Reed Avocado tree Weeping?

[Willthomas76]

Does anyone else's have a Reed Avocado tree that weeps badly?  My Reed was purchased as a 15 gallon 1 year ago.  It has 7 avocados on it and other than being slumped over it looks really healthy. I saw a video where a guy supports his weeping varieties on a trellis.  I will post a picture when I get home later.

[Greg A]

Yes, my Reed weeps whenever a limb has a lot of fruit because Reeds get heavy. Sometimes I thin or prune such limbs, but you can also prop with 2x4s as the commercial farmers do.

[spaugh]

Mine are weepy too.  I stake them until they can hold themselves up.  Not all varieties need it.  Hass and fuerte seem pretty erect.  Reed, holiday, sir prize, all get the saggy limbs.

[Willthomas76]

Thanks for replying and to Greg, I understand the weeping branches holding fruit but I was concerned because the entire tree weeps i.e. the center stem and branches with no hanging fruit.

I think I will try the 2x4 or trellis solutions

[behlgarden]

for this very reason I hacked my reed into small size to get better stronger branches. it again went to the moon and leggy, I will continue to train the monkey until it has strong branches for canopy. I also grafted Pinkerton and Jan Boyce onto it.

[Greg A]

I see what you mean now. Yeah, that's irritating. My Reed actually stood up on its own before some of my other avocado trees. It seems to depend more on the individual tree and its training in the nursery more than the variety, in my experience.

You can stake it, especially with two stakes on either side. I can attach some photos if you'd like. You can also do some pruning. I tend to do a combination of both if necessary because I get impatient. I hate trees that can't stand up on their own after no more than a year of staking, max.

[Willthomas76]

It has been staked on 2 sides all along and it's wanted to slump over.  It still produced EXCELLENT fruit last year and has seven this year.  I was wondering if tying the branches to a trellis won't help the stem get more sunlight/energy.  I admit that I got that idea from a YouTube video