Olive Tree at it AGAIN !!!!

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Hi All,
I have a Olive Tree that I got from an Orchid dealer last winter. I had major issues with the leaves falling off after I brought it home. I got advice on here last winter and finally got my poor tree straightened out. I Put her outside this summer and she just blossomed (NO not literally!! LOL). I had my husband bring her inside for the winter last week and the leaves are back to falling off. Blast it!! I used a mix of sugar and Borax 50-50 to kill the ants living in her dirt, they had 3 condos set up. I put about 1/4 cup of the mix in jar caps around the top of the soil, but they got knocked over when she was brought into the house. I am hoping there is something I can do to keep her from going bald again. I live in Michigan, our nights have been in the 40's-50's. I know that she prefers cold nights no lower than freezing. But getting the hubby to do anything is EXTREMELY hard and with the temps falling lower each night I figured I had better start nagging. Especially seeing that this weekend is going to be down to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. I have no heat on in the house yet and she is in a southern window. I did water her when I brought her in only because we have had almost no rain to speak of lately.

One other thing, when I got her all her branches were up and out like a normal tree. After she went bald and started growing leaves again all the new branches were the same. BUT, after her sojourn outside for the summer on the south side of the house in full sun, protected from strong winds out of the west, all her new branches are growing down. Is this normal?

A million thanks to all!! PRINCIPESSA my Olive Tree!
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Hi Becky,
The USDA says 5a, that being said it also says we have somewhat mild summers rarely over 86 degrees F. Most of July and all of August is in the mid to high 90's with humidity close to 100%. We get a lot of below zero temps in winter with the wonderful wind chill factored in. Wind chill temps are usually around -10 to -20, though we are usually in the 20's somewhere for quite a bit of the winter. BUT this being MI if you wait around 10 minutes as the old adage goes, it will change! ;-)
 
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Hi again HomeJungle and am sorry to hear you are having problems once again

However my news this time is not quite so good - as although its quite possible that the leaf drop could be nothing more than your tree adjusting to having been brought inside - as I think mentioned previously - temperature fluctuations - can cause leaf drop.

I'm more inclined to think - that as boron deficiencies are rare in olive trees and the range between deficiency and toxicity is extremely narrow - meaning it doesn't take much to throw them over the edge - it is the borax used to deter the ants that is the culprit and the main cause of the problem - particularly as the symptoms shown in the early stages of boron toxicity - are those of premature leaf drop.

Which if it is as I suspect - unfortunately means - your only solution would be to replace the soil and repot as soon as possible - after thoroughly washing off all the previous soil residue from the roots and then hope for the best

With regard to your concerns about temperature – as it was something that we discussed last time - I have - rather than repeat exactly what was said then - which hopefully you won't mind - provided a link to our previous conversation

https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/leaves-on-olive-tree-are-curling-up-and-falling-off.4334/
 
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Hi Gata,
It is good to hear from you again. I kinda wondered about using the borax, but I shoved the thoughts aside deciding to instead concentrate on killing those ants. Hubby said he would not bring her in if she had bugs. I should have just left well enough alone until I found a better solution. I considered re-potting first. Now I have to. I am going to move her to the coldest room in the house too. That should help. I hate to do that because she won't be in the main part of the house, she is so pretty!!

Do you have any idea an why the branches are growing down? I had to get a new computer after the last one died abruptly. I lost everything so I had no photos to show a comparison. There are photos of the branches before in out last conversation.

Thanks again Gata for all your advice!!
J
 
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Well thankfully this time its good news HomeJungle - especially as - because olive trees are well known for being obstinate - as they refuse to grow in anything but the right direction - there is no need to worry - as its actually quite normal for them to grow as yours is doing :)
 

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