Olive declining?

[NC_Palms]

Hi all,

Sorry for a potentially very stupid question, but I had this olive tree for a few years now in the ground, and it’s seems to be somewhat declining. There is rarely ever any new growth unless in the early spring, and it seems to be dropping leaves periodically. I don’t know if the rainy summer after a long drought caused this or what, but should I be worried?

 

thank you 

 

In the pictures, the yellowish green blotchy leaves are the ones that are dropping 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

14 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

Hi all,

Sorry for a potentially very stupid question, but I had this olive tree for a few years now in the ground, and it’s seems to be somewhat declining. There is rarely ever any new growth unless in the early spring, and it seems to be dropping leaves periodically. I don’t know if the rainy summer after a long drought caused this or what, but should I be worried?

 

thank you 

 

In the pictures, the yellowish green blotchy leaves are the ones that are dropping 

 

Not a stupid question..

Staring out at the living room window at the monster in the front yard,  i'd say what you're seeing Looks pretty typical to me ..Maybe needing a little Iron but not seeing any real issue..

Ours drops varying amounts of leaves on and off all year.

Unless sitting in a swamp, slightly moist feet doesn't usually bother these. If anything, more water = lots of growth.

Front yard monster just had it's September clean up, aka: removing this month's crop of suckers ...which, as long as it stays warm,  i'll be removing again in 3-4  weeks. 

 

[Chester B]

That's pretty small for having for a few years.  Remember Olives come from a Mediterranean climate without all the humidity that you likely experience.  I wouldn't hold out high hopes that its ever going to do well.  I had many olive trees back in Oregon and they grew at a pretty good clip and produced loads of fruit.  There were Olive orchards out there too.

I see Olives for sale here in Houston all the time, and it is one of my favorite trees but I won't buy one for this climate.  I've yet to see one anywhere here in a yard.  I know they do better in the drier parts of Texas, but perform poorly from a fruiting perspective due to the cold winter temps.

[scarecrow]

It's too wet to be successful with olive trees long term in most parts of NC. I remember a local restaurant that had one, two or so in the ground in Elizabeth City but they have long since been removed after declining to large sticks. 

[dalmatiansoap]

They don't mind wet feet but high air humidity will kill them over some time. I would treat your with some lime and iron and hope for the best 

[Silas_Sancona]

Have to admit I'm a bit skeptical on the " don't like humidity " idea..  We sold them in FL and ..while some varieties might handle it better than others, i'd see a few around Bradenton, w/ fruit on them as well.. 

Even here in AZ you'll see nice, well grown examples like the one in our yard, ..and others planted in other parts of town that look wispy / weak and half dead.. 

Looking over iNat., while there are several miss- ID's ( confusing Olives w/ Live Oak ..in some photo observations in FL. and TX for example )  there are some legit observations as well..

A few iNat photo obvs. from humid places:

Cen. / Nor. Florida:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/235528845

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/65490106

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/23979500


Alabama
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/39808341


Charleston SC. Area:  Another nearby
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/215472027


** Yet to be confirmed obsv. ** N.A.S. area of Corpus Christi, TX.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/208155587


** YTBC ** Walter Street, Austin, TX.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51298906


** YTBC ** W. Main Street, Fredricksburg, TX.

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/51298906


** Another YTBC observation, but looks exactly like my tree / other large specimens that haven't been cleaned up regularly / in awhile **
Matamoros, Tam., Mexico.:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/125097426





 

[NC_Palms]

8 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Have to admit I'm a bit skeptical on the " don't like humidity " idea..  We sold them in FL and ..while some varieties might handle it better than others, i'd see a few around Bradenton, w/ fruit on them as..

I strongly agree. I’ve planted these before in NC without much trouble and there’s a large one I planted a few years back that’s thriving. I think the problem I have isn’t the humidity, but the clay soil. I made a threat about how to save a windmill palm a few weeks ago, I think it’s just the same problem just affecting many plants, since the soil is pure clay right now here.

 

 

 

[NC_Palms]

I’m betting that the problem is lack of drainage due to clay soil. Sometime this week, I’ll transplant it into a pot, wash off all the clay and and transplant it into a proper soil mixture and then fertilize with iron and calcium. 

This property has the worst imaginable soil, which isn’t fair because everywhere else in Eastern NC is mostly sand and you can grow a ton of plants that do much better than on this property. 

 

(This is the thread about the windmill palm that I am trying to save. I will follow this method with this olive tree and hope for the best.)

 

 

[Silas_Sancona]

9 minutes ago, NC_Palms said:

I strongly agree. I’ve planted these before in NC without much trouble and there’s a large one I planted a few years back that’s thriving. I think the problem I have isn’t the humidity, but the clay soil. I made a threat about how to save a windmill palm a few weeks ago, I think it’s just the same problem just affecting many plants, since the soil is pure clay right now here.

 

 

 

Possible for sure and i'd do exactly like you're envisioning.. IE: amending the soil so that it drains better and see where that gets you.  

An interesting observation  because both here and in CA, you can find specimens growing in some pretty clay - heavy soils, or " soil " that is more like a 3-4ft deep layer of grit / gravel that drains really quickly.   Your soil must contain lots of fine sticky / silty material vs. having a lot of rock mixed in w/ the finer stuff, which would naturally provide better drainage.. 🤔




 

[NC_Palms]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

An interesting observation  because both here and in CA, you can find specimens growing in some pretty clay - heavy soils, or " soil " that is more like a 3-4ft deep layer of grit / gravel that drains really quickly.   Your soil must contain lots of fine sticky / silty material vs. having a lot of rock mixed in w/ the finer stuff, which would naturally provide better drainage.. 🤔

Our soil is definitely the former. Pure silt without any rocks (there’s no rocks in soil anywhere in ENC). It suffocates plants and I have lost so many because of it. Typically, there is a sandy top soil layer, but when they built the property this was removed. 

I’ve been adding gravel when I plant arid species like agaves to help. Gardening has allowed me to increase the organic material in the soil as well. But as soon as I start seeing plants decline, I like to repot them and hope I can give them a second chance. 

[Chester B]

My olives in Oregon were in both sandier soil and clay.  The big one I had in clay, had a good 6-8" of soil on top of the clay.  It grew the fastest, and it seemed to like the water, but it never really produced fruit, I think it was too far from the others.  In winter that area was always wet.

[NC_Palms]

So update… culprit was root rot. I cut off the dead roots and most of the stems, and planted in a pot with iron based fertilizer. I hope this works and it recovers