pruning olive tree, cultivating cuttings

Hello, I have an olive tree in my front garden which has done fine since I bought it online and planted it a couple of years ago . I'm not sure what age it is but its about 7 feet high and looks quite mature . It has started to grow shoots from the base and I wondered if it was ok to remove these . Also , can I use these shoots to try to grow more trees and if so how would I go about it. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks

 

Hi barneyb,

New shoots at the base of trees is called epicormic growth and is usually a response to anopther part of the tree being damaged or dying; say due to pruning or old age. It won't damage the try should you wish to remove them. I'm afraid I've never known olive trees to come from cuttings, but you've got nothing to lose. Dab them in some rooting compound, stick them in a pot of compost and see what happens.

 

I've never grown an olive from cuttings but it must be possible.

I think I would wait until the wood is just hardening, say about mid July, and remove the cuttings with a knife, taking the bump on the stem where the shoot comes from with the shoot, kind of a heel cutting.
I think 4 to 5 ins is probably long enough so cut off any soft excess.

I'd try using damp sharp sand as a rooting medium.
What have you got to lose.

 

We two small olive trees grown from cuttings taken in Greece so I think you have a reasonable chance of success. Ours were brought home wrapped in a wet face flannel and then rooted in gel pots. They put out roots quite quickly. They got nipped a bit by the severe frosts this winter but are coming away again and one is showing signs of blossom (rather later than in previous years).