What Would Happen to Bonsai Olive Tree If Planted in a Huge Pot?
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years ago
If you had an old bonsai olive tree, such as the beautiful specimen shown in the photo here, what would happen to it if it were placed in a huge pot, where the roots could grow out? Would the limb development on the top of the tree be haphazard and ugly, or would it be well-formed out of the top of the tree?
I want an olive tree with a warped trunk as an outdoor specimen in a large beautiful pot. The pot is shown in the additional photos here. I would love to have a normal olive tree grow into the pot, but it takes 30 years for an olive tree to show the warping at the base of the tree that is so desirable.
Are there other types of bonsai trees - maybe cheaper than the $1500+ a 50+-year-old bonsai olive tree might cost - that would also have a warped trunk and would look good in the pot shown here? The pot is a little over three feet across at the top.
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westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)Related Discussions
color of pot for bonsai species
Comments (3)Its completly your opinion. Keep in mind that the dark pots are going to heat up fast in the summer time, so if you have shallow pots, they will dry out realy fast. Your in zone 5-6 so that might not be a big factor since you have about 3-4 hot months. I planted my juniper in a dark blue glazed pot, I think it looks nice. My ficus is in a shallow very Lt olive green pot, again, I think it looks nice. At the worst, you dont like it so in 1-3 years you replant to a different color pot. But now that Im thinking about it, Ive been unknowingly been planting the trees in pots with the same shade or intensity or hue of the trunk. Hummmm... Here is a picture of these 2 trees in the pots. Click here, Opens in a new window Here is a link that might be useful: Pots...See MoreOlive cuttings - for bonsai?
Comments (8)Great. As far as pot size goes, that's a bit harder, because different plants react differently - e.g. some do better growthwise if just slightly rootbound, others the opposite, and I don't know what olive likes. However, I do suggest you do one thing that'll make a huge difference - whatever pot you do use, keep it outdoors for as much of the year as you can (anytime the temps will stay above 40 F. (including overnites), do it - it really makes all the difference. So until further notice, do give it plenty of room (though not ridiculously so - that's not helpful), give it fast drainage with the right gritty mix, restrain yourself from watering more often than really necessary (olives are Meditarranean and grow in almost-concrete there!) but keep it (for now) in a somewhat wind and torrential-rain protected situation. Good luck!...See MoreHelp.. Would like to purchase an edible olive tree..
Comments (8)Citruslover, I will give you my non-expert opinion on an olive tree. Arbequina seems to be recommended quite often for home growing and/or patio growing despite the fact that it is not a dwarf tree. I planted one that was about 5ft tall about a year ago in a half whiskey barrel. It produced probably 10 pounds or more of olives for me this year. It has not grown much taller, but has filled out some. I used miracle grow moisture control potting soil and the tree seems to be as healthy as can be. There is most likely someone else on this forum that will recommend some concoction of soils that is much better suited, but this is what has worked for me. The only problem I have seen was some scale, but I used Insecticidal Soap to keep it in check. Just make sure you bring your tree inside when temperatures get down around freezing and I think you will be fine. From my research it seems they adapt quite well to a decent sized pot, and if necessary, you can prune them back to whatever size you need. As far as fertilization, I dont have much input for you. I know that olives are not very heavy feeders, and I plan on just adding some compost to mine in the spring and seeing how it does. One thing I recommend before you start this endeavor is to research how laborious it is to turn an olive into something edible. You cannot eat them right from the tree as they are very hard and bitter. There are several ways to cure them. I tried brining with salt water and marinating them this year and they came out o.k. but it takes several weeks to brine them with several water changes in between. They also did not all ripen at the same time so I ended up with several small batches that I was changing the water in at different times. One arbequina is that the olives are a little on the small size, about the size of a large blueberry, so if you want great big olives maybe you should look into another variety. The last thing I will tell you is that there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum about these trees and I am quite sure all of your questions have been asked before. You could have probably found all of this information and more by using the search bar....See MoreWhat's happening to my bonsai?
Comments (8)I call the problem that your elm is dealing with is lack of suitable aeration. From looking at your potted plant, it is surviving (?) in a glazed ceramic pot that is sat down inside a glazed ceramic pot holder. The only source of air into the soil mix is from the exposed surface. Chinese Elm needs good soil aeration. Your soil ingredients sound good but you do not mention the proportion of each element in the mix. I would tend to favor using the lava rock in the bottom of the pot, Use a commercial potting soil cut with twice as much coarse decomposed granite which you can use to plant the tree into. The water minder is good for African Violets. Bonsai do not need such attention if you study the plant used before growing a bonsai of it. You should probably have the tree outside in partial shade and not sitting in the pot holder. Water should drain freely through the mixture. Water just once a week or so. Information of Chinese Elm...See Morewestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay
3 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
3 years agowestes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
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tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)