propagate thick olive branch by cutting

nabil

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Can olive survive big branch cut 2-3 inches out of young tree color "tan" ?
Stripping all leaves, then apply rooting hormone and in good soil. Shadded humid area, To root? And make quick good trunk bonsai

If yes , shall be done in spring?
I read it may root easily
 

Si Nguyen

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Hello Nabil, yes, olives can be grown from large cuttings. Pick a branch with good movements and taper. Small branch cuttings are good for instant shohin also. Don't remove foliage. High humidity is good. Put the cuttings in a green house. If you don't have a green house, then put a plastic bag over the cuttings.
Good luck!
Si
 

nabil

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Hello Nabil, yes, olives can be grown from large cuttings. Pick a branch with good movements and taper. Small branch cuttings are good for instant shohin also. Don't remove foliage. High humidity is good. Put the cuttings in a green house. If you don't have a green house, then put a plastic bag over the cuttings.
Good luck!
Si

thanks a lot
1-can be done now in mid spring?
2- what is the minimum cutting length? would three to four inches works in length?
3- with applying rooting hormone, how many weeks expected to root?
thanks
 

Poink88

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FYI, on early March, I was sent a "wedge" piece of olive that looks like an 18" tall pyramid (maybe 7" wide base) from a really old tree. Not sure from what part it was but could be root. both sides of it are stripped of bark and looks like it was split with ax or something. On either opposite side of it are portions w/ bark.

It was planted in a deep nursery pot and last week, new growth emerged from under the soil. No growth from the piece above the soil yet but I expect it to follow soon.

They are that easy to grow. :)
 

Si Nguyen

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thanks a lot
1-can be done now in mid spring?
2- what is the minimum cutting length? would three to four inches works in length?
3- with applying rooting hormone, how many weeks expected to root?
thanks


1. Yes.
2. 3-4 inches in length would work. But the branches need to have some growing tips (foliage tips). For the purposes of making instant shohin size bonsai, the branches should have interesting curves or movement. I have made really tiny shohin bonsai out of branches that were just 1-2 inches in length. So because of the size of the leaves, the minimum cutting length is about 2 inches.
3. 3-6 months to root. Very large cuttings, 6-12 inches in diameter, can take a year to root. Applying rooting hormone may not be necessary, but it won't hurt to use it.

Tips:
- use clean soil, like pumice or perlite or lava.
- use small containers, so the soil will not hold too much water for too long.
- shade, warmth and high humidity.
- water the cuttings once a week only.
- no fertilizer for a year, until the branches are well-rooted.
- don't move the branches around and disturb the new roots. Find a shady spot and leave them there until they are well rooted.
- Good luck!
 
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nabil

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1. Yes.
2. 3-4 inches in length would work. But the branches need to have some growing tips (foliage tips). For the purposes of making instant shohin size bonsai, the branches should have interesting curves or movement. I have made really tiny shohin bonsai out of branches that were just 1-2 inches in length. So because of the size of the leaves, the minimum cutting length is about 2 inches.
3. 3-6 months to root. Very large cuttings, 6-12 inches in diameter, can take a year to root. Applying rooting hormone may not be necessary, but it won't hurt to use it.

Tips:
- use clean soil, like pumice or perlite or lava.
- use small containers, so the soil will not hold too much water for too long.
- shade, warmth and high humidity.
- water the cuttings once a week only.
- no fertilizer for a year, until the branches are well-rooted.
- don't move the branches around and disturb the new roots. Find a shady spot and leave them there until they are well rooted.
- Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the tips. Am very interested seeing some of this olives shohin you made. If you can post here some pictures :)
How will the branches survive a year without root system!!
Thanks again.
 

Si Nguyen

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FYI, on early March, I was sent a "wedge" piece of olive that looks like an 18" tall pyramid (maybe 7" wide base) from a really old tree. Not sure from what part it was but could be root. both sides of it are stripped of bark and looks like it was split with ax or something. On either opposite side of it are portions w/ bark.

It was planted in a deep nursery pot and last week, new growth emerged from under the soil. No growth from the piece above the soil yet but I expect it to follow soon.

They are that easy to grow. :)

You probably got a piece of the root or from the base of the tree. That area is very easy to root. Cuttings from higher up in the trunk or from the branches usually take a little longer to root.
Good luck with it!
 

Si Nguyen

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Thanks a lot for the tips. Am very interested seeing some of this olives shohin you made. If you can post here some pictures :)
How will the branches survive a year without root system!!
Thanks again.

Sure. No problem. I'll snap a few pictures for you.

The big branches ( or cuttings from the trunk), can survive a long time because they have enough sap reserve. If the original mother tree was strong and well-watered before you take the cuttings, then the cuttings will have enough moisture in its sap to survive and put out roots.
 

Poink88

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You probably got a piece of the root or from the base of the tree. That area is very easy to root. Cuttings from higher up in the trunk or from the branches usually take a little longer to root.
Good luck with it!
You could be right. I can't recall but believe I got a base section with some (dead) roots. I was told the tree was felled and dug for a few days (maybe a week) before the pieces were collected. Note that my piece was then shipped to me from California. :)

My substrate is mix of 50% pumice, 25% Turface, and 25% DE. It seem to love it and sent two clusters of 4 shoots each from under (approx). Not sure if it just branched out near the surface though. :)
 

Si Nguyen

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You could be right. I can't recall but believe I got a base section with some (dead) roots. I was told the tree was felled and dug for a few days (maybe a week) before the pieces were collected. Note that my piece was then shipped to me from California. :)

My substrate is mix of 50% pumice, 25% Turface, and 25% DE. It seem to love it and sent two clusters of 4 shoots each from under (approx). Not sure if it just branched out near the surface though. :)

You might have your stump up side down, which is ok. I have one of those up-side-down stump olive bonsai. Bonhe ( a friend on here) introduced me to a friend in Corona, CA, who does a lot of these olive stumps. He would put the huge trunk section upside down and grow it into a masterpiece. Hard to believe until you see it for yourself.

