Olive soil

[Goff]

Hi everyone. I'm about to go on my first olive dig. Can anyone tell a good soil mix for a freshly dug up olive. Also peoples thoughts on is it better to flat cut and olive or keep some roots

[Chris]

Hello Goff if you look here you can see there is no need to leave any roots on the olive.

viewtopic.php?f=130&t=8446

The best thing to do is let the base seal it self in a tub of water for a month change the water once a week. I have found that you can leave the Olive in the water until it starts to shoot new growth. You will see after a while that the olive will get white spots on the base where the new roots want to come threw.

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once you see new signs of this all happening you can either put it back in the ground or another tub of premium mix and of it goes

Enjoy your dig the bigger the chain saw the bigger the stump

[Andrew Legg]

Hey Gof,

I have used plain washed river sand, I have used 2-3mm gravel plain as well, and I have just used the mix described here ( viewtopic.php?f=130&t=8319 ) which was a mix made up for me by a local bonsai and olive expert. He claims to have never lost one. The big thing in my experience with olives is to be patient. My recipe for success put together from the best advice I have colated in the last few years from experienced growers would be:

1.) Dig out tree
2.) Flat cut the base as/if required and prune back foliage either totally or as appropriate given the amount of rooting removed
3.) If not flat cutting, notch the cambium in the area where you want roots (this is probably not 100% necessary)
4.) Soak in a solution of water, Superthrive (or Seasol) and Asprin (or Willow branches) for a week or two
5.) Plant into a sandy mix (the one described in the link above comes recommended
6.) Secure the tree with wires to the pot to ensure no movement of base when putting out new roots
7.) Water to keep sand damp, but not wet and don't move the tree is you can help it
8.) Wait
9.) Wait
10.) Wait some more (some of mine have taken three months, one took two years)
11.) Once you have growth give it a few more years to settle and regain strength (specially if it is a bigger tree)
12.) Prune only occasionally to maintain basic shape, and only design prune in small sections allowing the tree to build health and vigour.

Have Fun!!!

[Paulneill]

Can this be done with any other type of trees or olives only and also can it be done any time of year?

[Chris]

4.) Soak in a solution of water, Superthrive (or Seasol) and Asprin (or Willow branches) for a week or two

this cost money

just water is fine it still works

[Andrew Legg]

4.) Soak in a solution of water, Superthrive (or Seasol) and Asprin (or Willow branches) for a week or two

this cost money

just water is fine it still works

Hey Chris,

I don't have the experience to argue either way, so I figure a few headaches and ten bucks of Superthrive or Seasol can't hurt. When you think of it in relation to the value of a decent yamadori olive, it's peanuts. That said, I don't know whether it helps or not, but I figure it can't hurt. I guess it is very difficult to measure or quantify.

Cheers

[Chris]

[Andrew Legg]

Precisely