Please help me save my avocado tree

[kikizd]

Hello everyone!

I hope you can help me with saving my avocado tree. I am not even sure about the diagnosis.
I live in Europe, Slovenia. My boyfriend brought me avocado seed from Mexico last March (2016) and I managed to grow it and have been so excited about it ever since!

It is a quite a big boy now and my plan was to plant it in my garden in my summer house which has warmer climate once I move there. So far it has been doing so well in my apartment. I have it loosely tied (with wool) on a bamboo stick so it grows straight. It even has one new branch and young leaves are growing.

3 weeks ago I went on a vacation and asked a friend to water my plants. I gave specific instructions but when I came back, first I've noticed that the avocado was heavily watered. I immediately put it on a window (not directly on the sun, I have window shades so I've just open those..how do you call them..openings, so the light can come in but not direct sun, because I have noticed before that avocado didn't like direct sun, all the leaves were always completely vertical and depressed when exposed to direct sunlight (and my windows are towards west only). It was on the window for 7 days, getting enough air, but it was still quite damp.

Then I have noticed that leaves are curling up (always up, towards upper side of the leaf) and from the bottom of the plant up, one by one, never more at the same time. Few leaves fell off and I hav noticed some spots. I read forums and advices and all pointd out to avocado being overwatered (she watered it twice in 10 days, each time 0,5 liters) and common advice was to replant it. So far it has been in a plastic pot 22 cm wide.

I have replanted it in clay pot, some 38 cm wide now. During replanting, my friend (who was helping me) noticed that those brown spots were actually insects "Scale" (coccoidea-the insect photo is from Internet, others are mine) and we sprayed some spray (active compounds are abamectin and thiamethoxam) and I also manually, very gently, scrubbed off the insects from the whole plant. We didnt wash off the soil from the roots or even inspected roots because we thought it would be too shocking and actually conluded that the insect was the problem, not the water.

It has been some 5-6 days since, and the leaves are still curling up! From the bottom to the top, again. There are no visible signs of the bugs. The soil looks and feels ideal-not dry not wet, moderatly damp (there is a hole in the bottom of the pot as there was when it was in plastic pot as well). It goes like this: today I notice one leave curling up, drying, browning. Tomorrow it worsen. I cut I of. The next day it happens to the next leaf above. Now I don't cut it off, as I don't want to speed up the process!

I attach some photos, maybe you can help me? This is so precious tree for me and I would hate to see it die. Thank you all in advance <3

[applestar]

OK don't worry about the big older leaves falling off. Those just might be residual shock and root disturbance/root died from overwatering or shock from transplanting. They generally lose older leaves anyway. You are correct the baby avocados (seedlings) do fine with less light -- if your think about it, they grow in deep shade canopy of the mother trees.

The drying new bud leaf -- Your trouble with scales might not be over since those were big enough to have made babies. The babies are actually quite mobile and will seek out more tender new leafs. Take a look in this thread for some photos:

Subject: Taking photos can help you be a better gardener


I don't know about the pesticide you used. I'm not familiar with it, but avocado can be sensitive so be careful. Baby scales can be eradicated with soapy water with a drop or two of alcohol and drop or two of rapeseed oil. Rinse off with water after you get the bugs off. Adult scales will come off easily if you touch them with alcohol -- in UK called methylated spirits. (But you can use vodka or any other alcohol).

Once this crisis is over.... It would be a good idea to get the avocado slowly acclimated -- 1/2 hr to an hour at a time -- to brighter light and even more sun. They sunburn easily but do grow better and form sturdier trunk and branches -- shorter internodes between leaves -- with more sun -- AFTER they get used to it. I put all of mine outside for the summer, under the shade of a big tree, so it only gets the morning sunrise sun, branch filtered during the day, then some of the setting sun.

[kikizd]

Thank you very much! I will make the mixture and try again. The only alcohol I have in my fridge is some pretty good champagne, but avocado deserves it! Do I gently scrub petal and leaves or I spray it evenly on the whole plant?

[applestar]

No no this is for removing INDIVIDUAL scale insects. I use a cotton swab -- little stick with cotton on the ends -- can't remember what JONA called it... buds? Champagne might be too mild, but you could try.... dab on their backs, wait a minute, then swipe. This loosens them and you don't need force to get them off. You can use this mixture on leaf nodes where new buds are forming in case kill the tiny ones. Wait a minute or two, then spray/rinse off with plain water. Don't use the alcohol/oil mixture in direct sunlight.