As an avid lover or farmer of avocado fruit, at the back of your mind, you may be wondering, how long does an avocado tree live? I am here to ease your anxiety!
An avocado tree can live for about 200 to 400 years. That lifespan is dependent on the health status of the tree.
Keeping your avocado tree in good condition will increase its lifespan and maximize fruit production.
For your avocado tree to achieve ultimate longevity, there are crucial considerations to keep in mind that will always affect the successful growth of your tree and fruit-bearing, as highlighted below.
Top 5 Existential Threats to the Lifespan of your Avocado Tree
1. Pests
Pests are a menace to any plants and especially to your avocado tree. The pests include caterpillars, Tingidae, thrips, mites, beetles, et cetera.
Those pests normally will infest the bark, leaves, branches, and fruits of your avocado tree, causing damage, low fruit production, and retardation of growth, eventually minimizing the lifespan of your avocado tree.
It is prudent to be conversant with pests that attack your avocado tree so that you can know the appropriate pesticides and insecticides to apply to your tree to cure the menace and maintain the health status of your avocado tree.
2. Diseases
Diseases are also a big risk to your avocado tree’s lifespan and good fruit production. The most notorious illnesses affecting the avocado tree include black streak, verticillium wilt, dothiorella, et cetera.
It is prudent to treat your avocado tree as early as when you detect the issue because those diseases lead to smaller branch formation, drying of leaves, and less fruit production.
Avocado tree diseases attack specific places of your tree, so you should be keen and monitor any slight defect of your plant and apply the appropriate fungicide treatment to counter the disease and ensure your plant remains healthy.
3. Inadequate Sunlight
Sunlight is one of the basic needs of your avocado tree. Sunlight will ensure that your tree gets proper nourishment crucial for growth and fruit production.
It is detrimental to your avocado tree if it lacks enough sunlight. You should ensure that where you plant your avocado tree is an open area free from taller trees or buildings that may block exposure of your tree to enough sunlight.
4. Unfavorable Weather
Weather conditions are a huge factor determining the lifespan of your avocado tree.
For instance, strong winds and heavy rains may cause havoc to your avocado tree by causing flooding, breaking its branches, and dropping a huge chunk of its leaves.
Extreme high temperatures are also a risk factor since they will lead to the browning and dropping of leaves on a large scale, thereby hindering the maximum production of fruits.
It is prudent to do your best to counter such scenarios as much as possible, for instance, ensuring a proper drainage system around the roots of your tree to minimize flooding risk. Also, covering your tree during extremely harsh temperatures will greatly help.
5. Improper Nutrition
To attain maximum longevity for your avocado tree, it requires proper nutrients in the soil to necessitate growth and fruit production.
There are moments when the soil will lack the needed nutrients for the proper growth of your avocado tree, which is why applying fertilizer will remedy that issue.
It is prudent to use organic fertilizers because they are natural and eco-friendly.
You can also opt to use inorganic and synthetic fertilizers to ensure you boost the nutrient value of your avocado tree soil.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Long Do Avocado Trees Take to Grow?
It takes about 15 years for an avocado tree to fully mature size. But that is dependent on the type of avocado tree you want.
An avocado tree begins bearing fruit after around attaining seven years. It grows 30 inches annually from the time it is planted.
2. What is the Maximum Height an Avocado Tree Can Reach?
Most avocado trees grown outdoors range from 40 ft to 80 ft tall.
However, there are other varieties of avocados called dwarf avocado trees. Those are significantly shorter and range from 8ft to 10ft tall.
Dwarf avocados are good container plants because their short stature makes them conducive to avocado houseplants.
3. What Time of the Year Do Avocado Fruits Bear Fruit?
An avocado tree normally bears maximum fruit between late winter and early summer. But that is dependent on climate and avocado tree type.
Avocado trees grow throughout the year, but the appropriate time to plant them is between the month of march and June.
Conclusion
Now that I have highlighted the lifespan of avocado trees and the threats to them achieving that, you need not worry about your avocado tree.
That is because you now know what is a threat to your avocado tree so that you can combat such occurrences promptly and swiftly to ensure a healthy tree and maximum fruit production.
You should go through the above content once again so that you get to know more about your avocado tree and take proper care of it.
