Find Your 
Avacado Tree 1 Year Old
Ask the Expert: What is wrong with my avocado tree?
The little thing is a year old. It did not get much sun at all this winter but now it has full southern exposure and plenty of light. I keep it inside and ensure it’s nice and warm.
When new leaves sprout from the top the older larger leaves turn brown and fall off the bottom.
I have tried giving it plenty of water and I’ve tried to dry it out.
I’ve tried a little water each day but still can’t stop what’s happening to it. Dianne
Plant Expert Reply:
It looks like you have a water stress issue. Instead of a little water each day, water it thoroughly and when the soil starts to dry out water it thoroughly again. At some point you will need to water it with a very diluted solution of water soluble fertilizer. I would remove the brown leaf. Do watch for leaf spot. If the leaves start to get rust colored spots, you will have to treat it for leaf spot disease. Try to give it as much light as possible. For the summer you might want to put it outside. Good Luck and Keep Me posted.
I have the same thing happening over and over. New leaves sprout and the old ones die off one by one. The leaf gets brown on the outside, curls under, and eventually dries up and drops off.
Could it be that I have a water softener and am watering it from that? I have been using water from my Britta lately but it is happening now again, even with the filtered water. I do water it once a week. I fill the sink, soak it, then let it drain well before putting it back on my window sill. It is planted in Miracle Grow potting soil. Should I add more sand perhaps? Soil change?
Thanks for any suggestions.
I think you may need to water a little more often. Does the soil seem powdery when you stick your finger way down in it?
No, the soil does not seem powdery. When I stick my finger way down in the soil it feels like wet potting soil. It is not clay-like or sandy. I will try watering more often and see what happens with this new batch of leaves on top. Thank you.
“If the leaves start to get rust colored spots, you will have to treat it for leaf spot disease.”
Hello. The attached picture shows the problem with my avocado tree. It is 3 months old and the brown spots attack oldest leaves first. With what the leaves should be treated? Thank you for answer in advance.
Attached Image: problem avocado.jpg
It looks like your leaf has Cercospora leaf spot which can be treated with a basic copper sulfate spray. Usually avocados with this problem are sprayed beginning in May followed by a June and July spray and completed with a September spray.
Hello to all,
I have the same or at least similar problem – please take a look at the picture. After 5 to 7 days, whole leaf turn brown.
I have sprayed leaves with Captan fungicide, but without success. Could it be that I also have problem with water (I am watering it plenty every 5-7 days).
Thanks!
Attached Image: 001. Avokado fleka.jpg
i think I have a similar problem. didn’t water much b/c of the rain we got here in The Hill country and when the freeze came in I covered b/c it was wet. Other times the temp dropped to 14 deg but did not cover it b/c it wasn’t wet. Now the leavee look really bad, and I am afraid it has died. can I bring it back? Attached is a pic
Attached Image: tree.jpg
Kristijan,
You may need to try a stronger fungicide than captan. Probably something with a sulfur base. I Know this sounds counter-productive, but I would remove any leaf that has a brown spot. Fungicide are used more often as a preventive rather than a cure. So remove diseased leaves and spray the healthy ones. When you water the plant do not wet the foliage.
Alex,
Avocados are a zone 9-11 plant. So if you live any where that gets colder than 25 degrees, the avocado probably won’t survive the winter. However, just because the leaves turn brown and drop off doesn’t mean the plant is dead. Leave it until spring — it might leaf back out and be ok. When it gets really cold a layer of ice on the plant can help. The ice acts as an insulator – keeping the plant at 32degrees. Leave the ice on the plant unless the weight is causing the plant to bend and break.
Hi. I’m new to growing avocados. I planted my tree in my yard about a year ago and last year it produced one small avocado. This year, I’m noticing that the leaves on my tree are curling up and turning brown. I have attached a photo for you to see. What should I do?
Attached Image: IMG_3401.jpg
It could be water stress, but it is hard to tell. Is the leaf from the bottom of the tree , top or middle. If it is from the bottom, I wouldn’t worry too much right now. However from the other places, you need to check your water situation and for spider mites. You will need a magnifying glass to check for spider mites. If you have spider mites, you will need to spray your plant with an insecticide. Your local garden center and nursery should have one safe for your tree.
Thank you for your reply. The leaves turn brown at the tip and then get browner. The brown leaves are throughout the tree, not just at the bottom. Are you recommending that I water the tree more and check for spider mites?
Yes check for spider mites. Also check you water moisture. The soil need to be moist but not soggy. It sounds like the plant be came too dry at some point. Be careful not to send it to the other extreme – keep the soil evenly moist and watch the new growth. If it is healthy you are go to go.
