After about fourteen years of waiting, one of my seedling-grown avocado
trees started flowering in earnest, but only on one high branch. Close inspection revealed that leader had been completely girdled a couple
feet lower. Photos are at
http://www.zefox.net/~bp/avocado/

This looks quite different from the rat damage seen on the lemon tree last spring and maybe older. Once again, the astonishment lay in the completeness
of the girdling and the apparent flourishing of the isolated top growth.
Most of the tree is unharmed, unlike the lemon, which is making a good
recovery nonetheless.

Only the girdled branch bloomed with enthusiasm, though there are a few
flowers further down the tree that might (if I'm very lucky) offer a hint
of the fruit quality. If it's poor I'll topwork the tree with good scion
wood, so it's no huge loss either way.

Thanks for reading, and any thoughts.

bob prohaska

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 14 May 2025 00:37:10 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

Only the girdled branch bloomed with enthusiasm, though there are a few >flowers further down the tree that might (if I'm very lucky) offer a hint
of the fruit quality. If it's poor I'll topwork the tree with good scion >wood, so it's no huge loss either way.

Article here on girdling avocados you might want to read:

https://gregalder.com/yardposts/girdling-avocado-trees-for-consistent-fruiting/

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, 14 May 2025 00:37:10 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

Only the girdled branch bloomed with enthusiasm, though there are a few >>flowers further down the tree that might (if I'm very lucky) offer a hint >>of the fruit quality. If it's poor I'll topwork the tree with good scion >>wood, so it's no huge loss either way.

Article here on girdling avocados you might want to read:

https://gregalder.com/yardposts/girdling-avocado-trees-for-consistent-fruiting/

In my case the girdling extended for about eight inches, so it couldn't heal.

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem
like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving
the roots. I don't see how that can pay in the long run, especially in
a less-than-ideal growing environment like mine.

The practical effect is to suggest that top-working the tree is the next
step. If that fails, time to yank it. It'd be nice to find out if the
fruit that has set is any good. But, if it is, the solution would be
to graft _that_ wood onto a different rootstock.

In the meantime I've purchased three commerical varieties; Sir Prize,
GEM and Sharwil. They've been in the ground about three weeks so far.
The Sharwil promises to grow like a weed, the other two are diffident
but pushing buds at least. Winter will tell the real story....

Thanks very much for writing!

bob prohaska

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, 14 May 2025 14:32:20 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem
like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving
the roots.

In case you didn't read all the way to the comments... I found them interesting, voicing some of your concerns too.

Seems girdling would only be done on some branches, not the whole tree.
It would insure the grower that part of their tree would likely have
fruit this harvest season.

I'd noticed small trees on my property flowering after rabbits had
badly girdled them earlier during winter. They always die but I'd never
paid attention to whether they set fruit or not. Plan on paying better attention to this, for curiosities sake.

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, 14 May 2025 14:32:20 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem >>like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving
the roots.

In case you didn't read all the way to the comments... I found them interesting, voicing some of your concerns too.

Seems girdling would only be done on some branches, not the whole tree.
It would insure the grower that part of their tree would likely have
fruit this harvest season.

After thinking it over, maybe shortening the life of the tree, at
least in a commercial context, makes sense. I've noticed that the
nut tree orchards near me are getting pulled out and replaced with
presumably more profitable crops. Sometimes with newer varieties
of the same tree. It seems odd, but industrial agriculture is the
model of rational action.

I'd noticed small trees on my property flowering after rabbits had
badly girdled them earlier during winter. They always die but I'd never
paid attention to whether they set fruit or not. Plan on paying better attention to this, for curiosities sake.

Did the trees you observed live long enough to ripen any fruit they
might set? I summarily removed the girdled avocado limb, thinking
any fruit set would never mature.

In the case of the lemon tree last spring, fruit on the girdled
branches didn't drop, but it was large, bland and not representative
of the other fruit on the tree.

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Bob F <bobnospam@gmail.com> wrote:

On 5/14/2025 6:57 PM, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:

On Wed, 14 May 2025 14:32:20 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

It does explain the anomalous flowering, however. Still, it doesn't seem >>>> like a good practice for general cultivation. It's effectively starving >>>> the roots.

In case you didn't read all the way to the comments... I found them
interesting, voicing some of your concerns too.

Seems girdling would only be done on some branches, not the whole tree.
It would insure the grower that part of their tree would likely have
fruit this harvest season.

After thinking it over, maybe shortening the life of the tree, at
least in a commercial context, makes sense. I've noticed that the
nut tree orchards near me are getting pulled out and replaced with
presumably more profitable crops. Sometimes with newer varieties
of the same tree. It seems odd, but industrial agriculture is the
model of rational action.

Some nut crops are very high in water demand, which may be why they are changing.

AFAIK the goal isn't to reduce water usage, it's to maximize profit.
The most common species swap I see is almonds replacing walnuts. Both
use about the same amount of water per pound of yield, but the price
for almonds has historically been higher than for walnuts.

As a gardener I'm tempted to keep established trees for as long as they
yield a normal crop. An industrial gardener has motivations that change
much faster than the life of a tree.

bob prohaska

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Thu, 15 May 2025 01:57:08 -0000 (UTC)
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:

<snip>

Did the trees you observed live long enough to ripen any fruit they
might set? I summarily removed the girdled avocado limb, thinking
any fruit set would never mature.

These are Autumn Olive trees, once promoted as "good for wildlife". Now
they're considered an invasive species🙄️ Parents planted some along
with some neighbors long ago. Rabbits always do a number on them once
snow begins stacking up to some depth. I've noticed the blooming and
leaves on girdled trunks and branches but never thought to check again
in the fall when they'd be fruiting. Had thought it was just a last
"hurrah" before succumbing to the girdling. Plan on looking closer this
fall for curiosities sake...

In the case of the lemon tree last spring, fruit on the girdled
branches didn't drop, but it was large, bland and not representative
of the other fruit on the tree.

That (bland taste) doesn't surprise me. Seems to be a common result when maturing fruit has been forced or speedy growth is involved.

Fast growth, longer shelf life and handling durability seem to be the
desired traits nowadays for crop producers😑️

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)