Hi there I have this new olive that i dig out of a ditch with a pretty wide base. Olives tend to grow a kind of potatoe at their rootbase so i usualy chainsaw it and plant it with no roots at all with the black bag technique.
The thing is all went well it started budding and producing roots all over but suddenly every bud tip turnes brown. Im not sure if dry or rotten.
I suspected they were rotten so I took it out of the bag in my garage. Now it hasnt produced any new growth for a month but also bud are still green.
What could I do? Is it dead, will it recover?
I collect olive branches/stumps every year and what works for me is to put them into 100% pumice. Make sure to water them well and really get the pumice wet, this will hold the water without rotting but keep the humidity high. Then wrap them in a clear bag followed by a black bag. This will allow you to remove the black bag afterwards and then not have to fiddle with the tree getting it into a clear bag afterwards. Or you can keep them in a greenhouse in the black bag. Then you place them where they can stay warm out of the wind and a bit of morning sun helps just to keep things cooking 
I leave them be and after a month or so will open the bag to check, normally they won’t be doing much before then. Once you have 4-6 leaves on each branch that’s popped you can slow aclimatise by making hold in the black bag and then slowly removing it. The clear bag will keep the humidity but you will need to start watching things. You can then slowly transition to open the bag once the leaves harden off.
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Yes! I’ve been doing this for nthe last 4 years with no issues… that’s why I surprised with this olive…
I don’t have 100% so it may just be one of those that don’t have enough energy or it came off a weak tree. This happens unfortunately.
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