Hi again. I was wondering if my problem could also be root rot?
Yes it could be. Take the plant out of the container and see if the roots are soft and mushy or black. If they are cut the damaged roots back to healthy tissue and make sure your pot drains well before you put it back in the container.
AVOCADO TREE PROBLEMS—PLEASE HELP!!
I grew my Avocado tree from a seed…it’s like my baby!! It had been doing fine, I brought it in for Winter, we had a rather long winter here in South Georgia this year, but towards the end leafs started falling off the bottom. But NOW, the top of the tree stem is a yellowish color with brown spots!! Some of the leafs have brown on them, but not very many and sometimes that goes away, but I’m really concerned about the stem color and problems there…I’m attaching pictures! Please let me know if you have had this problem, or know what to do!!
Should I cut off the top where the problem is occurring???
Attached Image: IMG_1136.jpg
It’s me again, wanted to attach a few more photos so you can see it better!
Attached Image: IMG_1133.jpg
It’s me again, wanted to attach this last photo, it is of the same spot on the opposite side, this side isn’t yellow but does have some brown spots…
Attached Image: IMG_1131.jpg
I am sending your pictures to an avocado expert. Hopefully, he will be able to help us.
I forwarded the picture and Anna’s question to Eric Focht Botany & Plant Science Department
University of California, Riverside, Ca. 92521.
Eric was kind enough to send me this reply:
Hello,
It is hard to tell from the verbal description provided by the gardener what exactly is going on, but I would hazard a guess that the browning of the leaves is probably a separate issue and is most likely ‘tip burn’ which is usually caused by an accumulation of salts (from hard water etc) in the soil.
The picture does not look like any fungal issue I’ve come across and so I’m not sure what to suggest: if I was able to see the plant 1st hand, I might be able to rule out sunblotch virus, but this is the closest visual match for the symptoms I can come up w/. If it is sunblotch virus, her best bet is to destroy the plant and start over: it’s incurable. Other symptoms to look for would be discolored (yellowish) and malformed leaves…also look for a change in texture between differently colored areas: in the fruit, one finds the discolored regions to be smoother and more sunken in…in mature trunks I’ve seen extremely corky texture.
another possibility is a sun/heat/frost burn…as the one side of the tree is effected whereas the rest seems fine, is there any change in cultural practice that may have resulted in this damage such as moving tree next to or away from a heating duct/cold window/intense sun?
at any rate, I would NOT recommend cutting off the top of the tree just yet: i don’t think this would accomplish anything aside from further stressing the tree
I’ll forward this to my supervisor and see if she has anything to add
Hope this helps
Eric Focht
You can also find very helpful information about avocado on the Universities’ Avocado information page. I found it quite helpful.
Hello,
I was wondering if anyone knew what was wrong with my avocado in the attached picture?
I have a few growing indoors here in sunny Scotland but 2 have started to get brown spots on a few of their lower leaves.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts!
Rob
Attached Image: avocado1.jpg
It might be Cercospora purpurea which is a fungus. It can be treated with a fungicide.
I don’t know what it is but growing avocado plants can be difficult they are so susceptible to many disease, I am growing three myself and they start off doing well then somewhere along the line leaves turn brown and die off, I guess if it’s any consolation the stem is still green.
Attached Image: garfgif01.gif
My avacado tree has a few issues I attack depending on the week. The one I am concerned about right now is that the whole tree stem system is a light green almost yellow which stands in contrast to the green leaves. The tree is still growing new leaves. sometimes the leaves come out defective but right now they seem to be doing fine. The old growths that later turn into flowers turned black and easily fell off (The new flowering growths are fine). I do have browning at the tips but i think that is due to the water problems you mentioned earlier. Is there any way I can improve soil drainage in a pot?
The only way to improve drainage is to repot the plant. When you repot place gravel, pebbles or broken clay pieces in the bottom on the pot before you fill with soil.
I have similar problems with my avocado which is about 6 months old. The bottom leaves are turning copper-brown and curl. What shall I do?
Attached Image: avocado 1.jpg
Hello
I have the same problem as in the image by Tania above. All the bottom leaves (the oldest ones) turn dark brown on the edges and then yellow on the whole leaf. They wither and die.
I just added some bone fertilizer. I also water the plant regularly, but not in large amounts.
I used to have a 2nd avocado plant, that was growing much slower and all its leaves had the same problem. I got rid of it.
This plant now is bigger, but I am concerned about the dying leaves.
So is it a fungal problem or is something missing? My pot is not very large.
