How to Plant A New Avocado Tree - Step by Step Guide | Soil Preparation | Fertilizer | Mulch

So many gardeners kill young Avocado trees.
In this Step by Step Planting guide, I show how I plant a new Avocado tree for success.
#AvocadoTree, #PlantAvocadoTree #Fertilzer

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

If you like this video, dont forget to subscribe as Ill be doing more like this! Have a Great Day!

[@LW0625]

Great video Jeff! I am debating if I should put on the ground or pot and come up with your idea. I have clay soil and in zone 9B, just killed my Japanese maple last year. Will try both ways for my 2 plants that I just bought from Costco. Any update on your avocado tree growth?

[@lyonheart84]

Certainly useful tips for serial avocado killers like me Jeff 😂

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Happy growing Brett!

[@PiglipsMaximus]

Taught me some stuff, good man 🎉

[@eligomez7667]

Great video. You’re going to love the Carmen. It’s a beautiful tree

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Hope so!

[@pep2001bg]

great video! im so glad to see tips from close to where i live

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

👍

[@PeterEntwistle]

Some great tips there, Jeff!

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Thanks Peter!

[@vaughan7835]

In NSW Australia. My garden is next door to a property with a huge Avocado tree, which is loaded with fruit a lot of the time, which drops onto the ground on my side of the fenceline. I just dig them out once they are big & strong enough to replant them around the edges. Almost 100% success rate.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Excellent!🌴😎🌴

[@lilycardoso4679]

Great video. I'm one of those people that have already killed 3. Avocado trees planting them in the ground. I just bought a little cado tree and I'm going to plant it in a 150 gallon fabric bag on top of the ground. This time I'm using well draining soil.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Im not a fan of those bags, but I understand your frustration. I know a guy that mixed sand into potting mix, moves 5gal up to 15 gal then Burys the bottom 3 inches of the pot into the ground. He only waters the pot and eventually the tree sends roots into the soil. Works for his clay soil but imo it’s a little extreme

[@lilycardoso4679]

@TropicalGardenGuy I know the grow bag will probably only last a few years so I was planning on putting some blocks around it like you do. I just went to Ace and bought a 5 gallon Sherwin. I think I'll put the Sherwin in the 150 gallon pot and get a smaller pot for the little cado. Is it really necessary to keep potting up? I just wanted to choose a big pot and not repot it.

[@lilycardoso4679]

It's actually a Sharwil

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I caught that! 😜

[@tinaearl9228]

Good video if I must say. 🙂 And yes Jeff’s shirt is looking sharp.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Lol

[@TheNegative]

Was just watching this randomly and heard you say Modesto, CA. So cool to see other KZbinrs in Modesto.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

👍

[@priscillamakinita6903]

Thank you for this tip, am just going ro do that!

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Happy growing!😎

[@ragnaraxelson59]

Chop and drop baby! Nice vid and shirt Jeff :)

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Agreed! Thanks Yea I came into 10 new Tommy Bahama silk shirts. Score!

[@ragnaraxelson59]

@@TropicalGardenGuy very nice. My loving wife, continues to hide and/or destroy my tommy Bahama shirts with the hard cycle in the washing machine.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

ouch!

[@carlofirpo3006]

Talk about overkill, I'm in the San Joaquin valley about 20 mi. from you. 4 years ago I took my avocado tree out of the pot, stuck in a hole slightly bigger than the pot and back filled with the soil I dug out. I give plenty of water, and it's grown like a weed.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

lol, putting out a lot of fruit too? I planted my first avocado tree 50 years same way that you described. It died. Several more attempts ended up dying as well. Then while visiting an avocado orchard down south, I asked why the farmers planted on mounds. After that , Next tree I planted on a mound grew like a weed and produced like crazy the 2 nd year. This said, if direct planting works , great! It’s always worth a try. At my age, I gotten stick to what I know works every time.

[@UberGastronomer]

I did that too with my first avocado and it died. So I started planting them on mounds, since then none have died.

[@MrEdwinhardesty]

Good, instructive video. Avocado trees don't like wood materials (mulch) around their roots, always put the mulch on top of the soil. I've been doing this for a while and have discovered that avocado trees love decomposed granite. When I plant an avocado tree I do exactly what you did with the raised planter but I fill it up with DG instead and mix the DG with a little worm castings. I get the DG at the local brickyard, it's sort of like the DG used to make baseball infields with an orangeist color (clay added?), and avocado trees really love it. If you put a sprouting seedling in DG, it will thrive and take off. If you plant your tree with potting soil your tree will suffer and may even die on you. I learned that lesson years ago when I darn near killed my first Hass avocado tree.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I’ll have to try dg next time!

