Let’s say you just planted an avocado tree from a five-gallon container, the typical size available at nurseries. How should you water this tree?
First, immediately after planting you should water lavishly, making sure that all of the container soil is wet and also making sure that the surrounding native soil is also wet to a couple feet away from the tree and a couple feet deep. One way you can do this is by leaving a basin around the tree that you can fill with water over and over, as seen in the photo above. You’re likely going to need to apply about 10 gallons to do this, or even more if the soil is very dry.
Why water the container soil? Because that’s where the tree’s roots are. Why water the surrounding soil when the tree’s roots are only in the container soil? Because if the surrounding native soil is dry, it will literally suck water from the container soil, leaving the tree’s roots thirsty.
How often and how much
After planting day, be sure that you’re watering the container soil consistently but also watering the surrounding native soil occasionally. This might mean that you put automated irrigation on the container soil and then hand-water the surrounding native soil every couple weeks.
How often is “consistently”? And how much should you water each time? I’ll try to be as specific as possible (this is for a five-gallon tree).
For a tree planted in spring or early fall:
- Week 1- water every other day, 2 gallons each time
- Week 2- water every three days, 3 gallons each time
- Weeks 3/4- water every four days, 3 gallons each time
For a tree planted in summer:
- Week 1- water every day, 1 gallon each time
- Week 2- water every other day, 2 gallons each time
- Weeks 3/4- water every three days, 3 gallons each time
For a tree planted in late fall or winter:
- Week 1- water every three days, 2 gallons each time
- Week 2- water every four days, 2 gallons each time
- Weeks 3/4- water every five days, 3 gallons each time
Remember that your baby avocado tree will use more or less water according to the weather conditions. If there’s an extreme heat wave soon after planting, you may have to water every day. Likewise, if there are storms every week during winter, you’ll not need to water at all. But there could also be warm, dry Santa Anas in winter, which could make your new avocado tree want water every few days despite the winter season.
In general, you’ll water frequently at first and then less often as time goes on. This is because the tree will eventually grow its roots into the surrounding native soil and have more stamina because of its larger root system.
So after the first couple months — no matter which season — your regular waterings should no longer only be over the container soil but also over the surrounding native soil. And the watering schedule should change to more closely approximate the schedule it can use for the rest of its life.
What’s the schedule for an established avocado tree? See my post, “How much and how often to water an avocado tree in California.”
Materials and products
It doesn’t much matter what materials or products you use to water the tree, from that first watering through the entire first year. (Which watering method is best in the long run? Probably sprinklers, not drip. See why on page 19 of this avocado-growing handbook.) Watering by hand with a can or a hose is fine, watering by drip emitters can work fine as long as the emitters are close to the trunk and directly on top of the container soil, and a sprinkler works great too.
Personally, I prefer using sprayers, or sprinklers with a sprayer insert, on new avocado trees. I’ve had success using a sprayer made by DIG, and I’ve used a little sprinkler made by Philmac, shown in the photo below.
DIG sprayer and Philmac sprinkler/sprayer
But if I had to recommend one, I’d go with this micro sprinkler made by DIG:
The reason I’d recommend it is because it’s both widely available and it’s a great product. It’s sold at Home Depot as well as many other stores, both online and physical. It costs around $3.
And why is it a great product? Similar to the Philmac sprinkler, DIG’s micro sprinkler can be the first and last watering device that you buy and install for the life of your avocado tree. This is because it comes with a 90-degree sprayer insert that works perfectly on a newly planted tree, as shown in the photo above, in addition to a spinner insert that will apply water in a wide diameter (up to 25 feet), so it can be used on big, mature trees too.
I use a sprayer on new trees, and then switch to a rotating sprinkler (spinner) once a tree’s canopy is more than about four feet in diameter, which tends to be after a year or two in the ground. The easiest way to do this is to use something like Philmac’s sprinkler or DIG’s micro sprinkler, which can be used in sprayer and sprinkler modes.
One modification I make is that I always insert a little shut-off valve on the tubing so that I can adjust the volume on the sprayer, and later on the sprinkler. (Note the shut-off valve on the Philmac sprinkler tubing in the photo above.)
Here is a video I made showing this sprinkler watering avocado trees in my yard:
You might also like to read:
I'm Greg. My goal is to help others grow some food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits -- especially avocados -- in Southern California. I write a new "Yard Post" every Friday. 
