How to Grow & Prune Avocado Trees
- 1). Purchase a healthy 3-gallon tree that is between 2 and 4 feet tall. Keep the soil moist until planting.
- 2). Locate avocado trees in a warm location with good drainage and wind protection. Build a mound or raised bed if additional drainage is required.
- 3). Remove all grass and weeds from the planting area. Dig a hole three to four times the size of the tree's root ball. Place the tree in the hole and backfill around the root ball. Firm the soil gently, settling the tree at the height it originally grew in the pot.
- 4). Water the tree daily for the first week, then twice a week for the first two or three months. Water mature trees twice a week during dry weather. Maintain an even water supply during fruiting season.
- 5). Fertilize every one to two months during the first year. Use 1/4 lb. of 6-6-2 fertilizer per tree, more as the tree grows to a maximum of 1 lb. per tree.
- 6). Spray with nutritional sprays providing copper, zinc, manganese and boron during the first five years. Apply three to four applications during the spring and summer. In alkaline soils, apply an iron-chelate drench also.
- 7). Mound soil around the trunk whenever a severe freeze is expected. Cover the tree with blankets or tarps anchored at the ground with a brick or soil.
- 8). Prune young avocado trees in late winter or early spring to encourage branching and shape the tree. Cut the branch above a bud or flush with the branch collar using clean pruning shears or a small hand saw. Mature trees need pruning only to remove dead or damaged branches.
- 9). Whitewash newly pruned trees to protect them from sun damage. Paint the newly exposed branches and trunk with a mixture of equal parts of white latex paint mixed with water.
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