100% pumice is probably best , and quickest, and cheapest ( for most people). But I have grown small size olive cuttings in 100% Turface too. They are so easy it doesn't really matter. I don't bother to mix or sift anything anymore.
 

Poink88

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Si,

I believe...I've seen a few posted thread about it at IBC couple of years ago. :) Must be nice to have access to all those old olive! :cool:

BTW, about a month ago, I base chopped one of my olive, top have no root at all (zero, nada, zip) when I planted it (not sure if it will survive but looks like it). I saved the lower root ball and planted upside down. No sign of growth yet. :D Looking back, should have bagged the entire thing to save moisture.
 
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nabil

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You might have your stump up side down, which is ok. I have one of those up-side-down stump olive bonsai. Bonhe ( a friend on here) introduced me to a friend in Corona, CA, who does a lot of these olive stumps. He would put the huge trunk section upside down and grow it into a masterpiece. Hard to believe until you see it for yourself.

100% pumice is probably best , and quickest, and cheapest ( for most people). But I have grown small size olive cuttings in 100% Turface too. They are so easy it doesn't really matter. I don't bother to mix or sift anything anymore.

1- can i substitute pumice with crushed lava rocks ?

2-some farmers/nursery/gardeners told me olives roots best in white fine sand we have here (i do not know its name, very cheap). the color of the sand is creamy/white fine particles. but it always works best with all of them. i will post magnified pic for it
 

nabil

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You might have your stump up side down, which is ok. I have one of those up-side-down stump olive bonsai. Bonhe ( a friend on here) introduced me to a friend in Corona, CA, who does a lot of these olive stumps. He would put the huge trunk section upside down and grow it into a masterpiece. Hard to believe until you see it for yourself.

100% pumice is probably best , and quickest, and cheapest ( for most people). But I have grown small size olive cuttings in 100% Turface too. They are so easy it doesn't really matter. I don't bother to mix or sift anything anymore.

what's the idea of planting up-side-down olive cutting? what it will look like? do you have any of you a picture?
 

Si Nguyen

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Sorry for the late reply. I had a hard time finding this thread again!

Here are some pics of my cuttings today. In the USA, these plastic trays with a clear dome lid are fairly cheap and easy to find in nurseries and home improvement stores. The tray on the left holds some cuttings of olive trees. They are well rooted after about 10 months. Success rate is about 95% on olives. The middle picture also shows a tray of shimpaku cuttings. The tray on the right picture holds some Japanese yews from 2 years ago.
 

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Si Nguyen

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1- can i substitute pumice with crushed lava rocks ?

Answer: YES, if the lava rock size is very small.

2-some farmers/nursery/gardeners told me olives roots best in white fine sand we have here (i do not know its name, very cheap). the color of the sand is creamy/white fine particles. but it always works best with all of them. i will post magnified pic for it

Answer: Always listen to your farmers. I have seen olives rooted in sand here too.
 
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nabil

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1- can i substitute pumice with crushed lava rocks ?

Answer: YES, if the lava rock size is very small.

2-some farmers/nursery/gardeners told me olives roots best in white fine sand we have here (i do not know its name, very cheap). the color of the sand is creamy/white fine particles. but it always works best with all of them. i will post magnified pic for it

Answer: Always listen to your farmers. I have seen olives rooted in sand here too.

1- what's the idea of planting up-side-down olive cutting?
2- this sand as much as you water it it stays damp, and all water runs through, it is compacted once dried, but once you water it, it is light again
3- lava rocks i have is crushed average pea size
 

nabil

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by the way i am starting Olive Tanuki , i managed to get very interesting pieces of dead oilve wood, very old.

and i got some olives cutting rooted two years old.

i will work on this project, and i will start new thread and keep you updated.
 

Poink88

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I just noticed that my up side down olive root cutting have numerous sprouts now. All growth are coming from under the soil but I am hoping some of the exposed roots will eventually sprout. :)

It is shaped like a turtle shell though (with numerous relatively small roots coming out of it) and not like a branched tree. :( Estimated base is about 8" x 11" and only 5" tall??? Plus the small roots.
 

Si Nguyen

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1- what's the idea of planting up-side-down olive cutting?

- I guess if you have an interesting piece of root wood that you want to save to carve later, so instead a burying it or chopping it away to fit the pot, you can just turn it up side down and use it as the trunk. This idea applies only to big chunks of roots. When you dig up a big olive tree, you will get many chunks of roots that are irregular and seemingly worthless to use for bonsai. Don't throw them away, just plant them flat down in any direction , let them sprout, then design them later.

2- this sand as much as you water it it stays damp, and all water runs through, it is compacted once dried, but once you water it, it is light again

- Good. But use small and shallow containers so the sand won't hold too much water for too long , but don't let it dry either or it will block up like a brick. Watering the cuttings and any bonsai is tricky.

3- lava rocks i have is crushed average pea size

- Good. May be use lava on the bottom as a drainage layer and sand on top.
 

Si Nguyen

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I just noticed that my up side down olive root cutting have numerous sprouts now. All growth are coming from under the soil but I am hoping some of the exposed roots will eventually sprout. :)

It is shaped like a turtle shell though (with numerous relatively small roots coming out of it) and not like a branched tree. :( Estimated base is about 8" x 11" and only 5" tall??? Plus the small roots.


Sounds interesting! Maybe you can do a tiny forest on a turtle hill bonsai. You may have to tilt one side of the turtle shell up and make some sprouts higher than others.
 
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