notsogreen
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Simply dry? Olive tree in need of help.

Hello green-fingered folk!

Recently, we went away for 2 weeks leaving our little olive tree outside in the end of summer days in the French Alps. It's relatively new to us, yet very important to us (it's actually from our tree planting ceremony from our wedding - please help as it's symbolic of our marriage so I dread to think what might happen!!). I assumed that the rain would water it over the weeks we were away, but it didn't rain at all and was unseasonably warm, on our return, we found it completely dried out and looking very sad. I thought it might just be dry so watered it, being cautious of over-watering it, yet the situation seems to be getting worse, not better.

This might be due to the weather changing with now minus temperatures during the night, we have moved it inside (I don't know what's better!) and it's now south facing in a very sunny and warmer environment. The leaves, however, just haven't recovered at all and it's looking worse if not better.

I have read a lot about the soil needed, the possibilities of Verticillium Wilt, Root Rot, Root Freeze (maybe it got to freezing temps when we were away at night), yet, I am wondering whether anyone has any great ideas on how to help or what might be wrong. Planning to try and find some liquid seaweed over the weekend to see if that helps too.

My final concern is that when we planted it, the roots were actually wrapped in soft cotton type bag (I'm not exactly sure what it was). Neither of us thought about removing it and I'm wondering if it's preventing the roots from getting water. Seems a bit coincidental with leaving it without water for a few weeks, but perhaps it's not helping the situation.

Thanks to anyone who might be able to help!
Attachments
Our healthy Olive
Our healthy Olive
Olive: the olive tree
Olive: the olive tree
Close up of the leaves affected
Close up of the leaves affected

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I have no experience growing olive tree — partly because I live in an area where coldest winter night time lows drop to about -20°C. And according to a book I read — A Year in Provence — olive trees die from freezing temperature.

In a pot above ground, the vulnerable roots can be immediately affected. So first thing to find out is what the recorded temperatures were while you were away. There must be a local weather service or group that keeps records. Find out the rainfall too.

Without direct experience with olives, I’m going to rattle off likely generic advice.

- if you didn’t research correct potting mix for the olive before planting, it’s possible it was not planted well. Not a good scenario to be away so long and not keeping under observation.

- Whatever it was wrapped in should have been removed. Roots should have been inspected and loosened before planting so they are not coiled up and choking themselves.

- Typically, if branches snap when bent and are dry inside, They are dead. Often recommended test is to gently scrape the bark and see if there is a thin green layer under the bark — this is the tree’s circulation layer — and the hard core wood is usually creamy and moist, not grey and dry.

- Brittle leaves will not plump back up. Are there flexible leaves as well as dried up leaves? Do these leaves fall off if you shake the branches?

- If only portions of the tree are dead, it may be possible to prune the dead parts and nurse the tree back especially if it is currently dormant.

- If the branches are flexible, then those branches might still have life in them and the tree might have gone dormant. Some trees retain leaves until ready to grow next year’s buds.

- For most trees, If dormant, it should be kept dorman and not allowed to wake up in indoor warmth. It should be kept in appropriate conditions for required period of time. Then after it starts to grow for next growing season, it needs to be kept in appropriate conditions until it can be placed back outside again.

- Do you know, or can you find out exactly what cultivar olive this is? Specific care needs may vary.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

OK you got my curiosity going and I had to find out more info. My go-to for container culture research of non-winter hardy plants for my area is Logee’s in Connecticut, simply because I have been getting tropical/greenhouse plant mail order catalogs from them since 1980’s — they have been in the business for a long time and have successfully transitioned to the internet business model.

As I expected, they had a nice informative video archived on YouTube. Does this help you to narrow down the problem? I’m thinking possibly waterlogged roots rather than dried out....

Growing the Table Olive (Olea europaea)


...I’m in trouble now because I’m tempted to buy one ... or two... — they have more than one cultivar listed..... :>

notsogreen
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Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2018 4:52 pm

@applestar Thank you so much for your help and research. I would say that buying an olive tree is worth getting into trouble for :D :D I will watch the video now and let you know how it goes over the coming weeks (or many months!).



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