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Fruit & Orchards

Olive Tree Leaves Falling

11 years ago

I received an Olive Tree seedling about 10 months ago and it came in a very small slender plastic pot. The tree came from a supplier that grows trees for olive tree farmers and so I believe that this container was temporary until the farmer got the tree in the ground. When I got the tree home, I transplanted the tree into a larger pot with well composted soil hoping the it would grow bigger and stronger before I moved in to the the ground. Well, ever since then, the leaves have been dropping quite a bit, followed by a growth spurts and then more leaf drop.

I had it outdoors for all summer, moved it indoors hoping to protect from the cold nights, but then I was told that it should do better outdoors. It has been outdoors for two weeks now, but I have not seen any change. When I had it indoors, I was watering about twice a week with a proper soak and fully drain method. Ever since it has been outdoors, I have not watered it because of the rains we have been having lately.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I was hoping to have a large olive tree in my front yard someday.

This post was edited by meisocal on Fri, Dec 14, 12 at 19:28

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Comments (5)

jean001a
11 years ago
Keep it outdoors but protect temporarily if low temps threaten. Continue similarly for the next several years until it's well established in the garden.
meisocal
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the advice. How low would be considered low? I am in the inland suburbs of LA so the temps rarely go below 40F
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Ok I took some more pictures, with close up of the leaves to give y'all a better idea. It actually is more than a few leaves so I want to make sure I'm not ignoring a problem. I'll also follow your advice, rhizo, and trim the branches that touch the ground, clipping them all the way to the trunk. One factor re: Dave's point is that a week or two ago I did move the tree (from where it had been for about two weeks) about two feet in order to get away from one of its close tree neighbors. So that could have been a shock, I'm guessing. Onto the pics: The ones front and center aren't curled up, but maybe those spots are a clue about what's going on?? Any clues? Thank you so much!!!
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
11 years ago
Olives will have no problems with your temperatures. I think your bought a "liner" the way most tree seedlings are sold. Although the container was probable not more than 3 inches wide it was deep and ready to transplant the tree into the ground. I have an idea that you potted it up into a mix that did not drain well enough and the combination of wet roots and low light caused the leaf drop. Olives only need well drained soil and full sun to do well. They don't need a rich soil with lots of fertilizer. Al
glib
11 years ago
Indoors is bad for that tree. FULL SUN is a must. Even 30F will be OK for olives, and mature trees take 10F overnight.
meisocal
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the feedback. I will leave it outdoors and hopefully it will be healthy enough to move to the ground before the summer.

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