Olea problems

Hello,

Earlier this year I hard cut back.this Olea (some sort of olive type tree I think, though not 100% sure on its variety. I had a thread on gardeners world, so my ID has been lost).

Anyway it responded with extremely strong growth, but now 50% of that growth seems to be yellowing and curling and the other half looks strong. I have scratched the shoots and the still look fresh and green underneath.

Any thoughts? Is she dying?

 

My olive has suffered badly this year, but it is in a large pot and needs planting out or repotting. If there is green under the bark your tree is still alive. They do not like being hard pruned very much so it may be sulking. I would leave it alone now, no feeding until Spring. The pruning will have encouraged lush growth, which may have exhausted it. Is it growing in a pot or open ground? I do not think it is dying, but it now needs some TLC to recover from the pruning. The weather has not been kind to olives this year. I have had a lot of leaf drop and almost no flowers or fruit set on mine, mainly due to excessive rain and drought conditions at the wrong times for it to do well.

 

Hello @Goldenlily26 . Thanks for your reply. Mine is a rather large specimen in the ground. I hadn't really considered the weather, but you are right, it has been completely out of sorts for months. I can tell when it's been a poor summer as my grass isn't brown and dusty (sandy soil on the coast)!

Yeah, I checked even the sick parts and they all appear green underneath. Maybe it needs a rest!

 

Almost looks like some kind of blight?

 

https://www.thenorfolkolivetreecompany.co.uk/growingolivetrees/pests-diseases/
Not sure if this is any help.

 

You say your soil is poor, sandy and near the coast. That may also be part of your problem.
As above, the tree is carrying a heavy crop of foliage so the poor soil may not be enough to support the growth. My interpretation of your pic. suggests there is another shrub behind the olive giving the illusion of a lot of foliage but the suggestion of thinning it might be good to ease the burden on the tree.

 

@Goldenlily26 and @Loofah . Sorry late reply. Been a busy week. Yeah, so after I cut it hard back it had a lot of shoots and I didn't think any of it out. Maybe I should have. It's odd, it's like one half is affected and the other isn't. Almost quite neatly!

Interesting comment about the poor soil. Hadn't thought of that. Maybe next summer's growth will be healthier if I thin and feed it.

Some more photos for context.
(Again I scraped the bark on the shoots and the don't appear dead)

 

@pete thanks - reading now. May get treatment just in case.

 

It's not looking good. Went to thin it out and j noticed that where the main trunk bifurcates - left hand is healthy where the healthy growth originates. However, right side had wood lice tumbling out from underneath the bark. And the path I've highlighted is completely dead (wood is rotting).

This will be quite a bad loss as it was quite architectural - and I lost a small tree in a storm at the start of the year too!

 

I will and report back tonight. I fear it won't be a lot, but let's see!

 

Oh dear! Not looking good. I agree, cut out all dead wood to growing wood and see what is left. It looks as if there was some kind of damage, splitting off of branches where the stem divides, possibly due to the heavy top growth, and the wet winter has caused rot, hence the wood lice. There also looks like a lot of weed growth around the base of the main stem which would also have caused an accumulation of damp, not something olives enjoy.
You might be able to save some of the tree. Good luck.

 

Oh dear!

So there's not a lot left - and what is is a little precarious!

So I cut out one stem from the base - I did this as I noticed the rot went all the way. It looks mainly dead where I cut.

Also you can see where a stem has snapped off at the base some years before.


It also appears that 90% of all the lush growth came from this thin unsupported (sucker) from the base



So all considered, excluding that whippy stem, there's not a lot left! (I'm pulling it out of the picture)

 

Just leave what is still alive, unless you want to replace it, they grow fast in the ground, so if its not a harsh winter it could easily make a decent come back next year.