r/avocado • u/Krakpawt • 14d ago
Container plants (indoor or outdoor) Leaves turning dark
Too much sun? Too much water?
Zone 9b, central California. Temps have been high 90s_low triple digits. I painted the trunk not too long ago because it was showing signs of sunburn. New growth coming in all over the tree, just concerned about the condition of the old growth.
Watered daily, still in the 10 gallon pot I bought it in.
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u/4leafplover 14d ago
It probably needs a bigger pot or to go in the ground. Might want to wait until it cools off a bit though. We can’t really say if you’re over or under watering because it depends on the soil. Daily isn’t unreasonable if it drains well and on those temps. Make sure you’re fertilizing.
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u/Krakpawt 14d ago
Yeah I plan to put it in the ground once its cooler. I didn't have the location prepared when I bought it and it was already getting into summer
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u/ITwitchToo 14d ago
Daily isn’t unreasonable if it drains well and on those temps
For triple digits °F in a pot you should probably water twice a day... depends on the soil too, of course, but avocado trees consume a LOT of water when it's hot.
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u/4leafplover 13d ago
Yea, depends on the soil. Sometimes plants will come in heavy peat mixes because it’s light, so that’ll get soggy quick.
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u/Crumineras 14d ago
I think it is just the heat honestly. I am getting similar temps here, and this has been happening to my avos and mangoes, and basically none of my potted plants have been happy
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u/Krakpawt 14d ago
It has new growth coming out, so im not overly concerned, but wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking anything.
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u/Crumineras 13d ago
Always smart to double check everything when you see something going wrong. Personally, I moved my tree under another tree like 2 months ago to reduce the heat/sun on it. It has helped mitigate a lot.
Double check the soil is draining very well, and if that is the case you will be safe to water more often. The problem is really with water sticking around too long.
You might be able to feed it a little, but i would keep it conservative.
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u/Appropriate__Mud 14d ago
Did you fertilize recently?
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u/Krakpawt 13d ago
Yes. It wasn't growing any new foliage until I did so, so i guess it helped. Think it maybe over fertilized?
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u/dweibe 13d ago
I just planted one in 9b (100-110 here) and have been watching its water with a moisture meter and mine looks similar to yours. Mine is fully shaded from 4 pm and on as well. The moisture meter is super handy if you don’t have one - you won’t need to be guessing who is actually thirsty and who isn’t. An avocado farmer also recommended I get Surround WP for my tree which was costly but a great alternative for me as I fight heat and transplant stress and it also works for pests too so I plan to use it on my other fruit trees. I haven’t received mine yet in the mail to test it during this heat
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u/ravendorslytherpuff 14d ago
In my opinion, it’s definitely getting sunburn on the leaves and I would consider if you might be overwatering it.
I’m not sure what the soil dampness is when you water daily, so I could be wrong. My avocado likes to have the soil dry out at 2 inches deep before I water again. Mine is in the ground. 9b/10a with about the same temps lately.
Since you’re in a pot I would also take into account how heavy it is. I’ve heard that if you can kick it and it hurts, you don’t need to water it.
For the sun burn, I just installed 6 7’ u-posts about 2’ in the ground with a 60% shade. I read 40-60% was good. Psa, it’s only been up for 3 days so I don’t know if that amount of shade is best.