Got some avocado trees, was going to grow them in pots over winter and plant them out after danger of frost passes. I’ve never had this happen to any other trees, but all three avocados got damaged at the trunk by what must have been squirrels eating the bark. Pics are of the one that is in the worst shape. It’s got just a tiny strip of intact cambium along one site, and a wider strip directly opposite. I’d estimate that it got girdled about 70-80% of the total circumference. The other two young trees just have some sections chewed out. Damage is above the graft union
It’s been growing OK for a few weeks now so clearly not lethal damage. But I imagine it’ll always be somewhat stunted. Anyone have experience planting avocados deep, so they can grow more roots from the scion? I looked around a bit online and in general it doesn’t seem like avocados root easily.
Try that, or just hope for the best with the trunk damage?
That looks pretty bad, but I bet it will fully heal eventually. I’ve had squirrels do something similar for new seedlings, usually in a misguided attempt to remove the stem and take the still-attached “seed” (cotyledon), which they usually abandon after tasting it.
Rabbits are another possibility? One of the members of the avocado project sent me photos of some similar damage on the trees she got from me, she had no idea what animal had done the damage.
In any case, I’d first just wrap the damaged area with buddy tape or parafilm, and keep an eye on the callus and whether it’s filling in over the winter. I’d sooner in-graft a new rootstock above the damage or do a bridge graft than bury it deep. I’ve never seen roots form above the root crown on deeply buried avocados. I’ve tried it about 4-5 times. I’ve had OK luck rooting them, but the rooted ones usually root only from the very bottom of the cutting, rarely above that, even when buried deeply.
I have this kind of thing happen to about a dozen seedlings every spring when I put them out for the year, and some of them do die back and grow new shoots, but the ones that I wrap with buddy tape almost always recover by the end of the growing season, with callus spreading into the wound. Before I started wrapping them, they usually did dry out and the stem died back.
I’ll try in the next hour to get out and take some photos of what it looks like once the callus fully covers the wound. I’ve got a few that are ~18 months post-injury and “fully healed” at this time. I sometimes wrap them again ~12 months later if the callus still hasn’t filled in at that time.
Here’s one about 14 months from when it was chewed ~50% of the circumference. I removed the last scraps of buddy tape to take this photo, but basically the entire callus area here was an open wound late last summer.:
That being said, I do agree that re-grafting is a good idea, especially for the last one in the OP, which only seems to have a very narrow sliver not chewed.
I did not end up re-grafting. Input them in my greenhouse in pots over winter then planted them out after there was no danger of frost. All three trees healed well and are pushing out a lot of new growth. Here’s what they look like about 6 months later
