Ok so 2 years ago i thought it would be fun to grow an avocado tree from a pit
so i did
i kept it inside till got to big
that winter i made a green house to keep it in
but the wind blew it away so i didn't have it for this winter
so i put in it front of a heating vent and covered it when it got cold
but it looks really sad
what should i do
water it more ?
water it less ?
add fertilizer?
trim off the dead parts ?
ect
where in Az are you? I am in Yuma and I have an avocado tree in the back yard with no protection at all and it is still green and doing fine. I am not sure having it by the heating vents is good for the tree, the hot air hitting it all of the sudent may be doing it. It may also be drying the soil too much.
littleluey, what kind of avacado do you have in your yard.
I planted a little Cado.....(basically a Haas on dwarf rootstook) in the fall here in Lake Havasu. Everyone tells me it will die due to the alkali and salts in our soil and water.
I have a mexicola avocado, just got it this summer and planted it right away. I don't really do anything special with it. I read that the way to eliminate salt in the soil you should fill the basin around the tree and the salts will push out away from the roots. I know there are poeple growing avocados in the desert, there are a lot of fruit stands around town selling them along with other veggies. So don't listen to what people tell you. Lake Havasu is probably also zone 9 and the avocados are supposed to be able to grow here.
I would not just lower the ph, check what it is first and research your tree, if it needs to be lowered then do so.
The #1 thing that kills avo's is too much water resulting in root rot. They are very susceptible to it. filling the basin and letting it drench through is fine but don't let the water sit too long and don't water again for a while so the soil doesn't stay wet. After that, the 3 big problems with avo's in the desert are salt, wind and too much sun. It sounds like you are already aware of the salt issue and working with that. Be sure to protect it from the big winds we get, especially in spring. You may also want to consider a shade cloth suspended over it for the next summer while it's still trying to get established. Put it up the first time the temps get over mid 80's and leave it up through September, till temps cool down again. It should still get some early morning and late afternoon sun. Good luck Arthur