I’m not sure that it is fungal. Something you might consider is the tap water you use to water the plant. It may have a high concentration of chlorine. This maybe the issue. Put the water you are going to use in a contaner without a lid and let it set for 24hrsd. This will allow the chlorine time to evaporate.
Thank you for this helpful article. My sister’s avocado tree has started getting brown on the leaves. I had taken out some plastic she put on the bottom of the pot so that it could drain the day before yesterday, and cut off the edge of leaf that had brown on it and now it looks like this. Should I check the roots for rot? or what else can I check for?
Heres a picture of what I am talking about.
Attached Image: DSCF1737.jpg
I have my avacado sprouted from pit in a 5 gallon pickle bucket. I have this same browning issue. I am currently using an aqua globe to water the plant in hopes of more consistent growth, but so far this has not helped. IT was over watered and undersunned for a while, then I put it outside for about four hours and most of the leaves burned (phoenix) Now all the leaves burn even though I keep it inside in filtered sun. I have been trimming off the brown leaves when they are completely brown, hoping to stimulate growth and keep the plant focused on the good leaves. It is about 6 months old. I am down to my last 6 leaves and two of them are about to go! Help! Should I fertilize? I let the water sit so the chlorine can evaporate and use filtered water.
You are keeping the plant in a constant state of stress. Do the following: Place the plant in an area where it can get ample light and water it thoroughly. In a week check the soil. If it is dry water it – don’t use the aqua bulb. If it is still very moist wait a few days and check it again. Watering it once a week should suffice. Wait at least 2 months before you fertilize it. This will give the plant time to work out of the stress.
Alright. I will do as you say. My only concern is that it is very hot and dry here (I keep my house around 85-90 degrees) and the soil will be dry in two to three days. Should I still wait a week to check it or should I water when it is dry?
No water it when it is dry, but test the soil first by sticking your finger in the soil up to your first knuckle. If the soil is dry at that level, water it.
These are my plants, I had 12 of them as a seed and I had to give most of them away. I am a amateur but I’m doing pretty good.
Their have been some holes in my plants, I guess its because of insects. At one point, they started to get some brown on the leaves. It seemed to be becuase of either to much watering or heat. I doubt it was becuase of fungi. I have switched the pots twice with miracle grow garden soil for fruits and vegetables. Its pretty good.
Now I am noticing parts of the stems on all 3 plants are getting these brown spots. I dont know if its a natural thing or what. They actually went away when I at one point got some rusty nails and wet them and inserted the rusty iron in the soil. I thought they had some iron deficiency, and they seem like 3 months ago to help. Now they have these brown spots in the stems.
Can someone give me some ideas?
http://img227.imageshack.us/i/img20101006184906.jpg/
http://img641.imageshack.us/i/img20101006184928.jpg/
http://img163.imageshack.us/i/img20101006184940.jpg/
http://img809.imageshack.us/i/img20101006184950.jpg/
http://img3.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185018.jpg/
http://img121.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185024.jpg/
http://img59.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185039.jpg/
http://img831.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185101.jpg/
http://img101.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185110.jpg/
http://img692.imageshack.us/i/img20101006185510.jpg/
Your plants seems to be very healthy. There is some insect damage on the leaves as well as some water damage. The one leaf with the round brown spots with yellow edges could have been from a fungus. Since the other leaves look fine, I would not worry about a fungus. THe spots on the stems could be scab, but it is hard to tell from the pictures. I recommend taking the plant to your local garden center nursery or your state extension service. They should be able to make a clear cut identification of the problem.
PLEASE help! I have an avocado tree that I rescued from my boyfriend (he started it from a sprout but never transplanted it so it was just growing in water, and his apartment was really dark so it didn’t get much light).
The little tree had only a few leaves left when I transplanted it into soil but they were curled and brown. They have now fallen off and a few tiny leaves have sprouted from the top and I thought they would grow in healthy, but they too are curling and turning brown.
Is there any hope left for my plant? What should I do to save it?
I water it but don’t let it stay soaked, the roots look healthy… It lives in the widowsill behind the blinds so it gets sunlight. The only thing i can think of is maybe it gets too cold right by the window? Or it needs fertilizer?
Attached Image: avocado1.jpg
I can’t tell what kind of soil you plant it in, but it may need a very light solution of water soluble fertilizer. It may need a warmer location that will still have plenty of light. It will also need a little time to recover from the lack of attention. Give it a couple of weeks.
I have a 4 month old Avocado Tree that was doing really great, then all of a sudden the leaves are getting spots, then they dry up and die.
