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Olive trees are some of those very few trees that can be planted back whatever their age, providing the job is done by specialists.
Unfortunately, road transport requires a massive reduction of their build ; and since aesthetics then becomes their only interest, regeneration pruning has to be performed 3 to 5 years before in order to restrain leafing to the desired sides. Another regeneration pruning then takes place a few months before the trees are dug out thewith appropriate public works machines (which can weigh up to 10 tons).
Digging out such trees must be done with the greatest care in order to keep most of the duff and nutritive rootlets. Only the main root, which provides water, may be cut off.
The tree is transported and then immediately transplanted back either in a nursery, where it may be heeled in a trench or planted in a container, or directly in its final spot. These impressive olive trees would often grow out of arid soils and were able to withstand a 6-month or more period of drought.
After having their main root amputated, those trees require thorough watering during their transplantating and for the first three years afterwards. The use of adequate fertilizers will boost their strike rate and speed up the development of new branches.
The trees will then need another pruning after 2 years’ time in order to balance out leafing, get rid of interior branches as well as trunk and duff suckers. |
