Olives In Containers

[Endangered Bucket Farmer]

Hi, Everybody,

I have two olive plants in 10-litres (2 and a half gal) containers.

I put 1-metre (1 yard) long stakes - one in the centre, and three around the edge, tied at the top, making a tripod. Plus twine loosely holding the branches inward.

The plants themselves are a bit taller than 2 feet right now.

So how big should I let them get before re-potting? I figure that the next step will be 20-litre (5 gal) containers. Any idea on their ultimate size and comfortable container capacity? Having proper ground space is a few years away, but I would like to keep them going until then.

BTW, these olives were actually bought on impulse. I had had a conflict with a person, and thought that it would be classy to *literally* send them an olive branch. It worked (at least partially.)

[Lorenzo L. Love]

As they get about 12 meters tall, you will need a bit larger container than 20 liters.

[Endangered Bucket Farmer]

Yeah-but... They aren't anywhere near that big *now*. These are only maybe 18 months old.

And they will take years to be full-sized. And, by the time they are too big for containers, I hope to have some permanent ground-space.

Anyway, as soon as I have time to buy some 20-litre buckets, I will re-pot. Maybe getting a look at the roots (density) will help me to understand their rate of growth.

[Lorenzo L. Love]

By the time you plant them in the ground, they will probably be stunted and crippled by their years in a container and never achieve their full potential. So why not go all the way and make bonsai? Olive trees make excellent bonsai subjects.

Lorenzo L. Love

you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.? Cicero