When to repot a new olive tree?

[tahneep]

Hi, I’ve just bought a new olive tree (olea europea) and I’m wondering how long I can keep it in the nursery pot it came in, it a pot of similar size? I have a decorative pot I’d like to keep it in and it’s about the same size as the nursery pot. The tree is ~135cm tall and the pot it around 20cm in diameter. 
it seems to be very happy and thriving in its current pot. 

 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @tahneep,

Olives do quite well in pots but require annual pruning to keep them in shape or they'll get a bit lanky. It could potentially survive for quite some time in that pot, but you're really limiting it. You'll find that the smaller the pot, the harder it is to manage watering. Does that outer pot have drainage holes in it? If not, make sure to take the inner pot out when watering. Otherwise, the roots will just sit in water which the plant won't like.

If you ever wanted to see any olives on the plant, I'd suggest you increase the size of the pot at some stage and use this one for another plant. However, If you're happy with it how it is, then I'd recommend leaving it in this pot for now.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[tahneep]

Hi Mitchell, thanks for that info. 
I bought a larger pot today which is about 37x35cm. I hope that’s not too big a jump is it? It has a drainage hole at the bottom too and I plan on adding perlite to the soil to assist with drainage when I repot. 

[MitchellMc]

That should be fine, @tahneep. Perhaps try not to disturb the roots too much when you re-pot.

Mitchell

[Jason]

Hi @tahneep,

Just thought I'd add that you should find this step-by-step guide by experienced contributor @Noelle very useful when it comes time to re-pot your olive tree: How to pot a plant.

Jason

[tahneep]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for your advice. 
I repotted the olive tree about 2 weeks ago in a 50cm pot using cactus soil I mixed with pearlite. It’s now quite droopy/wilted particularly up the top. 

It’s in a nice sunny outdoor position, I’ve watered it adequately but made sure to let it dry out between waterings and I’ve given it a liquid fertiliser as well. It’s possibly starting to improve a tiny bit from a few days ago but wanted to see if there is anything else I can do?

Thanks,

Tahnee

 

[robchin]

Hi @tahneep 

Sorry to hear about your Olive tree not feeling so well. Sorry I didn't see this earlier. The rule is never to go up more than 1 or 2 pot sizes at any one time. It can shock the roots. Eg. From 20cm to 25 or 30cm but don't go from 20cm to 50cm :(Too late for that now though.

If you use a good quality potting mix (red tick, premium standard) you shouldn't need Perlite. I wonder if it is getting too wet with the perlite. Keep it out of the sun and put a 1/2 strength seaweed tonic every couple of weeks. It should stop sulking soon enough I think. 

Good luck. 

[tahneep]

Hi Rob,

Thank you for that info. 
I’ve actually measure the new pot and it’s actually only 37cm, not 50cm. Possibly still a slightly too big of a jump but not as bad as 50cm. 

I’ve purchased and given it some seaweed solution today so fingers crossed it bounces back soon. It technically wasn’t due for a watering until tomorrow but I figured getting the seaweed solution onto it was more important so hopefully I haven’t over watered it now. It also only had another type of liquid fertiliser last week so hopefully that’s not too soon either (as I see the seaweed solution (Seasol brand) also contains N, K and P). 

Thanks again,

 Tahnee

[robchin]

Good luck @tahneep 

Sure you'll be fine. Good thing about plants is that they are quite forgiving and they don't die straight away. 

With watering - don't be too set on a fixed schedule if you are doing it by hand. My watering 'rule of thumb' is put your finger into the media at the top of down to say 3cm - if it's dry - it probably needs a water. It will require more frequent waterings in the warmer months of the year and less when it's cooler. If you find it's drying out too quickly - consider putting a tray underneath the pot and adding a soil wetter. Remove the tray in the cooler months.