I'm so glad I found this thread! I purchased a Wurtz variety last year and it was doing fine until a month ago. I transferred it over to a half wine barrel so it would have more space, but it looks like the leaves are wilting and I'm seeing black marks on some of the younger branches. I plan to move the barrel to a different corner of my yard to see if it'll help. I might just redo the soil again and see if that'll work too.

What are good-tasting good-texture avocados that I can grow in pots in Northern California?

What part of Northern California?

It is best to limit your container plantings to trees that are dwarf varieties. There are several that come to mind. "Holiday" is one of the best. Planting full size avocado trees in containers is a very temporary situation...that usually ends up bad.

What the fishman said above about the dwarfs varieties. I also know people who do well with Reeds in containers in northern cal. My wurtz(little cado) produces in my container. Gem is also another good variety that you can grow in a larger container.

Hello

I just purchased little cado. it was shipped to me from Southern Ca to Northern Ca. Unfortunately it’s dropping and not as perky as I first received it. Does anyone know how to correct it? I was told it needed time to recover from the travel. However I would like to address the problem before it is too late. I have attached some pics

Hi Phuong,

This is the absolutely worst time to be transporting plants or introducing them to new situations. There are a couple of things you can do to help your tree. Either: Spray the foliage and stems with an antitranspirant (like Cloud Cover or WIlt Pruf) or move the tree to a more shaded location and then introduce to the full sun in mid-late October or whenever the night-time gets consistently cool. Also keep an eye on the watering daily.

Cheers, Frank

Thank you so much Frank! Yes I think it’s getting too much sun exposure... I do notice it is more perkier at night.. I watered it every other day.. n do let it dry out occasionally.. i also have a quick question.. what is the minimum size pot that I can grow it in and still get it to bear fruit? I need to grow it in container for a few more year (3-5) before I’m able to plant it into the ground.

1/2 whiskey barrel sized container is the best. (25 gallons). If you're going to eventually plant it in the ground don't wait. The longer it stays in a container the more likely it is to do poorly after it is planted.

Thanks Frank. Unfortunately I can’t plant it on the ground...My yard is all concrete.😬😬..also, I do plan on moving in the next 2-4 years...so I guess I will have to plant it in the 25 gallons pot for now... thank you for all your expert advices!

vong...most folks do not realize how sensitive to sunburn the young trees are. I always shade my babies the first year with shadecloth (must-do during heat spells).

@the fisherman .. Got it! My avocado 🥑 trees finally recovered from the drooping... its all perk up.. i kept it in the shade for now and will slowly introduce the sun for 20-30 mins in the evening ... when the sun is not the strongest...

phoung also make sure you paint the exposed trunk and limbs with white latex paint mixed 50/50 with water.

Here is my Wurtz showing the trunk and exposed branches with paint

Here are 6-8 avocados on my little cado tree this year in one small section inside the canopy

@Nick (9b) Modesto Area wow .. so jealous here!!! I’m patiently waiting for mine to flower... I recently purchased another avocado tree... holiday I believe... so excited to take care of the two beauties... and Can you elaborate on planting white paint onto the tree trunck and branches?? What’s the pros and cons Of it?

No cons and all my young fruit trees ( 45 ) have been painted with white latex paint to protect them from sunburn. my summers are 90-110 range here in Modesto.

Well this weekend scorched a few of my trees so I had to drape shade cloth over them. Lucky for me none of them are over 8 feet.

Be careful of the varieties you plant in containers. Wurtz and Holiday are genetic dwarfs...and they are very willing to live in large pots. Full-sized trees (especially aggressive ones like Stuart...will not last long in a half wine barrel.

@the fisherman got it! I just have little cado and holiday...

@the fishman looks like my little cado haven’t show signs of growth since I had it last month. 😬😬

Baby avo trees tests the skills of gardeners. They take off very slowly and are very sensitive to things like excessive heat/intense sun. Transplanting is a challenge because roots are super-sensitive.be patient and use shadecloth on intense sunlight days (they sunburn)

Hi!! I noticed that my avocado leaves is drying up... does anyone know what’s going on? I read that it might be from then excessive salt from the water? I added some gypsum to it 4-5 days ago.

They do not look too bad Phuong. In container growing...usually that damage is from fluctuations in moisture levels. I would not worry about it. PS Bigger containers are always better than smaller ones.

Thank you @the fisherman! I will transfer it in a half barrel in early February...finally it’s showing some new growth... seem like flowers? I’m debating if I should remove the flower and allow the young tree to develop a strong root system. Any thoughts?

