Avocado tree looking very unhappy!

[ziz209]

Hi all,

First time poster here. I have grown this avocado tree from seed around 4-5 years ago now.

It was doing very well at the end of last summer and I repotted it in autumn. Since then, I have had it covered it in a frost jacket and watered it every 10 days or so.

I've opened the frost jacket to keep an eye on it and it has got progressively worse, especially this last month. I've attached pictures to demonstrate as the majority of the leaves have gone brown and crispy.

Does anyone know why this is and how to fix it? I'd really appreciate any help anyone can offer!!

Many thanks,

Alexis

 

[Chuck]

It appears to me as if it has Black Spot Fungus and probably Root Rot. First of all check and see if the blackened limbs are still alive by scratching the bark to see if any green is still left. If not and the limb is brittle cut it off. To probably fix the fungal problem spray with a copper spray. I'm sorry to say but I don't give it much hope. The reason this happened was that it stayed too wet at the root zone and putting the frost jacket on it stopped good air circulation, thus the fungus. You could take it out of the container and change soils but success is doubtful. You can tell it stayed too wet is all of the algae growing on the outside of the container and the blackened limbs.

 

[ziz209]

Hi Chuck,

thank you very much for your help. In a desperate attempt for its survival, I’ve chopped off all the dead leaves, repotted it this evening and sprayed it with fungicide. Hopefully this will help. I will keep you posted!
If anyone else has any additional advice it will be greatly appreciated!
Many thanks,
Alexis