Shohin Olive progression

[Rodrigo]

I got this olive in March of this year, I'll be updating this thread to document its progression.

This was the auction post picture


I did some corrective pruning and quick wiring and have let it grow the rest of the season to thicken main branches/trunks. The only other thing I did was repot it in July into a Mitunobu Ito pot I got from @Eric Schrader to get it out of the garden soil and lava rock it was growing in. It's grown well since then



In the fall I'll do a second round of wiring.

Question though: I understand that olives throw suckers from the base all the time, but would there be a reason for it to try growing so many suckers and not really growing up top? I've pruned suckers for probably a month and a half or two months constantly but haven't gotten much growth other than a few branches growing a pair of leaves or two.

I'm thinking it's dormant through the heat of summer, but if it was, wouldn't it all be dormant? I could've grown a whole new top from the suckers with how fast they grow

 

[eugenev2]

I got this olive in March of this year, I'll be updating this thread to document its progression.

This was the auction post picture
View attachment 567681

I did some corrective pruning and quick wiring and have let it grow the rest of the season to thicken main branches/trunks. The only other thing I did was repot it in July into a Mitunobu Ito pot I got from @Eric Schrader to get it out of the garden soil and lava rock it was growing in. It's grown well since then

View attachment 567686View attachment 567685

In the fall I'll do a second round of wiring.

Question though: I understand that olives throw suckers from the base all the time, but would there be a reason for it to try growing so many suckers and not really growing up top? I've pruned suckers for probably a month and a half or two months constantly but haven't gotten much growth other than a few branches growing a pair of leaves or two.

I'm thinking it's dormant through the heat of summer, but if it was, wouldn't it all be dormant? I could've grown a whole new top from the suckers with how fast they grow View attachment 567682View attachment 567683View attachment 567684

Yea, not sure why either, mine does the same and they are supposed to be apical dominant.
From the limited research i've done, it seems that they produce these shoots from anywhere where the concentration of hormones are greatest, which almost always is the base, but other than that, it confuses me as well.
Maybe there's some botanists or biologists lurking around that can provide better explanations for this

 

[LuZiKui]

I'm thinking it's dormant through the heat of summer, but if it was, wouldn't it all be dormant? I could've grown a whole new top from the suckers with how fast they grow

LOL, I think this all the time. I'll cut a huge pile of suckers off the base off my tree and then a small handful of growth from the canopy where I want the growth. I think it's just how these things grow.

I will say, I've found they'll usually send up one or two long extensions off the top and I seem to get pretty good growth off of those. I've got a small olive about the same size as this one and I had one extension that probably grew 2-3' in about a year. When I cut it, it sent out a lot of side branching and seems to be pushing new growth on the other branches as well. So I think you just have to stay the course, keep pruning and slowly developing the canopy. If you get any branches that will run on the top let them go for a bit then cut them back and see if that helps.

 

[Rodrigo]

Yea, not sure why either, mine does the same and they are supposed to be apical dominant.
From the limited research i've done, it seems that they produce these shoots from anywhere where the concentration of hormones are greatest, which almost always is the base, but other than that, it confuses me as well.
Maybe there's some botanists or biologists lurking around that can provide better explanations for this

Interesting! I guess that makes sense. Thanks for the info!

LOL, I think this all the time. I'll cut a huge pile of suckers off the base off my tree and then a small handful of growth from the canopy where I want the growth. I think it's just how these things grow.

I will say, I've found they'll usually send up one or two long extensions off the top and I seem to get pretty good growth off of those. I've got a small olive about the same size as this one and I had one extension that probably grew 2-3' in about a year. When I cut it, it sent out a lot of side branching and seems to be pushing new growth on the other branches as well. So I think you just have to stay the course, keep pruning and slowly developing the canopy. If you get any branches that will run on the top let them go for a bit then cut them back and see if that helps.

Good to know. It's my first and only olive so I wasn't sure how they grow, but what you mentioned is on par with the way it grew all year. Just focused on a few shoots and the other ones grew just a bit. Definitely no where near 2' of growth but it was in a small pot and was repotted so it doesn't surprise me. Hopefully next year I'll get better growth!

 

[Ruddigger]

That’s an olive from my buddy Cesar. My olives all sucker a lot too, got to stay on top of them.