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Avocado Tree Care

The Hass Avocado tree is not only an appealing ornamental tree as a houseplant but the tree can create a beautiful landscape for those who live in the southern United States.
Growing an Avocado tree indoors and outdoors is a unique enjoyable project that can deliver personal satisfaction and produce delicious fruit for many years.
Unlike Citrus that ripen on the tree, avocados only ripen or soften after they have been harvested. The perfect place to store your Avocados is just leaving them on the tree until they are needed. You can pick them about a week before they are required for your favorite recipes, like guacamole or avocado toast.
This fruit is prized for its high nutrient value and the most popular variety of avocado is the Hass avocado. The Hass is a very prolific fruiting tree sold commercially which are grafted from mature avocado scion and will produce fruit more quickly. Trees grown from seed could take a decade or more to bear fruit. It’s easy to get an avocado seedling when growing them from a pit, but patience is a requirement if you ever hope to have fruit.
Thankfully, with our avocado trees, you won’t have to wait that long for the tree to bear fruit due to grafting onto mature rootstock.

Avocado trees typically exchange their leaves each year in the early spring, dropping many of their leaves and re-foliating. Self-pollination is normal, meaning that only one tree is necessary for avocado fruit production. The avocado tree when in bloom has a profuse loose, branching cluster of several dozens or hundreds of flowers called panicles. The avocado flowering behavior exhibits a type of flowering known as "synchronous dichogamy".

For type A avocados (which is the Hass variety) An individual flower will be open for a portion of a two-day span, and the timing of the female phases and male are distinct. In type-A avocados when a flower first opens (in the morning) it is in its female phase and the flower will be open only a few hours and then it will close. On the second day, the flower will open again in its male phase (in the afternoon).
For Type -B avocados, it’s reversed, the male flower opens the first day in the morning and on the second day the female will open, in the afternoon.
Some growers will grow type A and type B avocados so they get more production due to male and female flowers being open at the same time. A Hass avocado will remain a Hass even if pollinated by a type B avocado, the fruit remains true to its variety.
Fertilizing avocado trees can encourage them to bear fruit and the potted avocado tree will require a fertilizing schedule more often due to growing the tree in a pot. Naturally, when caring for your avocado tree properly it will require adding nutrients as a regular part of your regimen.




Planting Zones
The Hass (Persea Americana) Avocado can be planted in USDA growing zones 9-11 only. Avocado trees will not survive freezing temperatures.
Trees that are planted in the ground that experience freezing temperatures above zone 8 need protection in unusual inclement weather.
The tree is not cold hardy and planting in the wrong hardiness zone will void the warranty.
Planting zones: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

When The Tree Arrives.
Do not attempt to transplant the tree until you've had the tree for 2 weeks. Place the tree in partial sunshine if it is moved outdoors.  Make sure to remove the plastic bag around the pot.
DO NOT OVER WATER THE TREE you must have a moisture meter that reads between 1-10 and only water when the prong is deep into the soil as it will go and reads 4.
After the water drains check the soil again with the meter to make sure the meter reads 10.
You can fertilize after you've had the tree for a month.
Trees indoors are already in partial sunshine, place in a sunny window away from heat vents.
You can supply additional lighting immediately for indoor trees.
Avocado trees arrive in shock. DO NOT fuss with the tree moving it around, it needs time to recover.




The Potted Avocado
Place potted trees indoors when temperatures at nightfall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Avocados trees can be grown in decorative pots indoors and survive inside for the winter months at room temperatures near a sunny window.
Avoid placing your tree near a heat vent.
The tree needs 6-8 hours of full sun daily, add additional lighting indoors.
Do not re-pot until you have had the tree at least 2 weeks, the tree needs time to adjust
Never plant a tree in a container more substantial than a 10-gallon pot. Always water according to pot size, with a moisture meter. Drilling additional holes in the pot is an easy way to improve drainage.
When repotting DO NOT transplant using stones in the bottom of the pot or use stones on top as a decoration, this will cause a drainage issue and lock moisture into the pot which will cause root rot.
DO NOT USE SELF-WATERING POTS OR GLOBES.
DO NOT USE POTS WITH THE DRAINAGE TRAY ATTACHED.
Select the right sized pot with adequate drainage holes. If the pot has no holes on the side or bottom, it is not the correct pot for planting.
Self-watering is incorrect watering, self-watering is not infrequent deep watering.


