I like to see some suggestions too (I have few and even leggier :( Maybe just shortening the branches by 1/2? How do you want the tree to look eventualy?

My mom has one too that's even longer which it why I am asking. I'm not sure what I want it to look like exactly but not just a four legged creature

I'd love to see yours and what do you ideally want it to look like?

kerri

I just noticed your post...will take some pics during daytime. Mine are just a mess, I am thinking of just snipping every branch as much as needed.

I would like to see nice, gnarly trunks...not sure if it ever will happen with my (nonexistent) skills :) I have to keep them indoors during winter, and that isn't so great for a tree that wants to grow outside. it would be much better in a greenhouse, but I don't have one.

I have seen some very nice pics of olive bonsai. I would like to keep them bigger than bonsai (maybe up to 3'?), but am sure it would help if I had some bonsai-growing experience which I don't.

ps: I just noticed your is 'dwarf'. I don't know much about them and don't think mine are dwarf - they came from Italian friends - probably 'real' olives, not dwarf (their plant grows in GH, it is quite old and had olives too).

Al

Thank you for stepping in :) I should be able to recite what you wrote in my sleep, read it many times, lol. Another thing to put it in practice...I have a question (hope Kerri doesn't mind): there are branches growing on each of the that are very low, I am thinking to leave them for now to help fattening of trunk? - is that OK in this case? Thnx.

Kerri

Best advice you can get here is above. I am just posting photos of my plants since I promised - they are all wayward because f me :)

This one is really wild:

I have couple of more, smaller. They would be little easier to shape.

R - I would look at each tree individually to determine a basic outline. Then I would look at each trifurcation and remove the one of the 3 branches that is least complimentary to the rough outline. Then. I'd look to see if there are ways to temporarily tie wayward branches into a more eye-appealing position. After that, I'd cut everything back to 1 or 2 healthy leaves and let it grow until next June. Then, I'd make it a habit to do the heavier pruning around the solstice or, if you repot that year, after the tree has resumed growing after the repot.

You could always make it really easy on yourself, too. By that I mean chop the trunk back to the lowest branch (next spring) growing at a good upward angle (your tree doesn't have to be vertical). THEN start practicing the techniques I outlined above. Since I have no reverence for growth already in place just because it's already THERE (unless it speaks to me in terms of its wanting to be a complimentary part of the composition), thats absolutely what I'd do.

Olives are amazing when it comes to repotting. You can LITERALLY cut all the roots off, stick it back into a pot with a high quality soil (not the peat-based stuff) and it will take right off. I have friends that use chain saws to cut off up to 10" diameter olive trees and treat them like cuttings with 100% success.

Check this out - scroll down a bit to where the stump is on the turntable and it's getting cut off with a chainsaw:

https://www.google.com/search?num=50&client=ubuntu&hs=Xl4&channel=fs&q=olive+bonsai+chainsaw+cutting&spell=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj5-LuGjp_OAhVSgCYKHRNJDz4QBQgbKAA&biw=1859&bih=953

Al

Hope I did it correctly

Perfect. That's EXACTLY what I would have done. Looks great - now get it some sun, flush the soil, and fertilize. I see you even trimmed the stubby remnant of the central leader at the center of one of the Ys. You'll be soo pleased when it starts back-budding & pushing new growth. Strong work.

Al

Kerri

That looks great...

Al

Thank you...

Yay!!! I'm so happy since my husband just told me I ruin all my plants and butchered it. Haha. Any chance any of you want to help me with my Meyer Lemon. Thought is was dying until all new growth appeared. I'm trying to use Al's pruning tips to direct the energy to the correct spots but not sure exactly what to do

Kerri

I would love to, but am not good to advice on what you asking (even if I read posts here over & over again, and asks q many times :), but am sure Al will see your post & will give you good advice.

I have followed, originally, his advice on pruning and root pruning and repotting big ficus Benjamina - plant responded so well, I use those techniques on many plants (olives didn't get it as yet as you can see!)

I know that when I post pictures of trees I'm working on, they look nothing like they look in person because of the fact that 2D images to a large degree limit our ability to see depth in the image. It's the same w/your tree. It LOOKS like the tree would benefit from a little less water and having the right side of the trifurcation removed and all the other branches pinched. Maybe you could cover the right branch with a dish towel to see how the tree would look with it gone and see what you think ...... and providing some pictures from different angles would give us a better idea of the spatial planes actually occupied by the branches.

That can be my tip for the day - if you ever wish to better visualize what a plant would look like with one of its limbs amputated, without actually pruning it off, just cover the limb/branch with a light piece of cloth or paper towel. The branch I covered is on the Grewia caffra (lavender starflower tree) as a sacrifice branch and will never be part of the end composition. It's only purpose is to fatten the trunk so as the tree gets older and many times its current size, it will have a nice even taper from the soil line to the apex.

.... and suddenly, there it was - gone!

