How to trim suckers off of the base of an olive tree, with a chisel

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One of the most beautiful parts of an olive tree is the base, and it's also one of the ugliest. When the suckers are trimmed away it reveals a magnificent sculptural quality, and when the suckers are all over the place, it just looks messy, and terrible. I've cared for two olive trees here at the Tropical Paradise for many years now, and have found that using a chisel is best. Yes, an ordinary chisel.

If you don't let the suckers get too long, a chisel is all you need. If it's been a while, you'll need to trim the suckers (yes, that's what they're called) back a bit. And then you just sit on the ground and sculpt the beauty back to the base of the tree. Yes, it takes some some time, but it's easy to do, and I find it relaxing, and kinda "zen".

I'm not as young as I used to be, and I often find that I'm spending more time sitting and reaching than I had thought, and too much of it can give me some lower back pain, so I try to divide it up, and not do it all in one sitting. There's no hurry! I might do one side today, the other tomorrow, or the next day. If it's morning I'll set my cup of coffee next to me, and I've been known to sip on a can of beer if it's afternoon.

That's really all there is to it, and like I say, I enjoy it as a "labor of love", and isn't that what gardening is all about?

Thank you for the encouragement! If you want to see daily pics of my adventures on my recumbent trike in suburban Phoenix (just for fun, of course!) you can follow me on buymeacoffee.com/bradhall, and you can buy me a coffee if you'd like to!

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