Re: Bark damage on an avocado

Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, 14 May 2025 00:37:10 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
 
<snip>

Only the girdled branch bloomed with enthusiasm, though there are a few
flowers further down the tree that might (if I'm very lucky) offer a hint
of the fruit quality. If it's poor I'll topwork the tree with good scion
wood, so it's no huge loss either way.

 
Article here on girdling avocados you might want to read:
 
https://gregalder.com/yardposts/girdling-avocado-trees-for-consistent-fruiting/
 

In my case the girdling extended for about eight inches, so it couldn't heal.

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem
like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving
the roots. I don't see how that can pay in the long run, especially in
a less-than-ideal growing environment like mine.

The practical effect is to suggest that top-working the tree is the next
step. If that fails, time to yank it. It'd be nice to find out if the
fruit that has set is any good. But, if it is, the solution would be
to graft _that_ wood onto a different rootstock.

In the meantime I've purchased three commerical varieties; Sir Prize,
GEM and Sharwil. They've been in the ground about three weeks so far.
The Sharwil promises to grow like a weed, the other two are diffident
but pushing buds at least. Winter will tell the real story....

Thanks very much for writing!

bob prohaska