Al

Thank you!!!! I'm really getting into the houseplants and learning about them. Amazing how much control you can have over a plant. May sound silly but I never knew;)

Thanks Al I may do that bc I was tempted to before you responded. How far would you pinch back the others? I have to keep healthy leaf growth in order for it to grow correct?

Better photos and some with right side covered...

These didn't post...
Don't judge the soil, I just ordered the gritty mix already made (after a poor attempt at buying turface quick dry for $30 and opened up to realize it's a fine powder

I think it looks much better with that branch gone ...... but it's your plant/your call. For the other branches, just snip of the very tip, including the leaf most recently emerged. Then, lots of bright light, monitor watering, and keep up with the fertilizer. Spring would be a better time to repot, in all honesty. If you're interested, I can give you something to read that will help you limit the amount of water your planting will hold. I can even lay out a plan that will allow you to pot up now w/o having to worry about soggy soil if you're interested.

For the Turface, you want MVP or Allsport.

I don't think it's silly that you didn't understand how much potential control you have over your plant's appearance/shape (and don't forget appearance/health) at all. Though most of the growers that gather on forum sites have a much better idea about what's possible, the overwhelming majority of the many millions of other indoor growers who don't work at it are pretty much in the stage where the plant has total control of it's growth habit. It grows and the grower allows it its lead.

I think you're just awakening to the idea that not everyone interacts with their plants on the same plane. The more you learn about how your plants work and how they can be expected to respond to your ministrations, the more potential there is for gratification. That isn't to discount the often unbridled enthusiasm and excitement a grower newly bitten by the plant bug experiences - that's something like new love. The kind of gratification you feel deep inside has to be worked at, so for as long as the enthusiasm holds - try to keep learning. What you learn, your own efforts, will be the bridge that carries you over the hard parts to the greater rewards. Then, you even get to feel gratified that you built the bridge. Musing ends here. ;-)

Al

I would love to hear a plan and what you think would be best for the plant!!!! I did water and fertilize today and then noticed a few little bugs in the soil, sprayed with pure Castile soap/water. I'm nervous it may be too drenched now? I have the bark and grit, but no turface. I have multiple bag soils and MG perlite, and premium aquarium gravel (but that's about it). I hope it's not too late and will trust whatever you say:) It is so true about what people know/don't know about plants/trees. Just yesterday I had a woman who works at a nursery tell me the bark is only for layering at the top of plant, not in it. Then a man at the local feed store asked why I need turface and to just buy bag soil

For some reason, growing things in containers is one activity where advancements in knowledge and technology are either very slow in making their way into the mainstream or are being ignored in favor of what's comfortable. I regularly encounter people, even here, that balk when presented with perfectly logical reasons to make changes in their growing habits. When faced with the choice between making changes or trying to prove no change represents a betterment, they get busy on the proof. That a person refuses to change is of no interest to me, but purposefully trying to put others off the track by various means so they have company does everyone a disservice. We recently went through a bout of that on this and other forums from a person who suddenly quit posting after enough complaints were lodged.

It's in your best interest to understand what you're doing and why. It's better to be able to run the show on your own than have someone micromanaging it for you. First, read this. It will explain some tricks about how to limit the amount of excess water your soil can hold. Pay particular attention to the part about 'perched water' and tipping the pot + using a wick and other tricks to help remove it. After you're done reading, I'll help you put together a planting with basic ingredients that will allow you to pot up, and get you through until next summer.

Al

Can you tell I'm a visual learner? So my first question is why aren't "basic" shaped pots lined or built in a way there is a tapered interior, like the picture I drew here? I understand the pot would need to be larger to accommodate the size for roots, but wouldn't that be a solution?

Kerri: Al has mentioned this before. A way to achieve that is to put something like a smaller inverted pot at the bottom. I use large chunks of stryofoam and tie it to the bottom. The important part is to keep some channels open to the bottom filled with the mix. I have seen plastic inserts in one garden place here that also effectively achieves the same thing I believe. If someone was selling a pot like your last diagram I think people will go "is that a pot or a potty?" - just kidding.

Hahahaha! I wouldn't have to use a technique like this if I use gritty mix, correct?

Correct - with gritty mix you do not have to worry about perched water.

Kerri

If the pot was so narrow at the bottom it wouldn't be very stable. It perhaps could be made with narrower inside & wider (as usual) outside, but that would likely be impractical for the manufacturers & much more expensive (more material, more labour - man or machine hours...). Much simpler to make well draining mix, IMO.

Although mine is not pruned well/correctly over the years but here is my dwarf olive that I had for 10 years or so. It flowered once and has never produced any olives. I just repotted this int o gritty mix recently and pruned quite a bit. Stands a bit more than a foot tall. With Al's directions on pruning above I think I am hoping I can make this look nicer over time.

Rina- agree. That's what I was thinking, a regular looking pot on the outside but formed differently inside. Regardless I was just thinking out loud

Tropicofcancer- that's beautiful!!!! Love it!!!!!

kerrizonasteen: Thanks. Hopefully it will get better if I can follow the pruning rules as laid down by Al.