This is the avocado tree I’ve been growing for 2 years from a seed here in South Carolina. He got super beefy and strong during the summer, but is now looking like this. What could be the cause??
This is the avocado tree I’ve been growing for 2 years from a seed here in South Carolina. He got super beefy and strong during the summer, but is now looking like this. What could be the cause??
I’m impressed regardless. I’m in Ga and I didn’t know that was possible, once my grandmother started one and gave it to me but it was basically a stick with 4 leaves for a year or 2 lol .
narwhalyurok
An avocado is a giant tree not a potted plant. Now is the time to transplant into the ground in full sun.
_Monitor_7665
Too cold
Mamba6266
Did you leave this out when we had our cold snap last week? Because if so it’s likely cold damage. It was super cold all over the state, hell we even had snow in MB, and if you didn’t bring that plan in at least a garage I can’t imagine it loved that
Calm_Technology_7337
Journeyman farmer checking in!
Avocado trees are not adapted to cold at all. When I say cold I mean anything below 50. They will survive in these temps, maybe even a frost or two, but they will not thrive. Prolonged exposure to below 50 temperatures will cause the health of the plant to go downhill and it will be more apparent over time. They really prefer 70+ all the time.
At this point, I would suggest bringing it inside and setting it in your brightest window or with any manner of grow lights. Even a South Carolina winter will do plenty of damage.
At this point you will probably lose some leaves so I would trim back the longest stems a few inches to keep it bushy. Just keep it alive indoors over the winter and you can set it back out in the spring when the frost has passed.
I grew tropical plants year round in a greenhouse in Asheville, NC and I struggled with avocados. You would have better luck with hardy bananas.
pit-of-despair
Winter is coming.
Siren2121
Don’t agree about avocado trees being sensitive to the chili weather we’ve been having. Tell that to the groves and groves of avocados up and down the California coast and inland. I do agree about keeping it potted. That’s an issue I’m sure. It needs to be in the ground I’ll bet. I also understand that they need to have other avocado trees around, specifically the opposite sex in order to create fruit.
paraguaymike
If you are thinking you are going to get nice avocados to eat from that tree you would be wrong. Avocados, like apples, pears, and grapes are not true to seed. Also avocado trees are absolutely not frost tolerant. So many posters here are giving wrong information to you.
Miyuki22
Fuerte and Mexicola are able to handle brief cold snaps down to just barely freezing, but you really want to be in zone 9 to 10 to grow them properly outside. All but the very southern part of south Carolina is going to be too cold for Avocados outside. If you are set on growing, they need to go inside house or greenhouse for winter.
Edit: Fuerte and Mexicola are mentioned specifically because they are the best suited to the colder side of zone 9, while still producing fruit that tastes good.
Since you grew from seed, you like won’t see fruit for several years and the taste will be random.
If you want fruit, you need to get clones of the specific species you want. Seeds are ng for avocado outside just being a house plant.
I planted this avocado tree from seed almost 20 years ago just south of Orlando and it has died back to a stump twice in the past. I’ve harvested 100s of fruit from it each time it grew back. It never died in the winter, once in the fall and once in the summer. No idea why it died back but it came right back after a couple months. It took about 2 years to fruit again.
Yours may be doing the same thing. I cut mine back to a stump about 3’ tall the first time it “died”. Apparently the root system was still fine so it grew back to 15’ tall in the first year of regrowth. Don’t give up right away. Good luck.
WhoKnowsMaybeOneDay
The cold is amplified when it is in a pot
cmg20301960
You killed it!! At least part of it. When growing tropical plants that keep constant temps and moistures that native plants need for survival and growth, you may want to research where avocado plants grow and thrive and then replicate that environment. Outside on a patio in 32 degree weather is probably not a house started avocados best bet for survival. Keep it inside away from a widow that gets cold , trim back the frostbite kill, and it should branch out in spring. Needs a bigger pot while your at it, they will only grow as best they can if you take care of the soil, and keep inside during fall winter months, they are grown in tropical regions like oranges. Good luck
ShapedLikeAnEgg
Looks like a temperature issue. You could try using Christmas lights and throwing a tarp over it to keep it warm. Someone said the Millennial Gardener on YouTube is from the Carolinas and does something similar for his tropical plants.
PapaCeapa
Frost
cmg20301960
I’ve grown many of them over the years. They make cool house plants if you trim them right and fertilize them every so often. Although they seem to never bear fruit due to not being pollinated, although they say you have 50% chance of growing one that will grow avocados, I have never had one do so and I even had a couple I grew outdoors in southern California, they grew into beautiful trees but never produced fruit. They are fun to start from seed and watch grow. Hope this one lives, I hate when a plant dies that I have put so much time into and it is usually my fault not keeping an eye on them. They need our care just like a pet does. Good luck!!!
timevil-
if you’re cold, they’re cold…
Bring it inside
raniergurl_04
Mine did this even after I took it inside. Beefy all summer then the leaves dried out. But I think my issue was I had it in a window with direct sunlight? It had partial sunlight on my deck. It seems better off now .
