https://www.bhg.com.au/how-to-grow-olives
Olives require a well-drained soil that is not overly rich; keep compost use fairly restricted. They prefer a limey soil, so a top dressing of garden lime, according to the degree of acidity, should be applied to soils with a pH of less than 6.5.
Potted trees will need to be watered more often than trees planted in the ground. Allow the soil to dry somewhat before watering, then water until the soil is soaked. The normal, healthy potted olive tree will need fertilizer twice a year, once in the spring and once mid-summer. Use a small amount of any slow-release fertilizer, following the package’s instructions.
Pruning the potted tree more than once a year may be necessary to keep the tree within its space constraints. Pinching off the growing tips will promote bushiness while removing a branch from its base will open up space within the center of the tree. A root prune (taking the tree out of its pot, shaking off loose soil, pruning its roots, then replacing in the pot with new soil) can also help lengthen its viable potted life.
Olive trees do not thrive indoors. If you plan to keep your olive tree inside year-round or seasonally, put it outside as much as you are able and place it by a southern-facing window. Watch carefully for ants and scale, as indoor olives tend to be susceptible to scale. Spraying it occasionally with a misting squirt bottle can be helpful, especially in dry, heated, winter homes. Water thoroughly when soil does not feel moist to the touch.
https://www.mcevoyranch.com/about/farming-practices/planting-olive-trees-in-a-pot
For those who maintain a few olive trees in the garden or in pots, a general fertilizer applied annually or semi-annually is often sufficient. At McEvoy Ranch, we use an organic fertilizer in pellet or crumble form that releases its nutrition slowly, applying once in the spring and once mid to late summer. The N-P-K values should be about equal and not exceed 10%. The label of any commercial fertilizer will have the best recommendation for the appropriate rate.
There are a few principles to keep in mind no matter your end goal when pruning. Olive trees will tend to grow a dense canopy without annual or semi-annual pruning. The branches in the middle of the canopy often defoliate due to overcrowding and must be removed regularly for the tree’s health.
Olive trees bear their fruit on year-old wood. Therefore, it is generally preferable to thin branches from the base rather than to tip them, to protect next season’s crop. If you are unsure where your fruit will be, you can wait to prune your trees until the summer when the fruit is visible.
Most pruning takes place in the winter when the trees are resting. Olive trees are evergreen (they do not go dormant in the winter), but their growth slows in the cold months. Most growers opt to prune when the trees are resting and when there is less work to do elsewhere in the orchard, but an olive tree can be pruned any time of year (particularly if fruit production is not the objective). An olive tree that has been pruned in the winter often requires a summer pass to remove suckers and watersprouts. Suckers and watersprouts are much easier to remove when they are still young and tender before they lignify.
our nursery trees for an open vase formation. The mature open vase-shaped tree has a trunk that branches out at 24–36” into three to five major scaffold branches. The middle of the tree is kept open (the vase part) to allow for ample light penetration and air circulation. An open canopy reduces disease pressure and ripens fruit more evenly.
In a typical tree that starts with good form, there are three major types of cuts that are made during pruning. First, the large cuts are made to maintain the three to five scaffold branches (these cuts need to be made with a saw in a mature tree). Second, the tree can be topped at the desired height (with pruning shears). Then the pruner, again with the pruning shears, can thin the defoliated and crowded laterals and shoots. Most of these last cuts will be undercuts, where the downward-growing laterals are removed to lighten the rest of the branch.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/439945457332386413/?lp=true
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/439945457332386413/?lp=true
Applying boron and calcium to the trees as a foliar spray before bud burst will help to meets the trees requirements of these nutrients and can improve pollination and fruit set.
https://www.flowerpower.com.au/garden-advice/gardening/all-about-olive-trees/
https://www.flowerpower.com.au/garden-advice/gardening/all-about-olive-trees/
Most olives require around 200 hours of chilling before flowering and fruiting occurs.
Olives grow best with a slightly alkaline (pH 7-8) well-draining soil. Olives can be grown in large containers but pot-grown plants are not as productive as those grown and managed in the ground.
Olives flower in early spring. Trees take three to five years of growth until they produce their first harvest and most only become fully productive after eight or nine years.
Young plants benefit from early pruning and training to form a single trunk and a framework of three to four main branches.
To maintain trees, prune them in winter after harvest to remove dead branches and to keep the tree structure open. Olives fruit on the wood from the previous year’s growth i.e. one-year-old wood, so heavy pruning can reduce the next year’s crop.
Olives do not need large amounts of fertiliser but benefit from light applications of organic fertiliser in late winter or spring (prior to flowering) and again in autumn after harvesting. They may also need trace elements.
Top-dress with a pelleted slow-release organic fertiliser every year in spring. To obtain high-quality fruit, train the young trees to an open vase shape for good air circulation and sun access. Do this in summer. First remove the central leader. Then choose five strong, well-placed branches to form the tree’s scaffold; remove any other branches. Once the vase shape is established, pruning is subsequently only carried out every winter to remove damaged wood and branches that are rubbing against each other.
Growing in a pot: If you choose to grow a tree in a large pot, fill it with a free-draining mix of loam and compost. Each year in spring, remove the top few centimetres and replace with a fresh mix. Regular liquid feeding, from spring to late summer, is essential for pot grown olive trees if they are to produce fruit regularly.
