olive bonsai

[nabil]

Dears

I just bought an olive tree. I chopped it as the pic
Root pruned into bonsai pot.
Hopping it will bud again

What do u think? Shall I chop the thick branch leaving the small to make taper? Or wait?
Ur comments are welcomed

[tomc]

Olive buds back fairly well, but you have chopped your new tree pretty agressively.

Soil for trees is most commonly mostly made of coarse sand and crushed bark, not peat or coconut coir. Wet soil causes roots to rot.

Olive is a tree of north africa and mediterainian basin, it must live outdoors 24-7-365 where the climate permits.

My olive has to come indoors October to late April, and it suffers for it every year.

[nabil]

Here the weather is very dry and hot
I used 20% sand 30% coarse peat moss and 50%lava rocks
What do u think? I wont water it unless gets dry every other day

Do you mean i chopped it so much? Will it survive this chop?

[tomc]

I'm cautous about not leaving a living terminal leaf on branches I chop. I'll cut over a long period of years, instead of chopping super hard. My reluctance doesn't make me right and others wrong.

[rainbowgardener]

I'm very beginner at bonsai. But off hand I would think the tree needs to recover from several major shocks to its system - all that pruning and root pruning too. Your suggestion of removing the big branch for taper sounds like a good one, but perhaps for another year after the tree has recovered from what you have already done and is healthy and growing again. Bonsai is a very patient art.

[tomc]

I like your soil as you describe it. Check soil at least daily with a chopstick. If its still damp withhold water. If dry water liberally.

North Africa-near east may need some added coconut coir, or peat moss if soil drys out too quickly.

Now if if you lived in Pittsburg PA, I would be admonishing to not use water holding material in your soil.