Have all my larger trees that were in the containers now in the ground except my Wurtz. Pics to follow

Both my little cado and holidays’ leaves all turned brown and dried up😔 all my little cado leaves have fallen 😔😔 I just transferred it to the half barrel...like sometime last week... I have a frost blankets covering it at night to protect it from frost... finger cross that it survived and push out new leaves in spring. 🤞

Hello! I live in Southern CA, more specifically, Banning...I'm interested in purchasing a dwarf avocado tree...when would be a good time of the year to purchase? I'm hoping to move into a new home this summer so the tree can either remain in a container or be planted. Is there a hardier variety for hot summers, averaging around 105 degrees. Thank you for your advice!!

anytime is a good time to buy one. my wurtz is a true dwarf and does well in my climate. our summer temps range from the mid 90's to low 100's. also the gem, reed and gwen are smaller trees than others and you can keep them under 10 feet with pruning.

susan take a look at this article on the gem

https://www.californiaavocadogrowers.com/sites/default/files/documents/GEM-in-New-Zealand-Full-presentation.pdf

susan another option is to have your tree in a container with wheels if you have hard ground or cement where it can be shaded on extremely hot days and moved. If I had a cement yard I would have all my avocado trees in containers on wheels.

How are the trees in the Whiskey Barrels doing? We have a 4 ft Haas in a pot and we were going to transplant to the 1/2 whiskey barrel. However, I'm currently in 9a, but we will be moving to 8b in 18 mos - 2 years (depending on when our house is done.) We want the tree to fruit (looking for a type B now to help with that) but I also don't want to totally screw up my trees over the next 2 years while we are in this holding pattern... also 8b is pushing it weather wise... so not 100% sure it can handle getting planted outside year round.

Is it normal to have one or two branches falls off?

@Amy (8b/9a) SE TX the mexicola can take temps to 18* Stewart/Stuart s between 18-24*. Wurtz is 25* and Bacon a B type to 24*.

Phung, after I put my Little cado to 1/2 whiskey barrel (a picture above), It looked it's almost die. But after a few months, it came back. Now it's full of new leaves and flowers.

My Jim Bacon tree (perhaps 1-2 years old) has tons of flowers. Should I be removing them so that the energy goes to the roots and trunk for more growth?

eva the fruit will drop on its own and the tree will not hold fruit until its ready. I would just leave it alone.

My poor avocado trees lost all of its leaves and a few death branches..😭😭 I’m trying to save it by changing the soil and add more perlite and incorporating gypsum into the soil .. I’m also going to apply some fungicide and pray it will survive 😩

Does the roots look healthy?

As far as I know, if the roots are not black and the you have cream colored roots, they should still be alive. The same thing happened to me when I transplanted my avocado tree. The leaves dropped due to shock but the leaves are growing back. Make sure to water a lot when you transplant and fertilize.

Phuong, I think you should leave it alone. If there is no drainage issue, there is no point of adding perlite and gypsum. I used 1/2 premium potting soil and 1/2 cactus mix for my Little Cado in half whiskey barrel and it worked totally fine. It just needs time to recover. My Little Cado in the picture

was purchased in May 2019.

Hi David, actually I think there’s drainage problem… the soils has been “wet” for almost two weeks. And there’s sign of fungus. Unfortunately A lot of the leaves and branches have fallen off and worries me. Even my new growth leaves is brown at the tips and side start to curls.. 😩.

I thought I did all right things to my GEM avocado, but it's getting weaker and weaker after putting it on the ground. Eventually it dies. The good news is that I can pay $25 to get a new one.

I just bought two 3 feet trees- not dwarf. We can’t plant in the ground due to clay soil - but we are planning to use full size wine barrels - not half size. Do you think this would work as a permanent home for a full size tree?

I would use 1/2 wine barrel as it will be much better on the root system when you need to replace your growing medium.

Hello, this thread has been so helpful! I hope it's okay that I'm jumping in with my own question. :)

We have an established Hass (planted 3 years ago) and a baby Sir Prize in ground, and I just received a Little Cado/Wurtz from Four Winds. I'm trying to decide my next steps for the Little Cado. Any ideas on what would be best for the tree?

1. Plant it in the ground now, near the Hass and SirPrize (the spot is sheltered by fences, although it might not get enough light)
2. Plant it in a container for a while (maybe the first year?) and plant it in the ground when it's bigger/stronger
3. Permanently plant it in a half wine barrel (hopefully with wheels)

Thanks so much!

@Christa if you have room to plant the wurtz in the ground go for it as the little cado is a small tree.

Thanks for the input, @Nick (9b) Modesto Area!

I'm also considering containers versus planting in the ground for a Wurtz tree. If you plant the tree in a container (i.e. 1/2 wine barrel) do you need to periodically replace the soil? If so, how often?