The information is supplied as a guide for during the first two years after planting olive trees between approximately 300mm (1 ft) and 1.5 metres (5 ft) in height. During this fast growth period the trees require specific pruning to maximise their growth, keep them in good health, and very importantly, prepare them for mechanical harvesting. Before pruning you should choose which style of harvesting you prefer and prune accordingly.

The briefness of this sheet cannot give all the answers and options but it does give a basic guide to pruning and staking during the first couple of years.

Whenever you are pruning a young olive tree there are four main points to keep in mind:

1. Too much pruning at a young age will stunt the tree's growth.
2. You are ultimately wanting to prune for mechanically harvesting the crop.
3. A central leader trunk will assist growth in the early stages.
4. Practice makes perfect!

Let's take a closer look at these points.


1. Olive trees are like human beings in many ways and in no way are they so similar as in the pruning. It's as simple as this:




2. Mechanical harvesting is the most efficient method of removing fruit from olive trees. Whereas oil olives have been the only mechanically harvested olives for many years, table fruit are now sometimes dropping into catching umbrellas in countries around the world, including Australia. Unless you have made a clear decision to hand harvest your fruit, to neglect pruning for future mechanical harvesting in the modern orchard may be a serious error from a long term economic viewpoint.







The staking of young olive trees is very important. Stakes need to be strong enough to support the tree while the anchor roots are developing, and yet flexible enough to allow the tree to move in the wind. If the stake is too rigid or the tree tied too tightly to it, then the tree will be over protected and not feel the need to develop strong roots.

The most common size stake to use was the 1.5 metre (5 ft) high, 24-26mm thick. Thicker stakes are available for sandy soils: 1.8m (7ft) high, 25-28mm.

The bamboo stakes have some advantages over hardwood stakes as they have as they allow the tree to flex in the wind thereby encouraging the tree to develop a thick trunk and also to develop its anchor roots quickly. A tree rigidly tied to an unbending hardwood stake will not realise the need to develop its anchor roots strongly.

Sourcing Stakes - for further details and pricing for Stakes are available from The Olive Centre.

After about two years at which point the tree probably will no longer need staking. It is rare for a tree to need any support after it has outgrown such a stake.

Place the stake about 50mm (2") from the base of the tree and push it into the soil at least 300mm vertically until it feels quite stable. A better option is to use the stakes to mark your tree sites prior to planting and then simply plant the trees beside them. You can then tie both the young tree and its small nursery stake to the main stake with a tool such as the tapener described below. (There is no need to cut off the the tapes between the young tree and its nursery stake as they will break away naturally as the tree trunk thickens.)

After planting and staking the tree, the stake will prove to be a good solid anchor point to attach protective guards or netting to if you have severe animal problems and do not have a full netting fence around the boundary of your orchard.

Tying the Tree - From our experience with tying methods over many years, we have found that the tape tying tools available from The Olive Centre are an excellent investment. The taping tool is very fast and efficient and if you have a number of trees to tie, you will get the cost of your tool back very quickly in saved time. When you order your tool Full Staking Kits are available which include a packet of staples, a packet of spare cutter blades, and unless you have very thick trunks, the 26 metre rolls of tape will be what you'll use.

After testing many brands of tape, we recommend the high quality, green tape. As the tree trunk grows thicker it will be better able to support itself without so much need for the stake. As the trunk thickens, the tape will stretch and naturally tear out at the staple point so it will not strangle the tree as some ties do. For windy areas other heavy duty tree ties are available.



3. A central leader trunk will help to speed up your tree's growth during the early years. Because this trunk will be fast growing and always growing upwards in the centre of your tree, it will be drawing nutrients up through the tree to sustain its growth. As it draws these nutrients up the tree, the nutrients will be carried to lower branches and thereby increase their speed of growth as well. The central leader acts as a type of 'nutrient pump' within the tree. (If your tree decides to grow straight up without any lateral (side) branches, nip the growing tip out when it reaches about 1.2 - 1.3 metres (4 ft). This will force it to start lateral branching into your vase shape.)




4. Practice Makes Perfect! Olive trees have a mind of their own and as such they will sometimes fight against many of your efforts to prune them into shape. Don't give up. Perseverance wins the race. Remember that time is on your side. A tree that won't grow correctly this season can often be restaked and then pruned into shape next season.