Plant Doctor Archive

Avocado tree

I am needing help with a tree please. Hass avocado purchased last October. I planted it then, and promptly had most of its bark chewed at by, presumably, possums. We have put around netting, so there has been no further chewing, but the bark is not healing and the leaves are not growing. It is just ticking over alive.

If your avocado has not been ringbarked, then you will be able to save it. Apply a pruning paste that contains a fungicide to the wound to help stop fungus disease entering the plant. As spring approaches and new growth appears, the wound should start to heal. Unfortunately, if the avocado has been ringbarked, you will not be able to save it.

I have heard that raw lanolin (from sheep's wool) is a good deterrent to possums. Either hang pieces of raw sheep's wool around the plant or purchase raw lanolin from the pharmacy and smear onto the stem of the plant. Take care not to place lanolin on leaves or the underside of leaves as this will cause damage to the plant. Raw lanolin is different to the lanolin purchased in a tube.

Advice by Dr Dan Blanchon from Unitec's Diploma in Sustainable Horticulture and Bachelor of Resource Management.

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