A few of us here in the NE are growing Avocados from a pit in a glass of water. Two are about a foot tall with a few leaves. These were put in a pot of soil. Unfortunately one has a few brown leaves; one leaf if almost totally brown and curling.
I read in this article that the browning can be caused by Chorine in the water. I don’t know where the water here at the office, comes from. Should we use bottled water from now on to prevent anymore browning???
thanks for any info
Hi Roxanne,
I think it’s great that you guys are growing some avocados from seed. It’s possible that the browning of the leaves are due to chloride. Also possible is that there was a little spell where the tree didn’t get watered often enough. This will cause avocado leaves to brown too.
This is an easy mistake to make because avocados do not handle dry soil well and small containers dry out fast compared to big containers or trees in the ground. Most of my avocado seedlings in small containers have some browning on some of their older leaves.
It certainly can’t hurt to use water that you know is more pure, like bottled water. Nurseries that grow avocados sometimes run their water through a reverse osmosis system in order to give the baby trees really clean water.
Each time you do water, especially if you continue using the office water, it’s best to water so much that you see water flushing out of the bottom holes of the container. This will help to leach the soil and keep chloride levels down.
Best of luck. Keep us updated!
I grew an avocado tree from a pit. It’s a few years old and has been in the container all these years. It is about 6 ft tall and my husband has decided it’s time to put it in the ground. It’s early spring so we figured it’s the best time. Do we need to fertilize and if so with what? We are in Texas (south) and it gets really hot in the summer, so we’ll have keep it well watered then. Any suggestions to keep our tree healthy??
Hi Elvia,
I think it’s safest and smartest to put a tree in the ground and watch it grow before doing any fertilizing. Fertilize as a need is shown — through leaf symptoms or exceptionally slow growth, for example.
My yard gets somewhat hot too, with an August high temperature average of 91. What I do with my trees is keep them well mulched, with a layer of wood chips at least a couple inches thick. This eventually serves as a form of fertilizer, but more importantly, it protects the soil and the shallow roots from the summer heat. This practice is probably your key to getting the tree through hot summers — along with watering appropriately, of course.
All that being said, I don’t know south Texas. So if you can talk to a neighbor with healthy avocado trees, take that advice over mine. And please let us know how things go.
I have a hass and a little Cado. They have been in the ground about 3 months now. The little Cado is doing great. Lots of new growth and looks really healthy. The Hass hasn’t done much at all. It has a lot of buds appearing now but once the leaves start coming out they mostly turn brown and look dead. I can’t figure out what is going on. I water both trees every 4 days. I thought maybe I have been watering the hass to much? It has been a week since I last watered it and the moisture meter says it’s still moist. Not sure how realiable they are. When I do water, I water pretty heavy. I live in central California along the coast. Haven’t had a lot of hot days. Mostly high 60’s low 70’s. My soil is sandy so I added mulch and compost in with it. Did this for both trees. I hope you can give me some ideas on what to do. Thank you!
Hi Sandra, just saw this blog while researching for my own tree. I live in Midtown Ventura, with a large 50-year-old Haas in my back yard. The last couple years have not been easy due to the drought, with last year being close to what you are describing. I needed to water above & beyond the 2 times a week at 5 minutes that my sprinklers were doing. This year, I do have lot of avo babies and on the recommendation of my gardener, who does groves in Somis, I’m doing 2 hours once a week with the garden hose, moving it around the drip line as much as I can, along with some avo/citrus food. Fruit and leaves are looking much better.
Hi Sandra,
My first thought is to poke around with your fingers in the soil beneath your Hass to find the roots. Whenever I’ve seen a tree acting like your Hass I’ve discovered a gopher tunnel. I’ve also NOT discovered many white (healthy, new) roots, presumably because of gopher damage.
Let me know what you find (in terms of roots and gopher tunnels) and we’ll take it from there.
Hi,
I have tried growing avocado from seeds after watching tube.
I only managed to plant only one in a small pot. It has been growing quite healthy for a few months but recently the leaves also starts to turn brown n curl before dropping off. I m reading up and it could be my water is the problem . My corridor has no direct sun n I m wondering if it could survive. It is only about 9″ tall. When can I repot it?
I am staying in Singapore, my corridor faces west but shield from direct sun. Hope to get more information to keep my little “princess ” healthy.
Hi Marie,
Leaves turning brown and curling does sound like it might be related to not enough water or poor quality water. You might try putting it into a bigger pot and watering it a little more. You can repot an avocado anytime, especially in a warm climate like Singapore.
