We are going to show you in Macrobonsai how you can prune the olive tree that you have in your garden so that it has a format that imitates the small bonsai.

It is very easy to achieve, you just have to know when is the best time and have a little patience.

General rule in the pruning of ornamental trees


Although the first rule when it comes to pruning ornamental trees is that “The best pruning for a tree is the one that is NOT done”, we make this video because many people like that the olive tree provides the garden with a more ornamental aesthetic value than the it has with its natural shape.

Why can we el Olivo?


If drastic pruning of a tree is not recommended because it shortens its life and weakens it, why do we do it in El Olivo?

Well, because we take advantage of its extreme rusticity and great longevity, with a great capacity to re-sprout if it is done at the right time.

The recommended time is at the end of winter, once the risk of a late frost has already disappeared, and this is important, because it has been the case, drastic pruning carried out at the end of winter, where a late frost has completely killed all the branches of the olive tree.

It is true that in the end the olive tree ends up sprouting again from the base of the trunk, but all the branches are lost, and the olive tree will take several to recover an acceptable shape.

What is the optimal time to prune the olive tree?


Well, as we have said, at the end of winter and without risk of late frosts, we are going to carry out a pruning that is closer to the topping (elimination of all the branches of the tree, practically flush with the trunk) than to the plywood ( cut all branches leaving about a third of their length).

Since what we are going to do is cut all its branches, leaving only a small stump on each main branch, which will be more or less long depending on the shape we are looking for.

Olive tree pruning process for a bonsai format


From here, we must wait for it to regrow, and then begin to make periodic cuts with the hedge trimmer or pruning shears to get the shape we want in each of the branches to imitate the “giant” bonsai format that we are pursuing.

We can give each branch an oval, circular, rectangular, square or tray shape, perhaps the most used being the mushroom or oval shape.

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