Olive tree questions

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Hello, so I have this Olive tree I've been growing for a few years and I would like to do something with it but I don't want to kill it. I'm posting a pic in hopes that somebody will have some advice. I wasn't going for a huge trunk on this one.

Also I was wondering if this could handle a mid-michigan winter?
 

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Adair M

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They will survive the occasional light frost.

Mid Michigan? No way. You'll have to bring it indoors. Treat it like a tropical for the winter.
 

sorce

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@JudyB has a good Olive program for up here.
It's documented somewhere.

Sorce
 
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...I'd like to see it fruit. It had olives when I bought it, but hasn't flowered since.
 

JudyB

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I bring mine in for winter. Nothing special, just in a south exposure window with a florescent shop light over it. Mine grows all winter, slower than summer outside, but still puts on plenty. Mine has not flowered either, but I do a lot of pruning.
 
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That's what I've been doing, except with led's. I haven't done much pruning at all though.
 
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Ok fun I love when I get to do something beseides look at them lol. Do you completely defoliate?
 
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Ok thank you so much. And just FYI I took every leaf off a few years ago and it was fine, although it didn't seem to do anything besides slow the growth.
 

petegreg

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My young olives had the first flowers this spring. They are kept in a light cold room over winter. I think they like having some dormancy period, but I can try to keep one in the warm room for comparison...
As the temps rose in the spring they pushed flower buds with the first new growth. But I removed them after flowering.
 
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So I chopped it about in half.
 

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Gilad

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I bring mine in for winter. Nothing special, just in a south exposure window with a florescent shop light over it. Mine grows all winter, slower than summer outside, but still puts on plenty. Mine has not flowered either, but I do a lot of pruning.
When do you repot them, Jody? I bring mine in for the winter as well but it keeps growing. That why I'm not sure about repotting.
 

JudyB

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When do you repot them, Jody? I bring mine in for the winter as well but it keeps growing. That why I'm not sure about repotting.
Same as pruning, you want to do it in hot weather during active growth periods.
 

Adair M

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I repotted mine in early June.

I wouldn't defoliate. Let it grow out, remove the leaves that grow on the bottom of the branches. Cut back and wire. And bend, of course.

Do it early summer, and by mid summer it will be time to remove that wire, remove old leaves, remove bottom leaves, cut back and rewire!

Repot when it's actively growing. These things grow like weeds in the proper soil. Almost as fast as tridents!
 

Adair M

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As an example:

June 3, before work: (note: I had pulled off the bottom leaves on the stems when I remembered I should take a "before" picture!)

image.jpeg

After: June 4:

image.jpeg

And here it is July 18:

image.jpeg

Grows like a weed!
 
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