When to prune an olive tree and how to do it

There are two suitable seasons to prune an olive tree : either at the end of the harvest, when the tree is already entering vegetative rest, or at the beginning of spring, when the tree is awakening.

Both moments offer their pros and cons, although if we refer to the olive tree as an ornamental tree and not in a farm, it is quite indifferent which of the two to choose. In any case, you should always avoid pruning it before frost hits, just like any other tree.

Several forms of pruning are distinguished in the olive tree . One of the main ones is that of formation, whose objective is to give the olive tree the desired shape in its first years of life, and which has the benefits of producing a tree with the characteristics we need, without branches that damage one another. other

The production pruning is practiced on already formed trees, and its objective is the healthy development of the olive branches , so that they grow adequately and give as many fruits as possible.

Finally, there is also renewal pruning, which is only applied to olive trees that are beginning to age, and seeks to stimulate the production of young and stronger branches.

These are the instructions to follow depending on the type of olive tree pruning you want to practice:

Olive tree formation pruning

The pruning of the olive tree is carried out during its first years of life, and what you should do is, in the first years, leave only the main branches of the tree and prune its secondary shoots , so that you give it the base structure on the that later the tree will grow. The first year it is advisable to leave only one main branch, the one that is more robust and strong, and from there to guide it each season.

Olive tree production pruning

The pruning of production is not so important in an ornamental tree, and what we will seek is simply to eliminate the branches that damage each other, so that the olive leaves of the upper branches do not deprive the lower main branches of the sun. Prune here leaving room for the young branches, trying to clear the densest areas . It is also important to remove any hickeys that may have appeared.

Obviously, if it is a large tree you will need a ladder and suitable tools. Remember to always sanitize gardening tools for pruning and keep them as sharp as possible.

If you have planted your olive tree in a pot , your priority when pruning it will be to keep it in a suitable size for its container. Prune it once a year in the same way as it should be done with outdoor olive trees, but try to keep the growth of its branches controlled here.

In addition, the weight balance between its different branches is especially important with a potted olive tree, since when it bears fruit it could become unbalanced and fall in extreme cases. Maintain a training pruning that gives it the shape you want to decorate your home. The production pruning should be more oriented to maintain the health of the tree than to seek a large amount of olive production.

To finish, we give you some tips for pruning olive trees :

• The olive tree is a slow-growing tree and, therefore, you should not practice pruning before its third year of life.
• Pruning it earlier could greatly slow down its development and also expose it to disease or parasite attacks . In this other AgroCorrn article we will talk about the pests of the olive tree and its natural treatment .
• It is advisable to use healing products after pruning your olive tree , especially in its early years. Thus, you will ensure that pruning wounds do not involve complications.

If you want to read more articles similar to When to prune an olive tree and how to do it , we recommend that you enter our category of Growing and caring for plants .