Avocado tree problems - need advice!

[Sendit6.5]

I joined to get some help with one of my new avocado trees - I’m having some trouble with one of them - a Lilja  variety. I bought it back in May and it looked great but was in a small (maybe 3-4 gallon) plastic pot. I was kind of lazy about getting it repotted and then I noticed a couple brown spots on leaves that got dry and hard. So, I replanted it into a big molasses tub from the ranch. The problem continues and I don’t see any new growth buds forming. I have fed the tree with a good amount of beneficial microbes and and enzymes hoping to stimulate it but it just isn’t responding as well as my Joey avocado tree has.

Anyone know wha these leaf symptoms indicate and what a good treatment is?

Weather is very hot here in South Texas with highs pushing past 100° and lows around 82°. Humidity is in the mid 40’s. I have my trees under 40% shade cloth currently because I was worried that the heat might be too much stress. However, the spot gets sun all day long - it just gets shaded some from about 10am to 4pm

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

[Mark in Texas]

Looks like salts damage maybe from your water source exacerbated by the heat.  You may want to shade until just before sunset until Sept.

Hate to pop your bubble but I don't think you're going to like those varieties.  I'd use them as rootstocks and come  spring graft something like Mexicola or Stewart to them.

Where in the RGV do you live?  If in Brownsville you could try Reed or Pinkerton.  Mine laughed off a quick bout of 112F with no damage.

Also there's a Mexican grower in Nuevo Leon (Saltillo area) growing and selling native named Criollo varieties.

[Sendit6.5]

Looks like salts damage maybe from your water source exacerbated by the heat.  You may want to shade until just before sunset until Sept.

Hate to pop your bubble but I don't think you're going to like those varieties.  I'd use them as rootstocks and come  spring graft something like Mexicola or Stewart to them.

Where in the RGV do you live?  If in Brownsville you could try Reed or Pinkerton.  Mine laughed off a quick bout of 112F with no damage.

Also there's a Mexican grower in Nuevo Leon (Saltillo area) growing and selling native named Criollo varieties.

Thanks for the reply! I’ll keep it under the shade cloth for now. Our well is definitely salty but seems to have been good enough for the other variety and our garden does really well. I can give it RO’d well water for a while, though - just to try and make things easier on it.  I don’t live in the RGV, I live in Sabinal - the northern edge of STX. The Joey was developed in Uvalde which is where we grocery shop. I picked up these varieties in SA at Rainbow gardens because they’re supposedly well suited for our climate. It’s been hard to find avocado trees - I looked for 2 years before I finally found these. Why will they be disappointing?

I’m fine with grafting another variety on but we CAN get some cold snaps here. Hasn’t happened in a few years but I’ve seen it as low as 16° for 12-14hrs before. I worry about trying RGV varieties as we’ve been known to get these freak cold snaps. Your advice?

[Mark in Texas]

Cause they suck.  I grew Joey, yech.  Big seed, small fruit, grassy taste.  Waldin (pure W. Indies) or at least one of the Florida "Slimcado" pits would be a good rootstock as they can take saline water really well.  Starting in 2012 I grafted to those pits because of my hard well water which has a TTS up to 800ppm!  Not only was the rootstock very vigorous, was ready in 2 months but all the grafts took.

Whatever, you can't fight mother nature.  Plant only what will work for you.

Joey:



Other choices would be the very high quality, rich, slow growing SoCal "compacts" like Pinkerton, Gwen or GEM.  Put them in RootMaker pots and shelter them when temps dip below 30F. I grew Gwen until a heater failure.  It stayed a runt for the 4 years I had it.  My Pinkerton and GEM are very slow growing.  They've taken the greenhouse heat really well too.  Also low RH.

Good luck!

[Sendit6.5]

Cause they suck.  I grew Joey, yech.  Big seed, small fruit, grassy taste.  Waldin (pure W. Indies) or at least one of the Florida "Slimcado" pits would be a good rootstock as they can take saline water really well.  Starting in 2012 I grafted to those pits because of my hard well water which has a TTS up to 800ppm!  Not only was the rootstock very vigorous, was ready in 2 months but all the grafts took.

Whatever, you can't fight mother nature.  Plant only what will work for you.

Joey:



Other choices would be the very high quality, rich, slow growing SoCal "compacts" like Pinkerton, Gwen or GEM.  Put them in RootMaker pots and shelter them when temps dip below 30F. I grew Gwen until a heater failure.  It stayed a runt for the 4 years I had it.  My Pinkerton and GEM are very slow growing.  They've taken the greenhouse heat really well too.  Also low RH.

Good luck!

Hey, I appreciate the advice! I have no idea where to find other varieties, like those you mentioned, around here. Can they be viably shipped? I mean, could I buy the root stock and scions and have them shipped to me with any chance of success? Any suggestions on where to get the ones you suggested?

I chose the Joey simply because it was developed here and is suited to our specific climate. I mean, it was developed 21 miles from my house. It seems to be doing very well. Perhaps grafting one or two of the varieties onto it would be a good idea? It’s supposed to be cold tolerant to 14° once it’s hardened.

[Pokeweed]

Hi Sendit, Love the handle.....creedmore? There are several really good nurseries in and around San Antonio. We go up there periodically and visit them. Fanik's (sp) is a favorite.