Does my avocado need fertilizer?

Good day all, I was examining my avocado recently and noticed the leaves seem to be looking a little light/pale green. We haven’t been having excessive rain or anything, does it look like it would benefit from some fertilizer?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

New growth on Avocado tends to be lighter than older leaves. If you haven’t been feeding it, then get a hold of some citrus/avocado food or at least iron chelate.

Agreed, do the rest of the leaves look lighter than they should though? I have some 6-4-6 and 6-4-8 granular fertilizer on hand that has some micros, I’m not sure if they are slow release or not though

@BahamaDan, that is a good fertilizer you have there. If you gave it a few feedings last year then I’d say that plant has all the nutrients it needs for now. You do have grass and a few other invasives growing around the tree so I’d check that it’s getting enough water. But overall it looks healthy to me at this point.

@Richard glad to hear it’s a good one, unfortunately due to all sorts of wonderful excuses the tree didn’t get fertilized much last year, if at all. Are the grasses a sign that it isn’t getting enough water or are you saying because of them it might not be getting enough? And how would I be able to tell? Also good to hear it looks healthy, our rainy season is starting and I think the couple showers so far has helped it out a bit.

@BahamaDan, my concern about the grass and others is their competition with the Avocado. Keep in mind that in comparison to pit fruit trees, Citrus require 1.5 as much water and Avocado requires double water.

To determine if your young tree is getting enough water, take a core sample a foot or more away from the trunk (to avoid cutting important roots), or sink a spade shovel down a foot, flex it a bit, and take a look near the bottom of the crevice. The soil should be moist.

Here’s what I mean by “moist” – the five stages of moisture in soil – count’em on your fingers!

  1. saturated
  2. wet
    3 moist
  3. less than moist
  4. dry