BocaHydro
is the center tip black? if it is, you got root rot
avocado sitting in wet = death
you need to elevate that pot above the saucer with 3 rocks, if you have any black tips, feed mkp asap or that is toast
hudsoncress
They are not frost tolerant. Also avacodos are like apples. growing from seed is not likely to produce the kind of avacados you get from a store. They usually grow from seed and then graft on the varietal they want to grow. you can graft multiple different kinds of avacado on the same plant even.
alexromo
Move it to California
jerseyoutwest
Everyone saying that avocsdos can’t handle cold aren’t *exactly* right.
I’m in Portland, Oregon, and i am trying to find an avocado that will survive here. I currently have 50ish trees in pots that have survived one or more winters (oldest are heading into their fifth winter) outdoors with minimal protection. There are three major subspecies of avocados and the ones with mexican genetics can handle temps below 30F with varying degrees of success.
This tree is definitely taking cold damage and doesn’t look to have enough of the cold hardy genes to be able to survive outdoors, you’re definitely going to need to protect this tree by either moving it into a garage or wrapping it.
But everyone saying avocados won’t survive below 50F is just plain wrong (unless the tree is a Florida/Guatemalan type, then they’re absolutely right).
No-Advertising1428
A couple of things.
Tree blankets work by trapping air between the plant and outside temps. The heat from the plant keeps the air inside a little warmer. If the blanket is touching the plant there is no air to buffer the plant and so the blankets not doing much. It looks like the blanket was touching the top of your tree but was spread out a bit more towards the bottom. Thus the top has cold damage and the bottom parts seem fine. Adding incandescent Christmas lights inside the blanket will keep the plant warmer but only for parts not touching the blanket. We do this for our lime tree here in Northern California.
There are a number of cold hardy avocados that can be grown even in zone 8, able to deal with temps close to 20° F. Here is a list and suggestions on how to manage cold damage.
Suggestion.. try one of the Mexican varieties. Several varieties are cold-tolerant to just below freezing. Link:
Cold Hardy Avocados: Guide to Cultivation and Varieties – Florida Fruit Geek https://share.google/nqRDHJX1n5rnU3WQx
Wayward_Plants
Winter is coming!!
Wayward_Plants
Also I would cut all that melted dead stuff off
dingomuffin333
Just so you know…this tree won’t grow edible avocados if you grew it from a (haas) avocado seed since it’s “mono-embryonic”. You will likely get something practically inedible that slightly resembles a standard avocado after a decade of growth. If you want an edible avocado from your own tree, you should graft one or buy a grafted tree.
Infinite_Toe7185
Avocados from seed are culinarily worthless
Global-Pollution6722
r/avocado
Riversmooth
I’m in eastern Washington and mine looks same, smallest bit of cold and they struggle
jana-meares
Avocados do not like even below 40-degrees, let alone frost. We over them in CA when it does.
32 Comments
Time to get it in the ground.
I’m impressed regardless. I’m in Ga and I didn’t know that was possible, once my grandmother started one and gave it to me but it was basically a stick with 4 leaves for a year or 2 lol .
An avocado is a giant tree not a potted plant. Now is the time to transplant into the ground in full sun.
Too cold
Did you leave this out when we had our cold snap last week? Because if so it’s likely cold damage. It was super cold all over the state, hell we even had snow in MB, and if you didn’t bring that plan in at least a garage I can’t imagine it loved that
Journeyman farmer checking in!
Avocado trees are not adapted to cold at all. When I say cold I mean anything below 50. They will survive in these temps, maybe even a frost or two, but they will not thrive. Prolonged exposure to below 50 temperatures will cause the health of the plant to go downhill and it will be more apparent over time. They really prefer 70+ all the time.
At this point, I would suggest bringing it inside and setting it in your brightest window or with any manner of grow lights. Even a South Carolina winter will do plenty of damage.
At this point you will probably lose some leaves so I would trim back the longest stems a few inches to keep it bushy. Just keep it alive indoors over the winter and you can set it back out in the spring when the frost has passed.
I grew tropical plants year round in a greenhouse in Asheville, NC and I struggled with avocados. You would have better luck with hardy bananas.
Winter is coming.
Don’t agree about avocado trees being sensitive to the chili weather we’ve been having. Tell that to the groves and groves of avocados up and down the California coast and inland. I do agree about keeping it potted. That’s an issue I’m sure. It needs to be in the ground I’ll bet. I also understand that they need to have other avocado trees around, specifically the opposite sex in order to create fruit.
If you are thinking you are going to get nice avocados to eat from that tree you would be wrong. Avocados, like apples, pears, and grapes are not true to seed. Also avocado trees are absolutely not frost tolerant. So many posters here are giving wrong information to you.
Fuerte and Mexicola are able to handle brief cold snaps down to just barely freezing, but you really want to be in zone 9 to 10 to grow them properly outside. All but the very southern part of south Carolina is going to be too cold for Avocados outside. If you are set on growing, they need to go inside house or greenhouse for winter.
Edit: Fuerte and Mexicola are mentioned specifically because they are the best suited to the colder side of zone 9, while still producing fruit that tastes good.
