How to bring an olive tree back to life
It’s not unusual to think you have killed your olive tree, luckily, we can tell you how to bring an olive tree back to life. The good news is, what looks dead is not always dead. So, this blog is about stopping before you dig that ‘dead’ plant out and chuck it away. Many first-time gardeners assume that once the leaves have fallen off, the plant is irretrievably dead. This is often far from the truth – most plants will lose their leaves when stressed about water. There’s not much point having leaves to photosynthesise if you haven’t got any water. So, the first thing is to restore the supply.
Water, but don’t drown
Firstly for trees planted in the ground- check the soil moisture prior to watering, this will ensure the soil is kept moist but not saturated. Olive tree watering should be infrequent, but deep. You can dig around the trunk to see how deep the moisture goes, this will indicate how much watering it needs. For example, a tree with 1.2m canopy requires approx. 15ltrs of water a day most of the year. This amount can double (sometimes triple) in the summer months.
Secondly if your Olive is in a pot, water regularly throughout the growing months till water oozes out out of the bottom of the container. Many people forget to feed their Olive tree, it will need regular feeding particularly if you are keeping it in a pot. Our slow release feed is designed to give your tree year long vigour and strength. Our customers swear by it!
The soil test
If you’re still considering how to bring an olive tree back to life, then the answer could be in the soil. One huge factor in strong root growth is well drained soil, but not heavy wet soil. You can test the drainage by pouring water over the root area and see how quickly it drains away. If the water doesn’t drain it could mean you have clay or loam, this is not a problem to Olives per se, but the clay will need grit and sand adding to it..
Clear the weeds
Young olive trees are sensitive to weed race, so keeping the trunk area clear will avoid problems such as crown rot. Try to keep an area around the root uncovered to ensure the roots remain clear of any weeds.
You don’t need fancy tools to look after your olive tree. Just keep to these few tips and your olive tree will be more than happy! Take a look at our wonderful range of olive trees.