[@MrEdwinhardesty]

If you do try it, I would suggest lightly watering it every 2 days in the summer. DG drains better than regular soil which the avocado trees love but means more watering. I have 5 trees now planted in DG and they are getting huge and thriving. My trees are Lamb Hass, Sir Prize, Reed, Kona Sharwill, and Nabal.

[@jondoe5536]

@@MrEdwinhardesty I am going to do the same (use dg) and rise it. How high have you raised your plants, and how long have they been planted for. I was worried that the dg will go hard after say 7 plus years, do you know does dg get hard with age?

[@MrEdwinhardesty]

@@jondoe5536, I have 5 avocado trees that I planted using DG with some just planted in mounds on top of the existing soil and other planted in circular planters made out landscaping block. The DG is anywhere from 18 inches to 26 inches above ground level. I planted my first tree 10 years ago and the DG doesn't go hard, it stays the same. With DG you need to water it more often with less water, every 2 days in the summer, so the roots don't dry out. I also have a nice thick layer of larger wood chips on top of the DG for nutrition. Avocados trees just love DG and thrive in it.

[@jondoe5536]

@@MrEdwinhardesty I have tried over 15 years 3 times to grow avocados, get to 2 years of fruit then a high rain fall event ends them. I have put my native soil in a 12 inch high pot and turned the hose on to test drainage compared to dg today. The water took about 1 hour to drain although the soil is very sandy. The dg drains straight away. I have been buying used retaining blocks which I will use to raise them. I am thinking 4-5 feet inside diameter. I bought about 15 plants this time. I have spent 100s of hours to gain information - thanks

[@user-qo6zb1bp1b]

Good job

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Thanks!

[@rossanablackburn4111]

Thank you I have an avocado tree I need to plant and I was ready to plant it down on the dirt. I guess I got saved 😁

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

🌴😎🌴

[@donaldkasper8346]

Plant a foot up, the roots will be unstable on the mound and in wind this is going to go over. Mounding means 2 to 4 inches, not 1 to 2 feet. But, they are tropical and want water several times a day and you are shedding off the water so slightly raised and mulch on top to retain wetness but not against the trunk. For me in SoCal High Desert, flat with ground, retaining mound of dirt to hold water when watering, in shade of bigger trees to keep main heat of day off in summer for at least part of the day.

[@scottsevere729]

Jeff, great video. Is there a point where the tree gets too big where you have to expand the circumference of the above ground planting ring?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Good question. I purposely didn’t cement the blocks in place just in case there’s a need for expansion.

[@user-ds2ej3wn8p]

I would plant on a mound because of the trees tap root. Also use gypsum to negate any salinity in the soil, if you have bay of Biscay soils use extra gypsum as it acts as a clay breaker and add sand any sand even building sand

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Agreed

[@user-pl8tp1fu9z]

Do you dig a small hole on the ground to guide the tap roots down or just build up a mound and plant the tree?

[@831AVO]

Congratulations on your new Carmen Hass 🤞🥑 Do you have a GEM in your collection?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Not yet

[@ebradley2306]

I bought a self-watering rolling metal container for my avocado tree, transplanted it and then I found out avocados don’t like wet roots. Same happened with my new lemon tree. Live and learn. Now what to put in those self-watering rolling containers. ☺️ Same zone as you.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Yea Avocados dont like their feet wet!

[@nabaditaa]

I have put a seed in water, and it start growing it's first leaf, so is there any possibility of it growing in India's weather? And how should I plant it into soil , actually i'm scared about it ,thinking if I put it into soil it may die. Please help me.

