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alpine75

Bonsai olive tree loosing leaves

alpine75
11 years ago

Hello

I purchased a bonsai olive tree around 1 month ago, it was doing well till a week ago when it started to loose some leaves, I have replanted since buying it and as I live in the alps have left it indoors in a very sunny area. Though its loosing leaves towards the bottom of the branches new leaves have started to appear at the top of the branches, is this normal? Should I bring it outside while the sun is out?

Any help would be great ,

Kind Regards

Paolo

Comment (1)

  • expatpam
    10 years ago

    Hi. Just joined and saw this. Hope your bonsai olive is recovering. Is it Olea europa? If the tree is getting new leaves whilst losing the old ones, it's ok, but you should keep it indoors until the new leaves are "hardened off" -- fully mature and sturdy enough to get through the outdoor winter. However, at some point you will want to cut the branches back to encourage leafing out further down, otherwise you'll end up with bare branches near the trunk and leaves only at the ends of the branches. The correct time to prune the branches is just before it starts setting new leaf buds, toward the end of winter. If you do it just before winter, or mid-winter, the tree may set new buds which will then be killed by the cold, and then have to start over again. That uses a lot of the tree's energy and can kill it. The tree might have started losing leaves due to being moved to a new environment. Olive leaves are pretty sturdy and will take a while to actually fall off, so altho' you noticed the leaf loss after a few weeks, it may have started weakening with the move. It may also have been a bit shaken up by the move, so minor roots may have been shaken loose. That's like a shock for the tree. Without knowing about the tree's former environment/care, age, and what pot/soil it's in, I can't be specific about care. If it's a traditional (shallow) bonsai pot, and especially if it's not wired into the pot (look underneath the pot) there's not much soil or acadama (clay granules used in bonsai) to stabilize the tree, so every little bit of motion (you moving the pot, or even wind, or heavy watering/rain) will cause the smallest root "hairs" to let go. That's one reason you should not move it frequently; don't move it inside/outside on a regular basis. Olive tree bonsai are pretty sturdy. I have kept them on a balcony in NY year-round, just protecting them from wind in winter. They don't need a lot of water in winter; too wet and the roots will freeze and the pot may crack. I have also kept them outside year-round on a balcony in Greece, in very shallow pots, again, just sheltered from the wind. If you have an outside location that's sheltered but gets a few hours sun, that would be a good place. Be careful not to leave it on a windowsill inside, where it might get cooked by hot afternoon sun in the warm months. Ask the place where you got it when it was last repotted. If they just import them and sell them, it may have been repotted just before they received it, in which case it won't need repotting for a few years, and that will also explain why it may have gone into shock and dropped leaves.