Thank you Greg for prompt response.
I will repot n keep you updated on its progress 😊
Recently I received an avocado tree there’s about 5 ft tall and the stem of it is at best the size of a nickel in diameter when I got it the soil is completely dry and all of the leaves off of 3 sprigs were dying they were yellow and Browning since all of the leaves have been trimmed back and now the stem is starting to Brown where it was green like I said when I got it it was it was totally dry I’ve been watering it regularly I’m a baby and taking care of an avocado tree what do you suggest I’ve got it in about a gallon size container the root ball that was left was only really one piece about 5in long in a circular motion and there had been an ant nest inside the previous soil which was nothing but dirt I’ve got it in soil with some lite vermiculite.. help save my avocado tree
Hi Nanette,
A tree that’s five feet tall is too big to do well in a container that’s only one gallon. Such a tree should be in a container approximately five gallons in size, or more. That will help with keeping the rootball moist, and thereby keeping the leaves green and growing.
Hi there. I have a few trees I bought a few months ago from Fallbrook. I got a 18 gallon lamb hass which I planted and mulched. The leaves looks healthy on but are mostly curled lengthwise. Is that a trait of that variety or does it have some problem? It is growing taller with more growth. I have it covered in 30 percent shade cloth on a structure I built to get through the extreme heatwaves in the Los Angeles area. I can probably remove it now as it’s much cooler and we actually had a full night of rain. I water it every other day or even more when it is extremely hot.
Hi Bita,
Taco leaves are a trait of Lamb, yes. I don’t know of any other variety of avocado that looks just like it, but that’s the way Lamb leaves look.
I also had shade cloth over my new trees this summer. I removed it at the end of September because it started cooling down nicely. Looks like we’re going to get warm this week, so maybe you can leave it on for another week or two if you like. In years past, I’ve kept shade cloth over new avocado trees until late October at the latest. It depends on how early the fall cools down.
Hi Greg
Well we planted a 15gal Reed Avo yesterday and had no idea about today’s wind! She had fallen over sometime last night or this morning before I checked. I’ve had to put extra reinforcements and hoping it works. Any suggestions? Also her trunk is crooked to begin with so that could be a good thing in this wind or bad. I’m an optimist! Thanks as always.
Hi Lisa,
Noooo! The wind got you so fast. See my post, “How to plant and stake an avocado tree.”
For a 15-gallon, you’ll likely need a 2×2 wood stake or something metal. I’ve successfully used both on such large trees. Single stakes or double work fine. See the photo of the Nimlioh in the post linked above for an example of double metal stakes.
Greg,
James here from Valley Center, CA. Your videos are a great watch, and your website is on-point. Recently bought four different varieties of avocados, hass, lamb hass, fuerte, and bacon. Got a reed coming.
Our ground is composed of a good mixture of nutritious native soil, decomposed granite, and a mixture of clay layer, and a thick clay layer 3-6′ down (depending on elevation). Your watering instructions outline:
For a tree planted in spring or early fall:
•Week 1- water every other day, 2 gallons each time
•Week 2- water every three days, 3 gallons each time
•Weeks 3/4- water every four days, 3 gallons each time
However you mention this guide is for a 5-gal pot. Our four trees are approximately 5′-6′ tall with canopies ranging from 2.5′-3.5′ and came in 15 gal containers.
What would you recommend our week 1 – week 4 schedule look like? Bought the dig 90 degree micro sprayers like you recommended. Thanks for your help and keep the videos and posts coming.
Hi James,
Thanks for the kind words. While I’ve only planted a couple of 15-gallon avocados, I’ve found that the same watering frequency is needed. The only thing I altered was the volume. For your trees of about three feet in diameter, I’d just add approximately an extra gallon to each watering.
But don’t hesitate to water more frequently if the trees’ leaves wilt in that first month. If your drainage is good, then it’s almost impossible to water too often in that first month, especially when planting during a warm time of year. The real danger right now is for the freshly transplanted trees to get thirsty.
what about water requirements for a tree that has just dropped all it’s leaves due to transplant shock 🙁 Good thing is it’s putting on a flush of new growth at the branch tips which hasn’t dropped off so I hope the tree makes it and isn’t dying a long slow death like my last one. I did everything right in the transplant to the raised bed except I accidentally sliced into the roots when I removed the container…
Hi Zen,
Avocados are so hard to transplant without damaging some roots; the roots are so brittle. I always end up breaking some.
