A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 avocado tree

i have 2 avocado trees growing and they are not growing right. They are one tall stem with leaves at the top one and several leaves on the top of the other. I have planted them in cactus soil and not watered them too much but the edges of the leaves on one are turning brown and curling up. The other doesn't have many leaves just a tall stem. what can i do for them. i have them inside for now but i put them out on the porch occasionally for fresh air. Could it be the air conditioner? They seemed to do better in the winter inside. any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hi Scifi and welcome to the forum.

Avocados love water but they don't like to sit in it (no wet feet). So give them plenty of water but make sure they are draining well. They also like fertilizer, I've found chicken manure to be the best so far. Most avos will tolerate the cold for a while but not for long so I would stick them outside as much as you can. My dad has a grove here in So. Cal. and we occaisonally will dip into the low 30s for a few nights. If it lasts too long they start to go into shock, so my dad turns the sprinklers on to warm them up (the water is in the 50s so it brings the temp up).

I hope that helps. Come back and chat sometime.

Thank you for the help i will do that.