Problem starting with olive tree?

14 years ago

Is anyone growing an olive tree? I've had one for a couple years with no problems. Now I have these black lumps(?) and ants! Does anyone know what this is and what do I need to do about it?

Thanks

Evelyn

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
Is it a lump or a scale insect? Scrape it off, flip it over and see. Ants are usually attending where they can harvest some 'honeydew'. Usually from aphids but I'd still check and see if this "lump" is an insect.
efine50
Original Author
14 years ago
Looks more like a lump. I scraped it off and it has some red powder like stuff inside.
Related Discussions
help with browning fir tree
Q
Comments (12)
Chookchook2 and louisep2012, Thanks for your posts. I live in Spain, the temps are presently around 35 - 40ºC in the heat of the day. The fir is exposed to the sun for between 3 to 4 hours. The rest of the time it is in shade. The fir is in a large pot on the patio and it would be impossible to thrust my hand down through 15 inches of soil! It is certainly not waterlogged. We changed the pot a week ago as the previous one had broken. There did not appear to be any problems with the roots at that time. The fir was well 'watered in' and apart from the centre, is green, as you will see from the photos attached to my first post. A friend of a friend is a gardening "expert" and has a programme on the local radio. From a verbal description he has guessed that it may be a root problem as an infection would be unlikely in a pot with no other firs about! HIs advice was to prune out all the brown and administer TLC!! with a little water thrown in!! He sadly forecasts a "lingering death"! (I have organised a black tie for the impeding event) Regards, Colin.
...See More
Landscape around a tree?
Q
Comments (7)
Hi. I think pruning the roots on a birch tree would be prohibitively expensive( and probably pointless). Ideally trees need to drop their own leaves onto their own roots and for nature to take its course in terms of temperature control and moisture retention etc. As soon as there is human intervention the roots will suffer, from compaction, dehydration or just severance. Certain trees will 'put up' with interference better than others. Birch is a colonising species and therefore fairly tough. I think your options are as follows; cut straight through the roots and take a chance that the tree will be unaffected. Stop the edging where you have and start again a similar distance the other side. Or you mention slabs to the lawn edge? if you are laying them horizontally as in a patio, lay the ones over the roots on sharp sand or a very lean mix of sharp sand /cement. If you are using 100mm x 1000mm slabs as edging, get a local builder to cut one piece lengthwise and don't dig it in so far. The last option is the preferred one and will appear visually the same as the others. Brian
...See More
Granite seams problem
Q
Comments (68)
Just to update the situation. John came today, he seems OK and honest to us. He said he suggested me chasing Kenny. He knows Kenny quite well that I need to get him to finish his job or refund my money. Tomorrow my husband will drop by his warehouse and I told him to tell Kenny if I don't hear from him. I will contact him through the lawyer. I also bought the stuffs you showed me from that site together with oil stain remover. I need Kenny to fix the part at the hob. He needs to remove that out and replace with the one that from the same slab or lighter tone. John also confirmed to me my granite is not sealed at all!!! Not weak seal but not seal and he told me Kenny knows this and it is his job to do.
...See More
Crimbo tree/decoration pics 2019
Q
Comments (116)
Nice to hear Monica. I love the house when the decs are up (cover a multitude of sins!). I put them up pretty late compared to most these days but hate them coming down to reveal unfinished jobs and less than perfect paintwork!!
...See More
dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
Is it a widespread problem? All over the tree or on select branches? Do the lumps seem to be attracting the ants ?
I'm wondering if it might be an egg mass.
There are lots of info sites on Google regarding growing olives and the care of olive trees.
efine50
Original Author
14 years ago
They seem to be on all the branches. I'd never seen them before and it doesn't seem to affect the tree. I'll keep an eye on them. I've done a google search...there's a lot of info out there.
Thanks for the help
Evelyn
micronthecat
14 years ago
OMG am I the only one who's completely blown away by the photograph??? How in the world did you get so close???
dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
That lump is not shaped smooth like a black scale, that's why I think it's an egg mass or the bark has been sliced by an insect that deposits eggs under the bark and perhaps the black is ooze from the tree to heal the wound.

I'd google and find out more about growing olives and the diseases and insect pests of olive trees.
trianglejohn
14 years ago
Just my two cents but that really looks like an ant harvesting nectar from a scale insect by stroking it with its antennae. I've never seen scale that look like that before but I have seen scale that are pretty much sedentary and do not move around on the stem. Scale bugs are such a bizarre group of insects that there is no way to categorize them easily.

I will check my olives to see if any black scale are on them. My European Olives are not liking the high heat and humidity so they would be prime candidates for an infestation. My black olive 'Arbequinea' is thriving. If anyone is looking to grow olives in a pot as a patio edible I highly recommend them. I treat mine just like a citrus tree. They do need to experience some cold in order to bloom but they don't like deep freezes or extended periods of sub freezing temps.
efine50
Original Author
14 years ago
John
I think my olive is a Mediterranean type. It is in a container and I've never gotten olives from it. This is the first time I've seen anything like this. I have had scale before (on my Meyer Lemon) but it sure didn't look like this. It pops off and there's some kind of reddish powder in it. It really doesn't look like an insect.
tamelask
14 years ago
I have one type of scale that i get on something (don't recall what off the top) that has reddish stuff inside, so don't rule out scale. I'm inclined to agree with john on this one. By the way, that is a really nice picture, too!
dottie_in_charlotte
14 years ago
Evelyn, post your photo on the pest/insect forum and see if you get any response to identification. We might be getting sidetracked by the ant in the photo making us think this blob is an insect instead of a fungus or a tree wound.
ssalacrity
8 years ago
I have the same thing on my olive tree has anyone figured out what it is?
ssukno
8 years ago
When we were in humid TX I planted and olive tree there. Not problems at all. I order it from edible landscape. Now I garden in northern Spain and olives can take a lot more cold than you think. Just the olive oil quality is not good but it grow perfect. We have 200 years old olives in our street. Much more cold tolerant than citrus.
PRO
Candi Kitchens
7 years ago
I have the same on my olive tree and now it on my Avo treas, does anyone know how to get rid of it?
CasaLester RTP, NC (7b)
7 years ago
This is likely the Black scale, Saissetia oleae. For more information see for instance at the UC IPM site here, or Google for other sources.

Problem starting with olive tree?

Comments (14)

dottie_in_charlotte

efine50
Original Author

Related Discussions

dottie_in_charlotte

efine50
Original Author

micronthecat

dottie_in_charlotte

trianglejohn

efine50
Original Author

tamelask

dottie_in_charlotte

ssalacrity

ssukno

Candi Kitchens

CasaLester RTP, NC (7b)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Problem starting with olive tree?

Comments (14)

efine50Original Author

Related Discussions

efine50Original Author

efine50Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

efine50
Original Author

efine50
Original Author

efine50
Original Author