It’s true that the tree will use less water when it has fewer leaves so your best method of watering it properly will be poking your fingers into the soil, finding some roots, and gauging the moisture there. That removes the mystery of guessing if your tree needs water. Only water if it’s not still wet but before it feels dry there.
I know that’s vague language: wet and dry. Please see this post for details: http://gregalder.com/yardposts/get-your-hands-dirty-discover-the-truth-about-your-irrigation-practices/
I can’t remember how long ago you planted this tree, but wasn’t it within the last six months? If so, then the roots are still mostly in the original potting soil area and you’re not in much danger of watering too often.
Hi Greg, good to hear from you again. Yeah I transplanted it mid-March and it’s lost all but 3 leaves and all it’s flowers but I have new growth and about 6 different branching tips. As long as those don’t drop off I may be in the clear. My last lamb hass restarted 3 times before it finally died. The leaves would grow but then show damage at the tips and drop off. So far the new growth is healthy looking. Not too concerned with overwatering, it’s in a raised bed over good drainage so I’m keeping the raised bed area moist but not soaked. Feeding every 2 weeks with compost/worm tea. If it has healthy leaves large enough to help protect during summer I’ll be thankful. How are your mangos doing, set fruit yet?
Hi Zen,
Oh no, my mangos are far from fruiting. I’m growing only seedlings now, and they’re only months old. So this is more of a ten-year kind of project.
I’ve been trying to grow Ataulfo mangos from seed every time I buy them at costco. Probably germinated about 20 so far and all haven’t lived past the initial first leaves forming. Got about 8 going right now and hoping I’ll get one to survive to where I can try and grow it. I think soil gnats are getting them plus some get mold if you don’t remove the inner membrane. BTW are you being overrun by snails like I am atm?
Hi Zen,
I wonder if you (we) are keeping the little mango seedlings too wet. I’ve also had a couple lose their first leaves; now they’re beginning to flush additional leaves though. One that hasn’t lost any leaves has been left to be on the dry side. Maybe once they get that tap root down low, we need to back off on the water?
Yes, lots of snails and slugs this year in comparison to other years. It’s been a wet winter followed by a mild and relatively wet spring. Feels like we live on the Central Coast almost. I’m running my chickens throughout the yard to control them.
I don’t think I’ve gotten a seedling close to the stage where it can flush out new growth. I’ve been only able to get them to open its first set of tiny leaves before they die in the pot. You might be right about the water, in fact they brown up and wilt just like the leaves on my avocado. Maybe I am overwatering that as well. I remember reading in a socal forums about a hardy mango variety that grows well in socal and is more cold hardy. Maybe I should try my hand at growing one of those and then topworking exotic varieties onto it instead. I heard Florida rootstocks fare poorly and my fruit punch is really sickly and not doing well.
Hi Greg,
Just planted a 5 gallon Reed on Tuesday April 30. It’s now 2 days later Thursday May 2. I’m in Riverside, has been cloudy/ sunny, mixed weather. Water meter is reading in the blue wet side. Should I still give it the two gallons of water every 2 days as you recommend or wait til soil has dried up a little? I’m always confused about this. Thanks, your awesome!
Hi J,
I understand how this might be confusing. The watering schedule I made for newly planted trees is meant to work for someone who can’t check the actual moisture in the soil/potting mix and doesn’t want to pay attention to the weather (or doesn’t understand well how the weather affects a plant’s use of water). In other words, you can follow the schedule safely and blindly and your tree will be happy.
All the same, following the schedule will mean you’re using water inefficiently compared to checking the moisture and paying attention to the weather and observing the tree’s leaves for wilt, etc.
So in your case, watering today might waste a little water because it’s premature. It has been pretty cool the last couple days. But as long as your soil has good drainage it won’t be harmful. In general, if your soil has good drainage (drains out of a hole within a couple hours), then it’s almost impossible to harm a newly planted avocado tree by watering it too often in the first month or so.
I’ve learned to just water newly planted avocados. My soil drains fast (disappears from a hole in less than thirty minutes). And I’ve harmed more young avocados by being stingy with my frequency than vice versa. So these days I just water them often and try not to analyze it too much and I have happier newly planted trees.
After a month or two, then you really should take the time to feel the soil and get an idea of what it feels like when it’s wet enough or too dry. But for newly planted trees, just never let the potting mix (where their roots are now) dry out, not a bit.
