3 Causes of an Avocado Tree Dying with Brown Leaves

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Avocado trees are lovely plants adored by many for the fruit they produce, so growing one yourself may sound like a great idea. However, these trees can develop some problems that can affect their health and turn their leaves brown.

So, what could be affecting the health of your Avocado tree?

There are several things that can begin to affect the health of your Avocado tree and turn its leaves brown. These include improper watering practices, a problem in your Avocado tree’s soil like a salt build-up, your Avocado tree not living in high enough humidity, and more.

Avocado trees are lovely trees to grow in your garden, but when they start to develop problems, this can be devastating to their caretakers. Is there any way to help your Avocado tree survive through these issues and get back to full health?

Let’s find out!

Why Are Your Avocado Tree’s Leaves Turning Brown?

Once you have grown your Avocado tree from the seed and planted your gorgeous tree into your garden or a pot, and you have been caring for it lovingly, you tend to feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. However, you notice that your beloved Avocado tree is beginning to look worse for wear, and the leaves turn brown.

This can be extremely discouraging for the Avocado tree owner as you have put a large amount of effort into your tree every day, only to see your tree start declining in health.

Sadly, several things can impact your Avocado tree’s health, which makes it difficult to find out exactly what the issue is and how you can fix it if it is fixable.

Here are the main reasons why your Avocado tree’s leaves might be turning brown:

• Improper watering practices
• Subjecting your tree to low humidity levels
• There is an issue with the chemicals in the water you are giving the tree
• There is a problem with your Avocado trees soil

Many of the issues mentioned above can affect the health of your Avocado tree, and some of these problems can even lead to the death of your Avocado tree if you don’t fix the problem immediately after you have noticed it.

Let’s go through these problems more in-depth and see how you might fix them or even possibly avoid them in the future.

1 – Problems in the Soil of Your Avocado Tree

Avocado trees, especially those kept in pots, are highly susceptible to having a salt build-up in their soil. This is a common reason why the Avocado tree’s leaves start turning brown, falling off, and the entire tree’s health can be affected.

The main salt that is the most problematic for Avocado trees is sodium salts. This can begin to affect your tree’s root system, stopping it from absorbing enough water and nutrients from the soil.

If you think this is harming your Avocado tree, you need to flush out the soil with fresh, pure water. Let the water completely saturate the soil, as this will help wash away and dilute the rest of the salts in the soil.

Another problem that could happen in your Avocado tree’s soil is an iron deficiency. This will occur more if the soil is too alkaline. You can fix this issue by making sure the tree’s soil has good drainage and using a foliar spray.

2 – Low Humidity Levels

Avocado trees are native to tropical climates that have high humidity levels. Avocado trees are used to humidity levels between 70% and 80%, meaning this is the humidity level range they will grow the best in.

If the humidity level drops too low, this can cause some adverse side effects on your Avocado tree. One such effect is drying the tree out, making the tree dehydrated.

When this happens, your Avocado tree will keep the moisture left in vital areas, causing the leaves to dry out and turn brown. This can lead to bigger problems for your Avocado tree than only losing its leaves.

If you think this is the problem affecting your Avocado tree, you need to increase the humidity level around the tree. You can do this using a humidifier or a pebble tray, or if your tree is still quite small, you can mist it once a day.

3 – Underwatering Your Avocado Tree

As mentioned above, Avocado trees are from tropical locations. Therefore, these trees are used to receiving a lot of water. Many people underestimate the amount of water Avocado trees need to thrive and stay healthy.

If you don’t water your tree enough, this could dehydrate the tree and cause the leaves to turn brown and fall off. This could also cause discoloration in other parts of the tree too.

However, you still need to avoid overwatering your Avocado tree, or it could develop root rot. So, you need to water your Avocado tree until the soil is saturated. Water your Avocado tree this way every 5 to 7 days unless you are in a hotter climate where you will need to water your tree more.

Chemicals in the Water You Give the Avocado Tree

Avocado trees are sensitive to certain chemicals that are found in tap water. The main problem chemical in tap water is chloride. When the tap water containing chloride is absorbed into the tree, the chloride has nowhere to go and will build up in the tree’s leaves.

This chemical will continue to build up in the leaves until it reaches a toxic level. The leaf tissues will then start dying from the tip of the leaf downwards. This can damage the health of your entire Avocado tree and even cause the tree’s death.

You need to water your Avocado tree with purified water or rainwater to fix this problem and ensure this does not happen again. You could also leach your tree to help flush out the chloride. You will need to water your tree constantly for 24 hours with fresh, pure water to do this.

Alternatively, if you don’t have access to purified water or rainwater, then you can water your Avocado tree with tap water with some preparation. You will need to leave the tap water in an open container for four days to let the chloride evaporate from the water, making it safe to use.

Final Thoughts

Avocado trees are beautiful trees that are pretty popular nowadays due to the high demand for Avocados. These trees suffer several problems that can start turning their leaves brown.

If you are worried about your Avocado tree, you can go through the list of causes above to help you figure out what is wrong with your tree and how to possibly fix it. Good luck with your Avocado tree!

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