Advice on how to prune this avocado tree (forum)

MelbourneDan starts with ...
Hi all,

I have been growing a Mexican Creollo avocado in a pot for about two years now, and unfortunately I haven’t taken very good care of its growth. You will see from the photos linked below that the tree has forked, and that one fork is now growing faster than the other.

My question for you all, is if this was your tree, how would you prune this tree to bring it back to order. I am thinking of cutting off the thinner of the two forked branches, and encouraging the remaining one to grow straight. And maybe pruning some of the longer branches to encourage them to branch off at shorter lengths. Welcome advice here.

https://imgur.com/a/JTxY7VZ
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 21st November 2021 9:52pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author MelbourneDan
MOONEE PONDS,3039,VICTORIA
#UserID: 27616
Posts: 14
View All MelbourneDan's Edible Fruit Trees

David01 says...
Hi MelbourneDan,

It depends on what do you want.

1. Keep the same pot then you need to cut short both branches to get balance and in order
2. Leave it as it is but transplant it into a much bigger pot. Cheers

Time: 23rd November 2021 6:17pm

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report

About the Author David01
CRAIGIEBURN,3064,VIC
#UserID: 16671
Posts: 467
View All David01's Edible Fruit Trees

MelbourneDan says...
Hi David,
Thanks for getting back to me. The idea is to keep it in the same pot for now as I live in an apartment. Eventually when I move to somewhere I can put it in the ground I will.

Ok, so you are saying I would need to prune both branches right back?

Essentially, i'm concerned that the Y structure of the tree now is problematic, as it gets older it will be at risk of splitting in the wind, so I'm thinking I could remove the left, slimmer branch, and encourage the remaining branch to take over and grow straight.

Alternatively, I'm considering snipping off the left branch and then grafting on a Hass avocado scion on there and having two varieties on the same tree. The creollo variety is commonly used as a hardy rootstock in Mexico so it might work. On that note, would you be interested in trading Hass scion/budwood with me?

Time: 25th November 2021 11:49am

Reply | LIKE this Answer(0) | LIKE this Question (0) | Report
About the Author MelbourneDan
MOONEE PONDS,3039,VICTORIA
#UserID: 27616
Posts: 14
View All MelbourneDan's Edible Fruit Trees