Hi Greg,
I planted two 2 ft avocados in large pots (20.5″ diameter 24″ tall) in February of this year. They are Haas and Reed. They both have brown tips now. I’m watering every week (although it’s been overcast and cold here in Manhattan Beach, CA). I’m thinking I’m watering too much? A friend says I’ll never get fruit off of them because they are in containers, but the grower I bought them from says I will. Do you have any thoughts? My yard is too small to plant them in ground, but the whole point was to get fruit!
Hi Julie,
Are the pots plastic or clay? Do they have holes in the bottom?
You can definitely get fruit on an avocado tree growing in a container. I’ve seen it numerous times and done it myself even. The question is only about how long you can grow an avocado in a container and how much fruit you can get from it. The answers to those questions, I don’t know.
I’m starting to grow a couple avocados in container again this year just to experiment. So maybe in another five years I’ll have more answers!
Hi julie,
We’re renting and didn’t want to plant our 3ft Hass avocado in the ground. So it’s in a container. We bought one of those garbage containers with wheels from Home Depot and my fiance drilled holes in the bottom. One season later It grew fruit! So it’s possible! It’s been 2 years since we bought it from OSH.
Greg, wanted to know, how long can you keep an avocado tree in a container?
We put brewed coffee grounds and extra dirt in it every season and fertilizer. I’m afraid the roots will eat up all the soil’s nutrients.
Thoughts?
Hi Laura,
I don’t know how long you can keep an avocado tree growing in a container, but I do know of trees that are still doing well after five years or so. I’ve never seen avocado trees in containers doing well for longer than that although I have to guess that someone somewhere has accomplished it.
I think you’re right that you do need to occasionally fertilize your tree since it has a very limited volume of soil. How much and how often? I don’t know, but I’d try doing it often with only a little each time.
Hi Greg,
I’ve read your post about using micro sprinklers for avocados. Do you also recommend these for avocado trees in containers?
Hi Brandon,
Micro-sprinklers in the sprayer mode could work well for an avocado in a container, I would guess. But I’ve always hand watered my avocado trees in containers.
Hi Greg,
I planted an avocado tree 2 years ago and it died back to the roots, but now is growing again from the roots. Will it produce avocados or is it a lost cause? I have a small yard, but I don’t want to give up on it if it will ever fruit. It was a Haas, I think.
Hi Carol,
It will probably fruit eventually, but if the growth is only from down by the ground then it is likely rootstock and won’t produce Hass fruit.
Planting a new tree will ensure that you get the fruit you want.
Hello Greg,
We have bought a 30 gallon Haas avocado tree and desperately need help with watering our tree. We planted it in a location that is full sun, however we do get the Santa Ana winds. The leaves look wilted and some are brown on the edges and tips, but the soil is moist about 6 inches down. We want to master this but can’t figure it out. We’ve looked over your schedule on watering but have already lost an avocado tree to over watering.
Hi Susan,
Watering a newly planted avocado tree is tricky. If you can get the tree through the first couple months, then it becomes more resilient and easier to maintain. Sorry about this, but it’s just the way it is. Don’t give up.
My guess would be that you’re underwatering the tree, based on the symptoms you list.
Have you checked the drainage of your soil? If it drains fast enough (within a handful of hours), then it’s nearly impossible to overwater a newly planted avocado tree. I’ve often watered mine twice a day, every day in the summer and they’re fine with it if the drainage is fast.
I planted a mexican avocado at my house in south that was about 4 ft high and full of green leaves. I have been watering everyday and first some leaves started to yellow and now somewhat brown. I have been doing the overwatering I read about but it doesnt’ seem to be working. I believe it may be two issues. The first is I have a water softner system at my house that is cleaned by salt bags. Could the salt in the water be damaging my tree? I am going to try getting purified water from town maybe about 4 gal a day. The second thing is we have intense heat here almost 100 degrees everyday, could it be burning my tree?
Hi Jaime,
It’s likely that the water you’re using from your water softener is doing harm. Avocados generally don’t like high levels of chloride, and most water softeners I’m aware of use sodium chloride or potassium chloride.
ok thanks for reply. Is there something I can put to help tree like plant food. I hope that doesn’t sound dumb but I am not much of a gardner and I don’t want to lose this tree.
I wouldn’t add any fertilizer now, as it may compound your problems. Just focus on getting the watering right.