Does anyone have ideas for styling this olive?

[isaaquitas]

Hello everyone, I have some questions about styling my olive bonsai. It is currently being wired to make a round ball shape to show the trunk. But as I look at it I think it would maybe make a nice shohin from the side angle. I know it might not be the time to make such a drastic cut. If anyone has any ideas please let me know.

 

[Shibui]

Your olive does not have much structure yet to base a style on but it will grow so you have the opportunity to decide where and how it grows.
Quite frankly, there's not a lot going for this tree. Did you collect or buy it? We have feral olives growing in my area. When one knows where to look we can dig up much better trunks for no cost. many of our bonsai clubs do member outings to dig up olives.

I'd let something like this grow for a few years to see what developed. One great thing about olives is they will shoot well after hard pruning so it can grow as big as it likes then chop as low as you need and still expect loads of new buds and shoots.

 

[isaaquitas]

Your olive does not have much structure yet to base a style on but it will grow so you have the opportunity to decide where and how it grows.
Quite frankly, there's not a lot going for this tree. Did you collect or buy it? We have feral olives growing in my area. When one knows where to look we can dig up much better trunks for no cost. many of our bonsai clubs do member outings to dig up olives.

I'd let something like this grow for a few years to see what developed. One great thing about olives is they will shoot well after hard pruning so it can grow as big as it likes then chop as low as you need and still expect loads of new buds and shoots.

Thanks, but do you think I could cut it all the way to the trunk and start developing it again?

 

[JudyB]

I wanted to share a thread about my olive. I know the thread is long but it does show you what can be done with these, they do develop fairly quickly and you are in a much better climate to be able to develop yours than I was in my climate.

Help needed with Eu. Olive styling

I picked this tree up for the bark, and the nebari. I have yet to find an angle that pleases me for a front. The bend for me is too abrupt and singular. Pay no attention to the bad soil, that is what it was in when I got it. I slip potted in the fall slightly larger pot... The roots are...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[isaaquitas]

I wanted to share a thread about my olive. I know the thread is long but it does show you what can be done with these, they do develop fairly quickly and you are in a much better climate to be able to develop yours than I was in my climate.

Help needed with Eu. Olive styling

I picked this tree up for the bark, and the nebari. I have yet to find an angle that pleases me for a front. The bend for me is too abrupt and singular. Pay no attention to the bad soil, that is what it was in when I got it. I slip potted in the fall slightly larger pot... The roots are...

www.bonsainut.com

Thanks

 

[Shibui]

Thanks, but do you think I could cut it all the way to the trunk and start developing it again?

You could cut all the way back to the trunk and start again. The question is whether that will give a better result?

For some reason all branches only have a few leaves right at the tips. That could be due to not enough sun, starvation, too much or not enough water or some pest or disease. Hard to tell just from photos and no real background.
Any tree will respond to pruning better if it is happy, healthy and strong. maybe concentrate on building up strength this summer before doing anything else.
If you can get it strong and healthy I would probably cut all the long branches back hard and rebuild the branching. Maybe not all the way to the trunk but mostly quite hard I think. Then look for a style to follow when you know what branches have responded best.

 

[isaaquitas]

You could cut all the way back to the trunk and start again. The question is whether that will give a better result?

For some reason all branches only have a few leaves right at the tips. That could be due to not enough sun, starvation, too much or not enough water or some pest or disease. Hard to tell just from photos and no real background.
Any tree will respond to pruning better if it is happy, healthy and strong. maybe concentrate on building up strength this summer before doing anything else.
If you can get it strong and healthy I would probably cut all the long branches back hard and rebuild the branching. Maybe not all the way to the trunk but mostly quite hard I think. Then look for a style to follow when you know what branches have responded best.

Thanks

 

[PonderingSage:]

You could also consider wiring and opening up the primary branches like a big oak tree. And then letting it run like Shibui suggested.
I am in a similar place rebuilding an olive that I don’t think got enough light this winter