How to prune an olive tree

If any tree smells of the Mediterranean, it is the olive tree. Although it originates from Asia Minor, today it is in Spain and Italy where this fruit tree is grown, from which the olives with which the oil is made are born.

The olive tree is quite sturdy to lack of water, but it is not a friend of low temperatures. In fact, it does not tolerate temperatures below -10°C. However, the worst is the wind.

this tree of Evergreen it can live and produce for hundreds of years. In Spain there are some ancient specimens.

When olive trees are pruned to allow the sun enters the center, improves fruiting. The parts where there is shade do not bear fruit.

When to prune an olive tree

Olive trees should begin to be pruned from his fourth year. During its first years it is better to let it grow quietly. The leaves of a tree produce its food, so having many leaves when the tree is young provides a good energy for growth. An old tree can be cut and felled without fear and will recover with enormous vigor thanks to the energy reserves of the roots and trunk. The young tree will not.

If you insist on cutting it a lot when it is still young to give it a specific shape, that will end up weakening it and stopping its growth for several years. Achieving the right balance is part of the art and talent that distinguishes the good pruner from the one who is not, say the Mediterranean Garden Society.

In general terms, the pruning of the olive tree is carried out between autumn and winter. If the weather is very cold, it is advisable to delay it to the end of to avoid frost and sub-zero temperatures.

types of cut

Depending on the objectives that we set with the pruning, we will do one type or another. According to arbolesfrutales.org, among those main objectives may be helping the olive tree in question to:

– Make the most of light and air

– Maintain proper cup balance

– Regenerate unproductive or decrepit trees

– Prolong the maximum period of reproduction

– Renew or replace branches that are already weak or withered

1. The thinning cut. It consists of removing the entire shoot, or reducing the length of the main axis by cutting close to a shoot or lateral branch, which then assumes the role of terminal. This type of pruning reduces the length of the branches and the overall volume of the crown and keeps the fruits and foliage closer to the center of the plant.

2. The elimination cut. Shoots or entire branches are removed when fruiting is excessive, when there are too many competing shoots, and when sunlight cannot penetrate the canopy. The elimination cut reduces competition between shoots without modifying the main axis. The remaining shoots and branches are selected with different orientations to avoid mutual shading and overlapping.

How to prune an olive tree

To proceed with the pruning of the olive tree it will be necessary to have: a ladder or scaffolding, gloves, goggles, and garden shears or a handsaw.

Depending on the purpose of the pruning, the way of executing it will be different. Let’s see the different pruning that can be done:

–Training pruning. It is done when the tree is young to channel growth and formation. In it, only minor cuts or pinching are made, eliminating as many leaves as possible. It is recommended that it be carried out once or twice a year during the first ten years of the olive tree’s life.

–Production pruning. It is done in a more advanced phase of the olive tree, because when the tree is formed it is not necessary to prune it for ten or 15 years. The tree is lightly pruned and a thinning of the branches is carried out.

–Regeneration pruning. It is very important if we want to reap a good harvest. When the olive tree shows signs of aging, almost all the branches will have to be removed so that new shoots can emerge.