planting plants

hey Norc, just saw this thread. is your avocado still amongst the living?  that pot does look small. A large pot would be a good idea with gravel of a neutral ph like quartz that has been cleaned and rinsed well on bottom for good drainage. always use pots that have drainage holes in the bottom.

one of the problems with small pots is a plant gets rootbound.  if you re- pot it and the roots are all wrapped around soil ball gently work the roots loose and spread em out and put the plant into a pot which is big enough to allow room to spread out. This will be something you will need to check occasionally because it will happen again with time and growth.

add soil trying to seperate any root masses. Don't go crazy going into the center of the rootball but work the outter part loose. water well and gently but firmly tamp soil down to remove air pockets that may have been formed. roots need air But not air pockets.

sometimes if needed as when you can't go with a larger pot you can prune off this outter root growth with Sterile scissors that you clean before with alcohol then wipe dry. As long as you are not shocking the plant by being overly harsh by banging it about or screaming at it this procedure should not harm and will benifit it. Science has shown that plants respond well to soothing m usic or gently speaking to them.

A common problem is overwatering. Most plants [ not specifically sure about Avo s] Like to be throughly soaked then allowed to dry out before watering again. not bone dry  but not wet to touch if you stick finger down into soil. Avoid light frequent watering. salts can build up in potted plants and soaking helps to flush out these harmful salts. if your water is not ph neutral consider somehow filtering or treating your water you give it.

also I see avocados prefer a ph around 6-6.5. you can buy cheap test kit to determine your soils ph and then adjust as needed or better yet I read is to start with a cactus mix potting soil and test it for ph and adjust as needed.

here is a sound looking link I just found .    www.avocadotrees.com/planting_and_grow.htm

a general rule is water less in winter and go lighter on fertilizer on house plants.

wow thanks so much, that was really thorough information! very much appreciated i'll look into the soil part i have no idea what pH it is, but i think i'll wait until over christmas to re-pot it. thanks for clearing up what root-bound means, i was wondering about that.

Norc wrote:

I mean look!!! (Taken today)

also if you look at this picture, this new growth was something i didn't feel like pruning because i was hoping for a new top part since last time it got this new growth it grew about five cm and had some amazing leaves. only this new growth, well.. i kept it in the sun, so it looks really funny now i'll post a picture later. it's very long with leaves on the top lol. i pruned what i thought to be another new growth on top of that. i just hope it stays calm during christmas.

so yeah my plant doubled in size

Good God ! whatever you are doing the plant likes it ! He looks happy.

haha, he looks ridiculous, but i still love him <3

norc, i would Like to see that in a pot 4-5times the size of present one.

When you transplant do so when the soil is towards the dry side. place your spread fingers either side of stem and turn pot upside down . firmly  tap bottom with your other hand increasing strength of blow slightly until you can pull pot off. if roots are Coming out of drain hole\ holes cut them off.

if it doesnt want to come out, return to upright and insert a clean normal flatware knife where soil contacts side of pot and run it around pot, try removing again as described above if still doesnt Want to come , you can gently place knife back into pot edge and push the Top of tool  towards the plant stem at 4 or more equidistant poimts around edge. Not too forcefully but enough to cause a little seperation, then flip pot and tap again as mentioned above. when it does start coming remember that you don't want the root Ball to fall apart any more than it has to. be gentle and gently support it with your free hand setting it down.

I know you like this plant is why I'm being so careful in how you gradually escalate the procedure to minimize shock for it.
If after trying the above it still doesnt want to come out you should consider breaking the pot because it is probably seriously root bound and just wedged tightly.

i suspect it will be very rootbound.
once you get em out place it gently on side on a tray or something clean and do my initial post procedure of gently trying to spread and loosen outter half of rootball. you will likely need to do some root pruning to free up the roots from the tangled mass. then repot as described iN my first message.

if you want your plant to get more bushy instead of tall you can prune the leader stem perhaps 1\4" above the next tier of leaves with sterile SHARPknife or sharp scissors.

always prune oFf any dead or diseased looking material from plants in gemeral...

Just be as gentle as you can, maybe sing it a calm song while you operate :~)
shouldnt be too traumatic for it and once its over it should be quite happy in its new home.



If you need you can email me with any questions at  mymailmule4g  at gmail. com

wow yeah, thank you, i'll definitely do that  especially the singing part!

Bertil wanted to say hi and Thank you for the support. Me for scale.

hiya Bertil!

Not the finger I expected.

Is that a ring or a knuckle-duster?

Bertil looked slightly underdressed for the occasion.

So I fixed it.

aw yeah.

halfwise wrote:Not the finger I expected.

Sa brura på bryllupsnatta

Oh you naughty girl...

"I'm like a plant. If you don't water and encourage me I wilt and.."
*splosh*
"Hey.. why did you do that?!"
"You said.."
"Yeah.. I meant figuratively!"

"Get away from me with that pruning knife!"

i killed bertil

( ) Sorry, no, thats really sad.

it is. i cried. i killed him.

What did you do Norc ? Are you sure he's dead ? might just be dormant ?

yepp, he dead.... real dead...