Avocado converted to Houseplant (pics)
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
14 years ago
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
13 years agobirdsnblooms
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Avocado as a Container Plant (pics)
Comments (216)Last month (July), the deer again ravaged my avocado, so in a fit of irritation, I whacked the entire thing back down to begin rebuilding the canopy before the end of the season. Less than a month later, it is recovering itself quite nicely. Frequent watering and weekly Foliage Pro....See MoreProblems with Indoor Avocado: Yellowing Leaves and Browning Tips
Comments (6)Hey! Thanks for the info! You're right...Don't Mist! It only increases humidity for a couple seconds, really.... and, as you note, increases the chances of fungus/pests/unsightly leaves. Also, I'm glad that the plants have plenty of light. That's good to hear, as it allows us to eliminate one more variable. How long does it take for the potting soil to dry out (deep in the container)? I assume that the problem lies with the potting soil, which sounds water retentive. If the primary ingredient is peat moss, it's almost assuredly staying too moist. As you know, this can interfere with nutrient delivery and uptake. This is why I hesitate to recommend fertilization...it could be that there are nutrients in the soil, but nutrients that are simply unavailable to the plant. I will tell you that I fertilize my plant with Foliage Pro 9-3-6, which has higher Nitrogen in relation to the other major nutrients. It also includes all the minor nutrients. When I fertilize, I also add white vinegar (a capful) to the watering solution - but I can only recommend this for the potting mix that I'm using. I don't know how it will affect a soil with different drainage characteristics. My sister grew a couple Avocados in peat-based soils and the plants declined eventually. I actually decided to grow an Avocado to see if I could find a way to keep these plants happy both indoor and out, so that my sister would be able to grow them successfully, too. I've found that the potting mix makes all the difference - if light and fertilizer are equal. The taller the plant grows, the more likely it is to discard its lower leaves.... and that's why I prune the main stem and pluck any unsightly leaves. A bare Avocado stem will resprout leaves as long as the roots are healthy. Josh...See MoreConvert braided trunk pachira aquatica to single trunk
Comments (83)That is a tragic story, indeed! I have done this very procedure many times, so have courage. You can go about this two primary ways: the first is simply to repot the entire tree; the second is to cut off the healthy top and root it, and also repot and hope the trunk and rootmass survive. I think it is imperative that you use a free-draining potting mix. I use bark, perlite, lava rock, and just a little potting mix as a binder/moisture retentive ingredient. And when I say "a little potting mix," I mean less than 10% of the overall mix. If you can't mix your own, I recommend a fine-grade Orchid Mix, to which you will probably add some coarse Perlite. Repot keeping the roots moist at all times, thoroughly water and saturate the new mix when done, and place the tree in outdoor shade if available - no direct sun. Keep the mix uniformly moist with light waterings for at least a week after repotting. You can either repot the tree first, and the cut the top off....or you can cut the top off and repot the tree all at once. It's a bit of a gamble, as I don't know the vitality of the tree, but I have confidence from repeated experience that the top will root (if it is healthy as you describe). I place the cut top in a vase/jar of water, and I wait for white root primordia to appear. As soon as they appear, I transfer the cutting into a container of the same moist, free-draining mix, and I keep it moist while the cutting continues to root. I use #1 nursery containers....See MorePotting avocado
Comments (11)Dear Grace (Sugi_C) [don't you love the monikers we choose for ourselves?], Thank you for the mountain of information, it is most welcome. Josh/Greenman's enthusiasm is infectious, and I hope his knowledge is, too. I'm still torn between repotting or not. My plant seems to have a tiny bit of root peeping out from a drainage hole, so my concern is less potting volume but overall pot depth. I have the pot propped up so that the root (if that's what it is) will not get submerged and rotten. Also, I have it in a standard commercial potting mix but it would seem more suitable in something grittier and crunchier, so I'm thinking maybe orchid mix? So, I'm leaning toward repotting into a 6 inch diameter about 9 inch depth pot sometime soon. It seems from your and Josh's pix that pot material is immaterial -- I see plastic, clay, glazed ceramic -- even fabric pouch! -- so my propbably choice would be a nice clean plastic placed in an attractive glazed cermaic cachepot. She's a houseplant, after all. Again, miliardi grazie! Carolyn...See Moregreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
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13 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
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13 years agoOhiofem 6a/5b Southwest Ohio
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Ohiofem 6a/5b Southwest Ohio