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I recently purchased 2 Fuerte - 1 possibly Hass- avocados. For 2 weeks they lived on the porch receiving late afternoon sun. I watered them with rain water. They seemed happy. Then I moved them to a different town and they sat outside receiving sun from mid day to evening. I suspected it was too hot and started bringing them in at mid day. They've been here for 1 week. In which time I have watered them twice. The area's water is very rich in minerals.

My trees are drying out really badly despite watering and keeping the worst of the heat away. I looked closely and observed mealybugs. Just a few. I removed them and sprayed a neem oil solution today. I have new growth but the stems seem stressed. I don't know if they'll be able to support the new growth. It's happened very rapidly. I pinched the first few dry leaves but felt I shouldn't pinch all of them. My trees are about a foot high and the trunks were just starting to lignify, they are also grafted. drying outvery sudden

What could the problem be and what should I do?

Bessie Thomas
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  • By the way, they now sit in a porch with very similar conditions to the first porch. Warm late afternoon sun not too hot. – Bessie Thomas Jan 19 '19 at 15:54

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young avos need protection from direct sun for the first couple of years. Use a shade netting frame around them,,or filtered shade of trees. Grow them in a bag until large enough and more sun resistant. Avo trees are prone to a soil fungal disease called Phytophthera, which causes wilting.

Nick Vamvakos
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  • So any direct sun at all is a no-no? They've withered in a matter of days. 3 days at most. They went from perfectly healthy without a dying leaf on them to all the leaves going dry in 72 hours. Thanks for the info on Phytophthora. I'm reading up on it. – Bessie Thomas Jan 19 '19 at 17:52
  • I doubt the problem is some direct sun. These are tropical plants. I'm not qualified to comment, but could you be OVER watering the plants? My understanding is they should only be watered every few days. (I hope my suspicions are wrong and this is not phytohera, in which case I fear you may need to buy new trees?) – davidgo Jan 20 '19 at 23:09
  • The symptoms that you're describing do match a root disease, I hope that I am wrong. – ammoun Jan 22 '19 at 21:31