Olive Tree Care Pruning
It is okay to prune olive trees to achieve a desired shape but remember that they fruit on branches that grew during the previous spring and summer.
Olive tree care pruning. Pruning is not difficult but there are a few rules to follow for good results. Take off any suckers that are growing out of the trunk. It is a lifestyle in this tuscan region that is centuries old. Cut branches that point downwards.
Growing olive trees for olives and for olive oil pruning and maintaining them is an essential part of his life not just his job. When it is time to shape the tree remember that it is better to make a few well placed cuts than to make many small ones. Make slanted cuts flush with the branches to clip off small shoots and branches to give your olive tree a martini glass shape. Pruning olive trees is recommended yearly at the end of the winter beginning of spring.
Use a pair of sharp clean shears to prevent transmitting disease to your tree. Cutting off a lot of such growth will preclude or greatly reduce fruiting potential for the next season. For thicker branches use a hand saw but dip it into isopropyl alcohol for 30 seconds to disinfect it. He s maintained the secular olive trees growing on his land since he was a child.
Pruning involves trimming off some branches completely and cutting others back and when done properly the result is a better harvest of olive fruit and a healthier tree. But if you must drastically reduce branches do so in fall if freezing is rare in your area and in spring elsewhere. Olive trees prefer light pruning to severe pruning. Potted olive trees prefer light pruning yearly instead of severe pruning every two or three years.
Use a soaker hose or drip irrigation or form some soil into a rim around the planting hole to make a basin. You should use a lopper and a pruning saw to make these cuts. Open pruning also increases the surface fruiting area of the tree. Suckers look unsightly and can undermine the health of the tree by diverting growth.
Open center or vase pruning is very common with olive trees. Use a pair of sharp clean pruning shears to prevent spreading disease to the tree. When to prune olive trees from february when the icy cold winds have stopped blowing and fear of frost is over pruning begins in the groves and can go on until the first of may when the olive tree begins to flower. Dig a hole twice the diameter of your potted tree and as deep.
Prune in early spring. Annual pruning is recommended at the end of winter or at the beginning of spring. Pruning is an important part of caring for an olive tree. Winters can be quite harsh in tuscany and i notice pruning doesn t really get underway until closer to march.
Remove any dead wood you can find you may need to use a tree saw for larger branches. For this type of pruning you remove the tree s central branches to allow sunlight to penetrate the tree. Then follow the directions above for loosening the roots and planting. When you water an outdoor olive tree make sure the water doesn t run off.