Since you grew from seed, you like won’t see fruit for several years and the taste will be random.
If you want fruit, you need to get clones of the specific species you want. Seeds are ng for avocado outside just being a house plant.
https://preview.redd.it/jqms18opef2g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=00a63f304210eb85dd07c087a05fab2f51a72ebc
I planted this avocado tree from seed almost 20 years ago just south of Orlando and it has died back to a stump twice in the past. I’ve harvested 100s of fruit from it each time it grew back. It never died in the winter, once in the fall and once in the summer. No idea why it died back but it came right back after a couple months. It took about 2 years to fruit again.
Yours may be doing the same thing. I cut mine back to a stump about 3’ tall the first time it “died”. Apparently the root system was still fine so it grew back to 15’ tall in the first year of regrowth. Don’t give up right away. Good luck.
The cold is amplified when it is in a pot
You killed it!! At least part of it. When growing tropical plants that keep constant temps and moistures that native plants need for survival and growth, you may want to research where avocado plants grow and thrive and then replicate that environment. Outside on a patio in 32 degree weather is probably not a house started avocados best bet for survival. Keep it inside away from a widow that gets cold , trim back the frostbite kill, and it should branch out in spring. Needs a bigger pot while your at it, they will only grow as best they can if you take care of the soil, and keep inside during fall winter months, they are grown in tropical regions like oranges. Good luck
Looks like a temperature issue. You could try using Christmas lights and throwing a tarp over it to keep it warm. Someone said the Millennial Gardener on YouTube is from the Carolinas and does something similar for his tropical plants.
Frost
I’ve grown many of them over the years. They make cool house plants if you trim them right and fertilize them every so often. Although they seem to never bear fruit due to not being pollinated, although they say you have 50% chance of growing one that will grow avocados, I have never had one do so and I even had a couple I grew outdoors in southern California, they grew into beautiful trees but never produced fruit. They are fun to start from seed and watch grow. Hope this one lives, I hate when a plant dies that I have put so much time into and it is usually my fault not keeping an eye on them. They need our care just like a pet does. Good luck!!!
if you’re cold, they’re cold…
Bring it inside
Mine did this even after I took it inside. Beefy all summer then the leaves dried out. But I think my issue was I had it in a window with direct sunlight? It had partial sunlight on my deck. It seems better off now .
is the center tip black? if it is, you got root rot
avocado sitting in wet = death
you need to elevate that pot above the saucer with 3 rocks, if you have any black tips, feed mkp asap or that is toast
They are not frost tolerant. Also avacodos are like apples. growing from seed is not likely to produce the kind of avacados you get from a store. They usually grow from seed and then graft on the varietal they want to grow. you can graft multiple different kinds of avacado on the same plant even.
Move it to California
Everyone saying that avocsdos can’t handle cold aren’t *exactly* right.
I’m in Portland, Oregon, and i am trying to find an avocado that will survive here. I currently have 50ish trees in pots that have survived one or more winters (oldest are heading into their fifth winter) outdoors with minimal protection. There are three major subspecies of avocados and the ones with mexican genetics can handle temps below 30F with varying degrees of success.
This tree is definitely taking cold damage and doesn’t look to have enough of the cold hardy genes to be able to survive outdoors, you’re definitely going to need to protect this tree by either moving it into a garage or wrapping it.
But everyone saying avocados won’t survive below 50F is just plain wrong (unless the tree is a Florida/Guatemalan type, then they’re absolutely right).
A couple of things.
Tree blankets work by trapping air between the plant and outside temps. The heat from the plant keeps the air inside a little warmer. If the blanket is touching the plant there is no air to buffer the plant and so the blankets not doing much. It looks like the blanket was touching the top of your tree but was spread out a bit more towards the bottom. Thus the top has cold damage and the bottom parts seem fine. Adding incandescent Christmas lights inside the blanket will keep the plant warmer but only for parts not touching the blanket. We do this for our lime tree here in Northern California.
There are a number of cold hardy avocados that can be grown even in zone 8, able to deal with temps close to 20° F. Here is a list and suggestions on how to manage cold damage.
https://gardenerspath.com/plants/fruit-trees/cold-hardy-avocado-trees/
Good luck
Winter is here!!
Suggestion.. try one of the Mexican varieties. Several varieties are cold-tolerant to just below freezing. Link:
Cold Hardy Avocados: Guide to Cultivation and Varieties – Florida Fruit Geek https://share.google/nqRDHJX1n5rnU3WQx
Winter is coming!!
Also I would cut all that melted dead stuff off
Just so you know…this tree won’t grow edible avocados if you grew it from a (haas) avocado seed since it’s “mono-embryonic”. You will likely get something practically inedible that slightly resembles a standard avocado after a decade of growth. If you want an edible avocado from your own tree, you should graft one or buy a grafted tree.
Avocados from seed are culinarily worthless
r/avocado
I’m in eastern Washington and mine looks same, smallest bit of cold and they struggle
Avocados do not like even below 40-degrees, let alone frost. We over them in CA when it does.