To trim or not to trim - young olive tree

Hi there,

We purchased a young olive tree this summer and had left it outside during the warmer months. We've now brought it back inside to avoid the frosts.

I'm a little confused about whether to prune it or not - I've seen some places saying that you should prune them during winter and others saying that you shouldn't prune young olives until they're at least 4 feet tall.

Here is a picture of its current state: http://i.imgur.com/tOmru.jpg

Ideally we'd eventually like to plant it in the garden and let it care for itself.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

 

I'd prune that to encourage it to attain a "ball shape."
This is our olive tree last year which we bought in the summer, it's about four feet tall.
It's been pruned both last year and this. It stayed out all winter, with bubblewrap round the pot and a "tree cosy" covering it.
The really bad winter didn't affect it at all.

 

You could perhaps trim back that long shoot, but if you want it to flower its best not to prune much.

If your not wanting it to flower and perhaps get a few fruit, then it might as well be a standard pivet or box.
Its an olive tree/bush, so it should really do its own thing, I think.

They are hardier than is often said, and I think you should leave it out until we start to get sub zero night temperatures, it will harden it off ready for planting out next spring.

 

Thanks both, I'm taking your suggestions on board!

Cheers.