Hi! I live in Oman but I bought a small olive tree in Greece last September. I kept it in the same pot it came. It already came with olives. I kept it outdoors where it gets sunlight every morning. And I water it with 500 ml every other day with a tiny quantity of fertilizer. Everything was great, it was growing and looking amazing until about 2 weeks ago, the leafs became dried and brown and started falling. When I water it it is not absorbing as before. I live in Oman and now the summer is really hot (35ºC-47ºC) I don’t know if that’s the reason it’s dying. please help! Do you have any tips? Is it maybe the pot is too small? Too much water? Not enough? I attached some pictures for your reference (the last picture is when it was still healthy)
Yes! About 24 hours after watering the soil was dried. Until 2 weeks ago that it didn’t dry. I remove the dead leafs and dead branches, I reported it to a bigger pot also. Any recommendations on what else I can do? Also, because the weather has been really hot, I brought the olive inside in a room I rarely turn the on and I placed it next to a big window
Well, I suspect a fungus or bacteria caused by the soil being too wet (which is now blocking the systems within the plant and preventing uptake of the water, essentially choking the plant)...the general advice for olives is water infrequently, but deeply. Every second day sounds like it may have caused a pathogen to get a foothold. Are there still some healthy branches?
I have just seen this thread and if OK I would like to tell you about my eldest daughter and son in laws Olive tree. It is 8ft tall and in a pot on their patio that gets full sun most of the day. Today it was registering 34°C . They have owned it for three years now and water it once every two weeks deeply. It is allowed to dry out rather well in between watering, but it thrives with very healthy leaves. It is also showing signs of fruiting. It is fed in the Spring and in July but that is all, two feeds only a year. I think that Daniel has hit the nail on the head with your tree in that it has been over watered and not allowed to dry out between watering causing a bacteria or fungal problem . I do not confess to have anywhere near the amount of knowledge that Daniel has, but just wanted to let you know about an Olive tree that is doing well that I know personally.
Hi Daniel, yes I removed the dead branches and left the ones that were still green on the inside. I will attach a picture of how it looks now. Is there any way to know if it’s a fungus? And what would the treatment be? I really appreciate your input, there is not much information online and I really want my olive tree to survive.
Valentina, what kind of and how much fertilizer did you apply every other day with the water? Even small amounts will add up pretty quickly when applied that frequently, and plants don't need those nutrients when they aren't growing actively. After transplanting, no fertilizer should be applied until you see significant growth.
Thank you very much, unfortunately I didn’t receive the right information about how take care of it. Hopefully i will still be able to save it.
