Young Avocado Trees' New Leaves Wilting and Browning at Edges, Pale Browning on Older Tips, Scattered Dead Areas
Avocado California
Hi,
I have a couple young avocado trees in small pots that are in bad shape as you can see Plant 1 and Plant 2 in the photos. Plant 1 has pale browning color on the tips and edges of its leaves and also has unusual deterioration with speckled dead areas on leaves, some severed. The severed leaves could be from a combination of the leaves dying and the leaves batting against the metal bars on windy days. Plant 1 has not had any new leaf growth for at about 1-3 months it seems.
My younger avocado plant labeled Plant 2 appears to have a similar issue with pale browning color on the tips and edges of its leaves. Contrary, it has new leaf growth, but they are withering and experiencing browning on the tips and edges as well.
They both survived last summer's California heat wave that killed three of other young avocado trees, but now it is cold here in Los Angeles with day-time weather of 50-70 F and 40-50 F nights. I've stopped watering them because of the rain, because it's been raining 1-3 days per week for the last several weeks.
The only other thing different since summer/fall was that I added used coffee grounds to the top soil. I progressively added about a cup or two of the coffee grounds into each pot. Since yesterday, I scraped off any visible coffee grounds from the top soils of each pot, although it's probably too late.
What is wrong with my plants? What should I do to save them?
Your help is much appreciated!
Thanks,
Richard
I have a couple young avocado trees in small pots that are in bad shape as you can see Plant 1 and Plant 2 in the photos. Plant 1 has pale browning color on the tips and edges of its leaves and also has unusual deterioration with speckled dead areas on leaves, some severed. The severed leaves could be from a combination of the leaves dying and the leaves batting against the metal bars on windy days. Plant 1 has not had any new leaf growth for at about 1-3 months it seems.
My younger avocado plant labeled Plant 2 appears to have a similar issue with pale browning color on the tips and edges of its leaves. Contrary, it has new leaf growth, but they are withering and experiencing browning on the tips and edges as well.
They both survived last summer's California heat wave that killed three of other young avocado trees, but now it is cold here in Los Angeles with day-time weather of 50-70 F and 40-50 F nights. I've stopped watering them because of the rain, because it's been raining 1-3 days per week for the last several weeks.
The only other thing different since summer/fall was that I added used coffee grounds to the top soil. I progressively added about a cup or two of the coffee grounds into each pot. Since yesterday, I scraped off any visible coffee grounds from the top soils of each pot, although it's probably too late.
What is wrong with my plants? What should I do to save them?
Your help is much appreciated!
Thanks,
Richard
Plant 1 - front view. About 2-3 years old. In a gallon sized pot.
Plant 1 - top view.
Plant 2 - top view. About 2 years old. In half gallon sized pot.
Posted
by: Richard
(1 point)
Posted: February 16, 2019
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My wife and I grew an avocado in a pot as a houseplant, which we kept inside, and it experienced this as well. It was always due to under watering and the leaves which browned around the edges fell off soon after. In our case the plant required a tremendous amount of water, far more than we would have thought possible. I'd try increasing the amount you're watering it to see if that encourages new growth. about 5 years ago.
@jacob Thanks for your response. I'm going to try watering them more frequently. I'd like to also note that I have repotted my plants, placing them into larger pots. I kept the original soil from before but just added potting soil to the bottom of the pot and the outer rim and add some to topped off. The original soil is sandy and drains quickly. Hopefully the potting soil will help retain water longer but not cause root rot. about 5 years ago.