I’m keeping the soil damp not soggy and there is plenty of drainage. Using worm castings too.
Can you tell what is wrong?
Attached Image: Damaged Leaf.jpg
Ramona,
is your plant indoors? If so an air vent maybe causing the problem. Extreme temperature changes or direct air constantly blowing on the leaves may cause the plant’s leaves to become overly dry or damaged. If the spots are more circular, your plant may have Cercospora purpurea in which case you will need a fungicide.
Hi again,
my avocado has developed bronze spots on the leaves and the new ones that have come out are dry and look really sick. Is there anything I could do?
Attached Image: IMG_0833.jpg
here is another one (sorry couldn’t upload two at the same time)
Attached Image: IMG_0834.jpg
Tanja,
I think you may have a fungus – perhaps scab. You will need a fungicide probably something like captain. Your local garden center should have what you need. When you go to your loacl garden center/nursery take a leaf so that they can examine it.
Hello,
A year ago, I planted 5 kernels of avocado and get 5 healthy plants that developed very fast and looked really nice. I’ve kept them indoor in the pots. However, a couple months ago, the leaves of my plants started to turn brown, to wrinkle and die off. Now, there is only one avocado tree left and started to exhibit the same symptoms. Please, check the photos (observe that some of the new leaves seem to be damaged). Is it anything that I can do to save this plant?
http://img171.imageshack.us/i/img0177c.jpg/
http://img560.imageshack.us/i/img0178n.jpg/
http://img148.imageshack.us/i/img0181i.jpg/
http://img716.imageshack.us/i/img0180v.jpg/
To determine what is happen we must first determine the condition around the plants. Did your watering practices change in the last few months? As plants grow or are repotted the watering habits may need to be revised. Once we have ruled out water-issues, we can look at fungal and viral issues.
I have followed the advice to keep the soil slightly moist but not soggy (I was afraid of Phytophthora Root Rot, as I have read that is the most common disease of Avocado trees). Depending on the season (heating or not) I needed to water each 7, 10 or 14 days. When I have re-potted the plant a couple months ago, I put a little bit of sand in the soil hoping that this will improve drainage.
When a avacado plant is about 1 years old you should use a fertilizer, but Ive found out that it does burn the leaves if you give it to much. So what I have done is a teaspoon of coffee grinds around the stem of the tree not touching the stem but around the stem cause it will cause a burn to the stem if light is to bright. I keep my avacados inside. I always leave a floresent light on them. I have 6 avacado trees. Ive been growing them for many many years. Water is the key to them. Also they like light but not in the sun light. They need shade. They will freeze like other plants.
Sand is a good way of drainage but to much sand will opt out water and will wash nutirents the tree needs. Fungal or viral issues can result in the soil and water, Nutrients is a way of keeping a plant healthy. Also skimming the top surface of the soil around the plant can help of fungus or viral issues. Use fresh soil to replace the soil which has been skimmed. Root root is usually a form of the plants roots that can not freely move with in the surface.
Hi Jamie. First off, thanks so much for answering all the avocado questions. I was really happy to find this thread given my current avocado dilemma.
I have raised my avocado from seed and it is now 2 1/2 years old and about 3 1/2 feet tall. Since I live in upstate NY, it has always lived inside quite happily until about a month ago. I’ve had bottom leaves brown and fall off and didn’t really think they were an issue until the entire end, leaves and part of the stem, of the right side branch of my plant turned brown and withered about 2 weeks ago. I cut off the withered stem and leaves but now the leaves, brand new and still quite small, on the left branch are also starting to wither. The stem on that side is still perfectly green but I’m very freaked out. There are no big leaves left on my plant and the new ones seem to be dying before they can fully mature. The plant lives right next to a window and a baseboard heater. This is the first winter the pot has been near the heater but nothing else has changed. The temperature in my apartment is about 70-75 all the time. I water once a week and the soil looks fine.
Is my plant in danger or am I just overreacting? Should I move it away from the heater? Is its pot too small? Will the bare right branch leaf out again?
Attached Image: December 2010 136.jpg
Close-up of withering baby leaves.
Attached Image: December 2010 125.jpg
Close-up of bare main stem and right branch. All the little nubs are where large healthy leaves used to be.
Attached Image: December 2010 133.jpg
Abbie,
First, move the plant away from the direct path of the baseboard heater. I can’t tell if the pot is too small. If you can see the roots of the plant coming out of the soil, then you need to increase the pot size. To be honest I’m not sure if the plant will leaf out from the stem or only from the top. Give it a few weeks and you should see leaf buds start to form. My quess is that they will only come from the top of the plant.
Good luck.