Growing Avocado Tree

9 years ago

I have a Lil Cado (Wertz) tree. I got it in April 2014 at about 4 feet tall. I planted it into a large pot. Right away and we got many flowers that turned into about 30 tiny avocados. Unfortunately, I decided to adjust the stick because the trunk of the tree was taped to it and I was afraid that it would inhibit growth. So I took all the tape off and the trunk just flopped over. It was so limp! I tied it back to the stick with twist ties, but all but one of the avocados fell off. That avocado is still growing and should be ready to be picked at the end of this month!

Here is the exciting part.... after purchasing the tree and planting it, a new shoot sprouted out of the seed. This shoot shot up fast! Today (Sept 2014), the new shoot is 6 feet tall whereas the original tree is still just 4 feet tall. Also, the leaves of the new shoot are about 3 times larger, the trunk is about 3 times thicker, and the trunk is solid (is not limp limp). It seems like I have two completely different trees growing from the same avocado seed. Very weird!

Here is my question.... once I pick the single avocado growing from the original tree, should I cut it off? It is still limp, the leaves are smaller, and the trunk is thinner. I wanted to snip that small tree and let the new large tree keep going. Is there any drawback to this? Should I keep the weak little tree? Do they need each other for pollination or anything like that? I would not think so because the original tree pollinated itself and grew avocados when the new tree was not there.

Thank you!

Steve

Comments (8)

jbraun_gw
9 years ago
Since the new growth came out of the seed it's the same variety. The tree didn't like the weak growth. So it put out the new growth. I'm assuming that you might have fertilized the repotted tree? If not the the new soil had enough nutrients for healthier growth to happen. Snip away!
the_FishMaster
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the reply. Yes, I fertilized the repotted tree. I am amazed at how fast the new growth went from nothing to 6 months! The old growth is essentially the same height.

Someone on another board said avocado trees bought at nurseries are grafted. He thinks I got a bad graft. He recommends that I cut the new growth and keep the original growth. He also thinks I should return the tree due to the bad graft. This makes some sense because the two shoots seem like completely different species of avocado tree. One has a very thick trunk with 12" leaves, and the other has a limp, skinny trunk with 4" leaves. I guess this could be from poor nutrition for the original growth at the nursery, but I'm not expert and I'm just guessing.....
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gregbradley
9 years ago
I'm guessing that you bought a grafted Wertz and the new growth is rootstock, NOT WERTZ. I could identify a citrus graft pretty well but not sure about Avo graft. I know all of my 5 different Avo varieties are grafted and am just assuming that all good growers sell grafted trees. It actually being a Wertz and not being grafted would require Wertz growing true to type and that seems unlikely.
jbraun_gw
9 years ago
Sorry about giving you bad advice. When you said that the new shoot came out of the seed I assumed that this wasn't a graft. I know better than that.

New advice, you need to cut off the new growth. The skinny old growth was grafted.
the_FishMaster
Original Author
9 years ago
I see the confusion now. That would be my fault. I don't know where the new growth came out of. I assumed it was the seed since it came from the base of the tree. I'll check closely tonight.
the_FishMaster
Original Author
9 years ago
I went home and took a closer look at the base of the tree. I took a picture and attached it. I originally thought there was a seed, but I don't see one here. I'm not sure if it is buried deeper or if there is no seed. What is interesting is that the two shoots appear to be coming out of the same spot. Can you tell from the picture if the new shoot is from the original root stock? At the base, both shoots are thick. The shoot on the right is the original sprout. About 6 inches up, it appears that the shoot split, but one side was snipped off. The one that was allowed to keep growing gets thinner and thinner as you go up. The left side is the new shoot. It stays just as thick all the way up about 5 feet before getting thinner. From this, does it look like a different species or is it the same species but just stronger and healthier?
jbraun_gw
9 years ago
That picture helps. If you notice on the right shoot in the picture there's a V in scar material where the graft took place. The shoot on the right comes from below the graft. That's the rootstock the grower used for your plant.

You will want to remove the rootstock shoot on the left. Because the two shoots touch each other it's going to be hard to cut the left shoot and get it at the branch collar. That's where the brown and green materials meet. I would use a pruning saw and cut close to that slanting line. Oh yes, cut the bulk of the trunk off first so you don't damage it when it falls. There will be buds in what's left of the trunk. You can rub them off as they sprout for the next year or two.
You don't need to wait for the fruit to ripen before you remove the codominant trunk.

Good luck.
the_FishMaster
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you for your advice. I cut off the new growth and have my fingers crossed for a good crop next season. Thanks!