By Lynda_boyle
United Kingdom 
I have two olive bushes which have got quite straggly. they are about 3ft tall and have been in pots since bought about 2008. can they be pruned and if so when
1 Oct, 2016
Answers
Hi, welcome to GoY, I agree with Bamboo, the fact that they've been in the same pot for over 8 years, is probably why they're only 3ft high, Derek.
2 Oct, 2016
thanks for the info.will attend to the plants in the next year
Lynda
4 Dec, 2016
Not now, is the first response! You can tidy them up with a bit of pruning next year when the growing season gets going, but if you did it now, you might encourage new growth which won't have time to harden off before winter. A little snip here or there will be okay, if you've got the odd long shoot though. You might want to check whether they're rootbound - if they've been in the same pots since 2008, it may well be time to pot them up into something larger.
1 Oct, 2016