Olive tree questions

Hi everyone very pleased to be asking knowledgeable folk. I'd like to outline what I've done with my new olive tree and ask for advice as to where to go from here. It was in a plastic pot, we've just transferred it to a larger clay pot with a bit of bonemeal in new compost and pebbles near the drain hole. We've put feet around the bottom to help with drainage. It did suffer with mottled leaves last year that we treated with some tmolive teee disease spray, and it's now looking pretty bare but there is some new growth. It was in an exposed area but we've now moved out to somewhere more sheltered but still a sunny spot. I read about how too much water damage the roots so when we get a rainy spell (which is more common now), we put a plastic bag around the base of the trunk to minimise water ingress. Just while it's rainy. There is new growth which is encouraging. More recently I've been giving it a citrus feed with about 10 litres every couple of weeks.

It seems to me that an olive tree is not really best suited to a UK outdoor climate with variable temperatures and all this rain, but I will persist and have read that they are very hardy plants. I'm looking forward to it growing.

If there anything else I can do, or is there anything I'm doing wrong? I tried to insert an image from my phone but I don't know what 'image URL' means.

Thanks for any advice.

 

They're fine in wet weather as long as you add lots of drainage in the compost. Worth making a mix of multi-purpose with some added grit and topsoil so the tree has some substance. Or alternative get a John Innes 2 or 3 formula compost as it's more appropriate for plants that will be in a pot for all their lives. Nothing is needed to be added to the bottom pots as long as the compost is appropriate. I tend to use some reclaimed mesh that I cut to avoid too much compost washing away. Pot feet will do all the work in helping with rain run off.

 

I've had an olive in a big pot for about 25 yrs on my south-facing patio in a John Innes-based mix.
It gets neglected most of the time, but seems quite happy and healthy.
It flowers well every year and I do get a handful of black olives by around November.

I wouldn't put a bag over the compost as that can encourage fungi as the compost can't breathe properly.
If the roots are too wet then the advice given by @amancalledgeorge will solve that problem.
I give mine a feed with seaweed extract about once a month during the growing season which really seems to suit it.

The easiest way to add a photo is to use copy and paste - it works fine.
Assuming you're using Windows - right click on the photo you want and choose Copy, then click on where you want it to go in the message your composing, then right click and choose Paste.
You're getting the URL request as that is for links to photos on other websites.

 

Thank you George and Pete8, all taken on board.

 

It will hopefully perk up in not time as it gets sunnier @MH434

 

All of the above has been very useful, as our visitors today kindly gave us an olive tree - producing green olives.

I've never tried to maintain one before, and I had no idea whether it will survive the climate here. I guess only time will tell.

It stands about three feet high, and is perfectly shaped. This will be an interesting challenge!!

 

The mini olive tree.

 

What a lovely present, it's a nice looking tree.
I've had one for 20+ yrs and found it easy to maintain.
It is in a BIG pot on my south-facing patio which it shares with an equally BIG ant's nest where they made a home about 10 yrs ago. But they seem to cohabit happily.
The pot has pot feet to prevent the roots getting waterlogged over winter which is very important.
I give it a seaweed feed about once or twice a month when it's growing and water it when I remember.
And that's about all I do with it.
Good luck with yours

 

Now that's the sort of healthy tree I'm looking for!