[@steve90250]

Where did you get the cement ring from? I want to copy your setup but I can't find the cement rings any where.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Lowes

[@Xmarjieh]

Can you do the video hoe to plant and avocado using the seed

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

soon

[@JJ-cm6wj]

I’m confused. What about if your soil is clay soil . I mound my avocado tree with my clay soil? I’m sorry Im new to planting avocado tree. I did raise it up I little and I just realized I made a huge mistake . I added a lot of soil with compost underneath it (not added much of my clay soil into it ) . I’ve had it planted for a week. Should I uproot it and make it more like a mound ?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Hard to say without seeing the whole setup,. I never mix compost into the soil. You can mix in sand . Put lots of compost on the surface, worms will help fixing the soil

[@JJ-cm6wj]

@@TropicalGardenGuy yeah I’m second doubting myself the way I planted it. I guess time will tell. Thanks 🙏

[@ari.joel.m]

What happens when the roots begin to outgrow their space? Do you plant the tree somewhere else?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

The roots go down and out the bottom

[@a.shmeckel6934]

Hi Jeff, I started 2 avocado plants from Pits and they are in water in the house. They are now about 18 inches high. When should I plant them out side. I live in Boca Raton Florida . Do I have to cross breed them or something??? Thanks . As-always, Lewie 😳👀

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I’d plant them outside now. Allows roots to settle it.

[@eligomez7667]

No need to cross breed (graft) them but they’ll most likely take 4-7 years to fruit. And the fruit might taste different than the fruit you ate.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

interesting

[@a.shmeckel6934]

Hello again, thanks for the info. I’m not sure how to graft them or when to do it. I will plant them outside this week. I bought some miracle grow soil. I hope that’s ok. If that’s not correct, please let me know 😊👀thanks again 👍🏻👀

[@eligomez7667]

@@a.shmeckel6934 I would not use that soil mix. It’s mostly organic material. If you’re planting them in the ground just use your native soil as long as you haven’t amended it with compost. Or use decomposed granite, or play sand. Whatever you do don’t add any compost to your planting hole

[@1voluntaryist]

1. I would shred the leaves. 2. Chip the woody parts up into small pieces. 3. Shade, especially newly transplanted, in hot weather. 4. Get all that plant matter across the street to process as mulch. I favor deep mulching, at least a foot to preserve/protect the soil.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

👍🤔

[@nesq4104]

Will avocado produce fruit if shaded 50% of day in a tropical environment?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I think so but the numbers would be lower than if in full sun

[@nesq4104]

@@TropicalGardenGuy thanks for the opinion

[@Avo7bProject]

It doesn't help that most bags of "soil" at the big box stores are *not* soil but various formations of compost and bark chips. That throws so many beginning gardeners off-track! Vendors love the "all organic" marketing angle, since bags are lighter and less expensive to ship without real soil in them. In my area, I try to buy my soil from landscaping companies or farmer's cooperatives instead. I visit the big box for insecticide or tools.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Yup

[@chichoconde290]

I just use decomposed granite and avoid the big box "soil" all it is is ground up forest mulch

[@isaiahhesslup8463]

Blessing

[@NancyRuvalcaba-hl2fq]

Will that real bark attract earwigs??

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I haven’t had any problems

[@geeyoupee]

I use wood mulch on my garden. Tons of earwigs and pillbugs. I haven't noticed any issues for my trees. They will eat your leafy plants and young seedlings though.

[@rbps1337]

Do you worry about what the nursery has used for soil? I just repotted 4 trees with 30% sand, 30% peat, 30% perlite, 5% gypsum, and 5% micorrhizae/fertilizer. I broke up the root balls because the soil from the nursery appeared to be mostly bark-mulch and likely would end up causing root rot. The trees look awful (dropping all leaves and soggy) but I imagine they just need to grow new roots before they look great again. Any advice/thoughts?

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

Yes, they pot trees for short term. Once in ground that potting soil rots.

[@eligomez7667]

How long ago did you plant the four trees? How often are you watering?

[@rbps1337]

@@eligomez7667 4 days ago, it’s been fairly mild here (usually 100+ but we’re in the 80s), the soil is still moist and clumpy when I squeeze it so they have not been watered yet. Trees have not perked up and look like they’re going to drop all the leaves.

[@rbps1337]

@@TropicalGardenGuy for clarity mine are in 25gal pots and I don’t plant in ground since this isn’t a home I plan on staying in

[@eligomez7667]

@@rbps1337 did they lose a lot of their roots when you planted them? If so you may want to consider trimming the trees a bit. Your soil mix is pretty good 👍 though.

[@bombonalvarez3802]

You just killed the roots with that much sunshine.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

lol , the tree is doing great

[@donaldkasper8346]

Plant an avocado in the front yard for people to destroy? No. Too expensive. That is a several hundred dollar tree. Goes in the back.

[@TropicalGardenGuy]

I here ya, but so far no issues