How do Olives grow?

[leatherback]

Hi All,

I styled a larger olive this srping, and received some feedback that it looks unnatural (styled the way most bonsai olives are).

In any case.. I am now at half a foot of extention and the wire need to be removed. That is also time to look into the ext styling and how to build the canopy further.

I cannot really find examples how and olive would grow it left unstyled and trimmed and age naturally. Would be most keen to see some pictures.
Who can help me?
Please share what you have!

 

[Empty Mountain]

The examples we have of the most ancient, gnarliest olives are all "domestic" trees that humans have been taking care of for thousands of years for olive production (Puglia, Crete etc.). That would be my source of olive styling inspiration but they aren't "wild" or "natural" but they look cool as hell.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I have an arbequina, a "Lady-in-Waiting" to be trained in a few years. She's a skinny lass today, but in her debut, the hope is that her grace will be worthy of awe.

Now...
...if her trainer can get his act together and figure out the right way to train'er...

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Good question. The wild Olive trees in remote areas like parks etc are the closest images to nature I could find. Yet all were on photo sale websites, so can only share links.

Wild Olive

Wild Olive 2

Wild Olive 3

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Juanmi]

I've been asking myself the same question.

This is what I could find. I searched for wild olive trees from Mallorca (Ullastre or Acebuche)





But probably it would just be a very bushy tree, so not really that interesting.

In my opinion you should not overthink it, most of the japane maples we see at the expos don't look like a japanese maple in nature (for exemple). Just tell the story you want to tell through your trees.

 

[Dabbler]

I've seen a couple olive in nature and the ones I saw would almost in broom'ish style but kinda in chaos - it seems the very old ones are tormented but age and squat gnarly things

 

[Empty Mountain]

I've seen a couple olive in nature and the ones I saw would almost in broom'ish style but kinda in chaos - it seems the very old ones are tormented but age and squat gnarly things

The Vouves olive tree you posted is amazingly gnarly but has been trimmed and "styled". Accordiing to Wikipedia it has been grafted with another cultivar as well.

 

[Dabbler]

The Vouves olive tree you posted is amazingly gnarly but has been trimmed and "styled". Accordiing to Wikipedia it has been grafted with another cultivar as well.

kinda the point is that most of our "bonsai" are the same. I think as long as the owner of the tree thinks it's cool and done well then it's good

 

[leatherback]

Good question. The wild Olive trees in remote areas like parks etc are the closest images to nature I could find. Yet all were on photo sale websites, so can only share links.

Wild Olive

Wild Olive 2

Wild Olive 3

Cheers
DSD sends

yeah, that is similar to what I was finding. Which I find odd, as wild trees should be all over the place

 

[leatherback]

In my opinion you should not overthink it, most of the japane maples we see at the expos don't look like a japanese maple in nature (for exemple). Just tell the story you want to tell through your trees.

Fair enough, but I do like to check the normal growth form and then decide to deviate. Similarly I have a trident which I would like to try and not make a default aJpanaese layered tree..

 

[leatherback]

s long as the owner of the tree thinks it's cool and done well then it's good

except when you have the ambition to show a tree somewhere

 

[Mike Corazzi]

tame olive

https://i.postimg.cc/7L8TB2Sg/olive-2023.jpg

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

yeah, that is similar to what I was finding. Which I find odd, as wild trees should be all over the place

Yep has that same thought…. Actually think at least two of these images came from National Parks in different places.

Must be Menehunes that are into bonsai who run around and pruning these trees in wilderness areas

(https://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/menehune.php)

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[eugenev2]

I guess it also depends on the variety, this is fairly common for me tho

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Thread 'Wild Olive Yamadori Design Help' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/wild-olive-yamadori-design-help.50859/
I just came across this thread, and I remembered seeing the conversation here, so...
This is an example of what a wild natural trunk looks like.

 

[Esolin]

I think olive shape is regional/environmental. The wild/neglected olives I see around So Cal often tend to be multi-trunked, or hour-glass shaped with a very fat burl trunk base, and three or more main branches spreading out into a canopy. They don't tend to look like the wild olives I see pictures of in Europe.

 

[leatherback]

Thread 'Wild Olive Yamadori Design Help' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/wild-olive-yamadori-design-help.50859/
I just came across this thread, and I remembered seeing the conversation here, so...
This is an example of what a wild natural trunk looks like.

Hm.. But still not a clear view of the growth habit of mature trees.

 

[leatherback]

I think olive shape is regional/environmental. The wild/neglected olives I see around So Cal often tend to be multi-trunked, or hour-glass shaped with a very fat burl trunk base, and three or more main branches spreading out into a canopy. They don't tend to look like the wild olives I see pictures of in Europe.

Hm.. Do you have examples? All I can find is olive plantation trees that people have left to grow. I cannot find any wild olives in a naturally grown state. Probably because nobody cares. But considering the number of yamadori wild olives are available, I would expect there to be some mature fully grown wild specimens on camera!

 

[Juanmi]

Wild olive tree

 

[Juanmi]

This one is only to show the trunk, because an olive tree in the wild wouldn't let you see the trunk line. As I expected.... quite bushy (referring to the first photo)

If I had to use my imagination... olive trees grow a lot of suckers and low branches, but through many years, many of those branches would die off and fall (maybe the reason of why the trunk is so textured with some holes on it?)