By Ms95887
United Kingdom 
We have a small olive tree in a pot in the Garden and recently one of the upper branches has sprouted a different looking stem with leaves twice the size if the olive leaves and of a markedly different appearance. Is this new growth a parasitic plant or has the olive been grafted onto another species rootstock? A mystery to me but I'd like to have an explanation when my wife asks me what it is so I look clever. I'm not normally clever.
18 Jul, 2013
Answers
It is just a continuation of one of the small upper branches but just has different leaves on it. It's growing at a rate of knots. I will attempt to upload a photo...
19 Jul, 2013
I think it will be olive as it is coming from original stems. the warmer weather is probably suiting it so the stems are making goos while the sun shines. if you dont like it just prune it out.
19 Jul, 2013
The leaves are totally not olives though. The mystery continues...
19 Jul, 2013
they look to be the same shape as the olives. I wonder if they are just cells from a mutated group of cells.
24 Jul, 2013
That sounds weird. For a start, an oddity from a graft rootstock would come from under the main plant, not out of the top, and secondly, olives are more often done by cuttings from known stock. However, strange things happen, so a photo would be interesting to see. From where exactly does the rogue shoot arise?
19 Jul, 2013