‍💫. Definitely looks too wet from here. Drainage holes?

Yes, it has drainage holes.
 
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I water my olive once a week when it is indoors for the winter, the impulse is to water more when l see leaves drop. like others have said back off on the watering and let it dry out a bit.
 

leatherback

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Huh. It had this tag. So, I've been treating it as a tropical. And when I looked up the scientific name I saw this. The european olive can be expected to grow in Hardiness Zones 9–11.
Well, then keep on doing what you are doing.
It is not a tropical species though.
 

Dav4

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Last winter I kept mine under lights in my garage... 30's F for several months... and it eventually weakened to the point it was losing small branches by early January last year. It came inside then and spent the rest of the winter in a sunny south facing window. That's where it is right now, under lights, temps around 65 F and 40 % humidity. It's actually very slowly growing this winter, which is what it did when I lived in GA.
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Last winter I kept mine under lights in my garage... 30's F for several months... and it eventually weakened to the point it was losing small branches by early January last year. It came inside then and spent the rest of the winter in a sunny south facing window. That's where it is right now, under lights, temps around 65 F and 40 % humidity. It's actually very slowly growing this winter, which is what it did when I lived in GA.
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Thanks for the info Drop Branch Murphy. It was growing great under the grow lights until I waterboarded it. :)
 

meushi

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FWIW, I have a tiny olive and a monster olive that I have kept alive and kicking for a few years (3 years for the monster, 7 years for the tiny).

The tiny olive gets winter-stored in the basement (along with the citrus), with south facing windows, and gets watered only once the pot is fully dry. It rarely gets below 60F in that spot.

The monster one gets dragged in the garage to protect it from the deep frosts, it gets watered once a month... maybe... if I don't forget. It also only gets light when it's far above freezing and I leave the garage doors open. I would love to store it in the basement but I may not be able to get it out again, even if it is only 3 steps down from the garden.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Well, then keep on doing what you are doing.
It is not a tropical species though.
Definitely not tropical. I keep mine outside here in NC and after three winters they are thriving. No protection - just sitting out on the bench in pond baskets. Temps this year got down below 20 F several weeks.
 

john blanch

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Olives have links to Christianity, they can sometimes appear quite dead, only to resurrect one or two years later. Go figure!
 
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I think I'll try and accumulate this one to winter this year. It's a tiny stick in a pot, but I can put in the garage this coming October or so. Although Dav4 is in my same zone and experienced poor results, which makes this hobby so confusing sometime. Thanks for the insight! :)
 

19Mateo83

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Definitely not tropical. I keep mine outside here in NC and after three winters they are thriving. No protection - just sitting out on the bench in pond baskets. Temps this year got down below 20 F several weeks.
I didn’t tempt fate this year, I’ve been doing the shuffle with mine when it gets below 28.
 
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