Help With Avocado Trees

[tobh]

Hello fellow farmers,
I come to you today with a couple of avocado trees that are suffering from one thing or another.

The first one I'll address is the eldest of the two, and it has had issues since the very beginning. The leaves twist and the leaf tips are burnt as if overfed. The pot it resides in currently has been it's home for around a month, maybe a month and a half. It is approximately three months old.

The soil is 2/3 organic Miracle Grow (i know, i hate MG as much as the next guy, but it was what was available at that time) with 1/3 perlite. Terra cota pot. Watered straight from the tap, which isn't real good here at pH 8.1 and ~220ppm depending on time of day and recent weather. I give enough water for a TINY bit of run off, this soil stays saturated for a while. This tree does not seem to drink as much as cannabis does, so it'll go a week to two weeks without water and no improvement in leaf behaviour.

Last week I got in a battle with fungus gnats. Treated with diatemacious earth (i know I screwed that spelling up) and the gnats are gone. I thought perhaps the gnats were a sign of root rot perhaps, considering nothing else was impacted by them and they did not migrate to my variety of other plants.

Here's some pictures:

You can see the edge of the leaf is like burnt.

The second is a young sapling about a month old now. It's doing quite well in comparison to its sibling, though today it started showing signs of what we would consider to be a cal/mag deficiency in our typical plant of choice. Rust spots on the oldest growth. Again, this plant has a single leaf that has the tip burnt off, same symptom as the older tree.

Here's some pics of this youngin:

And here's one for size comparison:

Both in same soil, same temps, only difference is age and we waited to put the younger one in soil longer than the older one, thinking that's why the older one is unhappy now. Was rushed into life too quick. Either way, both are slow growers, though the young one is picking up its pace with spending its day in under the brightest metal halide in the sky.

Considering my ole lady got these started and we've never grown them before, I am unsure of how to go about fixing these issues. What do some of you guys with more experience with these think? Thanks for any advice or tips.

One Love.

 

[Muckman420]

Wish I could help.... I'll watch with you here

 

[tobh]

Appreciated. I've been banging my head against the wall with the first one. Tried flushing it out, ran close to 10 gallons through it in one go around Jan. 1. Tried feeding it a little with canna a&b and a little bio root. Just does not want to respond.

 

[fishwhistle]

http://www.californiaavocado.com/grow-your-own-avocado-tree/

 

[tobh]

Thanks @fishwhistle I've been to that site before but due to my inexperience with these, I was able to determine that it could be humidity (averages 20% RH), root rot, leaf spot disease, or a fungal infection. Google Images doesn't show much exhibiting the same symptoms, but considering leaf spot disease spreads easily, these guys are getting quarantined.

 

[rubthe nub]

Temps?
Baby avocados don't like low temps

 

[Seamaiden]

I've only ever grown them outside and directly in the dirt before. The biggest thing I had to watch for was making sure they were well watered while young. SoCal area, planted some Puerto Rican 'cados. Specifically La Habra Heights, where the first mother Haas avocado tree was grown and lived until 2005. LOTS o' 'cados in the Heights!

I just noticed your avatar. I remember Datsuns! Every once in a while I see one headin' down the road. Like fuckin' Pintos.

 

[Power OG]

I dnt know what your ph is in soil, but I do know that avocados like there soil ph between 6-6.5, she's probably not drinking due to some type of lock out, check your ph's and due a slurry test. Also it the big one could be ready for new shoes, remember tree roots are some much bigger and more integrated for long-term survival. I'd get a huge pot and get her 3-4 feet tall & healthy, then into the ground. Also MG has food in it, like a 3month supply, so probably needs no feed. Worm casting teas are a gardeners best friend, along with natural cultures.
Positive Vibes & Respect

 

[Power OG]

I've only ever grown them outside and directly in the dirt before. The biggest thing I had to watch for was making sure they were well watered while young. SoCal area, planted some Puerto Rican 'cados. Specifically La Habra Heights, where the first mother Haas avocado tree was grown and lived until 2005. LOTS o' 'cados in the Heights!

I just noticed your avatar. I remember Datsuns! Every once in a while I see one headin' down the road. Like fuckin' Pintos.