Deep Watering Method For Potted Trees
Trees will die if they don't have the essential requirements, incorrect watering is the most common cause of issues and tree death.
1. Check the tree with a moisture meter before watering.
2. The prong should be deep into the pot.
3. Only water when the meter reads 4 (for a meter with a range from 1-10).
4. All trees require deep watering. Deep watering is drenching the soil until water pours from the holes at the bottom of the pot.
5. Watering with a few cups is not acceptable, this will cause deep roots to die. Never be stingy with the water when the tree needs to be watered.
6. Once the tree has been watered properly,  check it with a moisture meter again to make sure the meter reads high (9 or 10)  and then do not water again until the meter reads 4.
7. In the winter you will water far less, about twice a month (But always check the tree with a meter weekly,  because this can vary).
8. The meter should never be left in the pot when not in use.
9. Never water with cold water in the winter.
10. Never water the tree with water from a water softener.
NEVER ALLOW TREES TO SIT IN STANDING WATER.
A space between the bottom of the pot and the tray that catches the water is required.

Full Sun
Avocado trees require full sun and should be planted where the hottest part of the day it receives some shade, planting this way can protect it from sunburn.

Planting In The Ground
1. Do not plant a new tree in a space where an old tree had died, the soil may be contaminated and create problems for your new tree. Mature Avocado trees can grow to a height of 20-30 feet tall, so choose your planting site carefully.
2. The location should be chosen that is sunny, protected from wind and a well-draining area. Avocado trees will not thrive in heavy clay soils. For heavy clay soils, the tree should be planted in a raised bed.
3. Place the potted tree in a chosen location for 2 weeks and allow the tree to acclimate to the area before you plant in the ground.
4. Dig a hole double the width of the root ball or double the size of the pot and fill with water and wait 24 hours.
5. Fill the hole with water again. If water has drained from the hole within an hour this area has good drainage and the tree can be planted.
6. If the area has terrible drainage choose another area. Avocado trees are susceptible to root rot and need to be planted in the right drainage areas.
7. Add a mixture of compost and well-draining soil into the hole and remove the tree from the pot.
8. Place tree in the hole. DO NOT allow the tree to drop down into the hole. The soil line of the tree should be above the existing soil grade approximately 1-2 inches above the existing grade.
9. Do not bury the root-crown with soil or mulch. A photo of the root crown can be found here: https://lemoncitrustree.com/store/pest-disease
10. Keep other plants away from the tree.  Having a 5-foot circumference around the trunk will ensure the tree is not robbed of moisture and nutrients.
Planting more than one tree can help in cross-pollination.


Mulching
Use mulch for ground planted trees only. Never use mulch for a potted tree, mulch can impede drying and cause root rot.
Maintain a 3-4 inch layer of mulch around the tree to retain soil moisture and improve soil quality.
Apply the mulch in the spring and fall under the canopy of the tree.
Avoid piling mulch against the trunk of the tree.
The tree trunk needs air circulation, without circulation, the truck could rot away from the root ball so avoid piling soil and mulch close to the root crown and tree truck.

Pruning
Avocados should be pruned minimally.
Prune only to maintain the shape and control size.
Frequent pinching of new growth on young trees is preferred over heavy pruning.
Avocado trees can be susceptible to sunburn, so newly pruned trees and young trees exposed to high summer heat and intense sunshine can be whitewashed with a solution of interior white latex paint diluted 50-50 with water.

Fertilizing
Avocado trees should be fed on a regular basis, nutrients are required for the tree to bear fruit.
Fertilize with a well-balanced citrus/avocado food using the manufacturer’s recommendations.
Healthy, well-fed avocado trees are less susceptible to damage from cold temperatures in the winter.

Growing An Avocado From Seed
Although it is fun and easy to grow an avocado tree from a seed (or pit) ungrafted trees rarely produce fruit.

Leaf Drop
When the tree is indoors in the winter supply additional lighting to prevent leaf drop.
Some leaf drop is normal for avocado trees that are in bloom or are putting on new leaves.
When the avocado bears fruit, the tree may experience fruit drop which all fruiting trees experience. As the tree matures it will have the ability to hold it's fruit until maturity.

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Please contact us at support@lemoncitrustree.com or call if you need assistance with your Avocado tree.

Lemon Citrus Tree
866-216-TREE (8733)