Lmao, I remember both well, my neighbors dad on the westbank had a datsun truck. Its been awhile since I seen either.lol

 

[tobh]

@rubthe nub temps have been about 70* F all winter long indoors. Humidity is really low though. Need to get a whole house humidifier, living in this place is brutal.

@Seamaiden if I could learn how to set some roots for more than a year or two I would totally put em in the ground. My ole lady is the one who wanted to grow them and has since left the growing part up to this guy haha. And yeah, I have mad love for datsun's. Own two in fact :)

@Power OG the ph is probably ridiculous in the soil. I was having similar issues with my mother plant, who was in the same soil until recently. Lockout issues seem to be common with the MG organic blend. I thought it was too hot at first due to leaf tip burn, but even with flushing a ridiculous amount, the damn tree didn't respond. Well, it did for a little bit then it go discouraged again. When I pull a sample from outdoors for the lab, I may sent some of the soil that the avocados are in as well, just to see where the issue really is.

I've got a shopping list now of a lot of organic products, EWC included. I'm almost to the point of going and dropping the $50 on a bag of FFOF or happy frog and getting these things out of MG. Rid my house of that filth once and for all.

Thanks for the assistance guys, I know with the help of all the wonderful farmers here we'll get to the bottom of this. :)

 

[tobh]

Lmao, I remember both well, my neighbors dad on the westbank had a datsun truck. Its been awhile since I seen either.lol

Datsun's are still huge over there. When I was living in Portland, Oregon, I had several arabs (not being racist, just don't know what they prefer to be called) offer me exuberant amounts of money for my little Datsun. Have way too much love for it to let it go though.

 

[Power OG]

Datsun's are still huge over there. When I was living in Portland, Oregon, I had several arabs (not being racist, just don't know what they prefer to be called) offer me exuberant amounts of money for my little Datsun. Have way too much love for it to let it go though.

Lol, to funny. Not that westbank. The westbank of the Mississippi river in my southern city. But yes I'm laughing because if you watch news, all the Arab countries love them datsuns, there the #1 vehicle wanted by terrorists. Cuz there impossible to kill, I do mean impossible.

 

[tobh]

Oops my bad lol. Considering the generation I grew up in, I see/hear westbank and assume the reference is to Israel. And yes, datsuns are truly indestructable. Mine is on the rust diet right now, but with 300k+ miles she still acts like she's young. Wouldn't trade it for the world.

 

[Power OG]

Yes they are completely indestructible, I have a friend who had one, forever at the hunting camp, and from hauling lime, the frame was ate away, but the mortar still ran and probably still does.

 

[StoneyPufnstuff]

@rubthe nub temps have been about 70* F all winter long indoors. Humidity is really low though. Need to get a whole house humidifier, living in this place is brutal.

[:)

Are you trying to grow these inside? That only works for a couple of weeks, these babies demand some high quality sunlight. You can have the right temps and the right pH and everything else perfect but without the right light, they are doomed.

 

[tobh]

Are you trying to grow these inside? That only works for a couple of weeks, these babies demand some high quality sunlight. You can have the right temps and the right pH and everything else perfect but without the right light, they are doomed.

Well, I was for the winter. I have noticed they are doing much better being set outside daily. Growth rate has increased substantially on the little one and the new growth on the big one looks good. Still bringing them in at night however because temps are dipping down to the 40's at night, sometimes mid 30's.

But on that note, would they perform well during their inside months under a HID? In a couple months I plan on investing in a CMH for my indoor grow and if need be will place these under one as well for the winter months.

 

[StoneyPufnstuff]

They can handle the 40s and brief moments of upper 30s, but if you live someplace where Avocados don't grow well already... you need a greenhouse or to prepare yourself for sudden death when they get bigger and you can't bring them in. If you don't have the right climate, you are just fighting nature, and we all know who will win. Very cool though still, do you know what kind you got going? You may need to sprout a bunch more as in order to have avocados 6-7 years from now you will need male and females.

 

[tobh]

We're working on getting more going now, two seeds sitting with toothpicks sticking out of em and in water as we speak. How well do they weather the winter if mulch is applied at the end of the season?

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what variety they are. All I know is they sure were good. This state gets nice avocados from CA I believe. Maybe further south they grow em, I don't know. I'm in zone 8/9, this area is harsh for many plants. We make em grow though lol.