I have said this before, but it works for me so I will mention it again. I don't put lights on my top shelf, but I use the top shelf for germination because the heat from the second shelf rises and heats the soil. To better conserve this heat that is being generated anyway, I use mylar camping blankets that I buy for about $3 in the camping department at WM and throw them over the top and almost enclose 'the germination chamber'. On occasion, I have let one hang down the back of the light shelf where the plants are growing. It is bright and shiney and reflects a lot of light toward the plants. Since I am already paying for the electricity, I might as well use all of the heat and light that is there. I have never owned a heat mat.

Another picture

Hi Sharon: Glad to hear from you. What's the name of that beautiful blushing white rose that you posted? I love that picture !! Munstead Wood is Seaweed's best bloomer in alkaline CA, versus stingiest Lady Emma. Seaweed has alkaline soil and water. If your Munstead Wood is grafted on Dr. Huey, it can takes alkalinity well. One approach is mixing 2 tablespoon of gritty lime with 2 teaspoons of granular sulfate of potash (NPK 0-0-50), or chopped up banana peels (0-3-42). Calcium is best balanced with equal amount of potassium. Potassium is needed for disease-prevention. When I first moved here to rock-hard-alkaline clay, pH 7.7, my neighbor planted a dozen roses grafted on Dr. Huey, and watered with our pH 8.3 hard-water. His was blooming non-stop, 100% clean, vigorous, he was cutting blooms every day. I was puzzled: I had just moved from acidic clay, with wimpy BS-fest, stingy roses Went out to check my roses after all-night & all morning rain (12 hours): The roses with 1/4 cup gritty lime & 2 teas. sulfate of potash are clean: W.S. 2000, Golden Celebration, and Romantica Sweet Promise. The 5-bands in pots with compost & few red lava rocks & Milorganite are 100% clean. The rose in the ground & poor drainage heavy clay with the most Milorganite, Wise Portia, has B.S., most likely from the salt in Milorganite (sewage sludge), NPK 5-2-0. Milorganite with 4% iron is great for bands in fast-draining pots, but NOT best for roses that don't need much iron, or for poor-drainage clay that retains salt. One lady killed over a dozen rose bushes by using Mills' Magic Mix every month on her roses in hot summer. Mills Magic Mix has Milorganite for its nitrogen and phosphorus. Since my heavy clay retains salt too well, I'm going back to alfalfa (NPK 2-1-2) with less phosphorus & more potassium, zero salt. I'll buy alfalfa hay or pellets, rather than alfalfa meal, because it's slower-release & cheaper. I'll put gritty lime (pH 9) or COMPOSTED horse manure (pH 8) on top of alfalfa, so no pest nor fungi can germinate on acidic alfalfa, pH 5.7. Sewage sludge is high in salt, OK for lawn or fasting-draining pots, but not best for roses in heavy clay. In my experiments, roses break out in fungal diseases when they are stressed out, such as: 1) salt as in manure & Milorganite 2) standing wetness from poor-drainage 3) too much acid, like my lowering tap water with lemon juice 4) harsh chemicals, like MiracleGro soluble with high NPK 5) too much phosphorus, as in the bagged cow manure. Hi Jim: I agree that Rose Midge can come from elsewhere, such as Peter Schneider's comment in his book that horse manure gave his garden rose midge. Peter grows over 1,000 roses in Ohio, sandy soil. Most likely last year's FRESH horse manure (with tons of mushrooms and decayed straws) gave my roses rust. This year zero rust, despite early summer's 1-month rain. NO horse manure this year. At first I thought too much gypsum on top induced rust, but I tested that recently, putting a wad of gypsum on my smallest rose, Angel Face. Its leaves became wilted just like Crimson Glory did with gypsum-topping. The wilting is from the 17% sulfur in gypsum, that stuff burns my finger, plus corroded the metal scoop. Earthworm hates gypsum and sulfur. I prefer Encap Dry Compost to break up my hard clay, rather than gypsum. The holes with too much gypsum, like my 2nd tomato-bed: not much fruits on those tomatoes .. excess calcium drive down potassium. Potassium is necessary for blooming, disease-prevention, and drought-tolerance. Those tomatoes are the most wilted in this hot August. Thank you, Jim and Sharon, for posting in this thread. Finally found the best site with pics. to identify plants' deficiencies ... great reference, see below link: Here is a link that might be useful: Best site to identify nutrient deficiencies in plants This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Tue, Aug 5, 14 at 16:51

Hi, thanks for your advice!! I have actually put it in a bigger container when I was taking a look at the roots, the pictures I posted were from before that. The old container was a bit narrower and higher, now it is in a bigger one that is not as high. The roots didn't seem crowded though, there was still plenty of space left. Here is a picture of the roots, and a picture of the plant in its new container: (too much light so the leaves look super bright green. It has two 'good' leaves left now, the two at the top. The rest has brown spots/edges) I am trying to keep the soil moist now, without overwatering it. The brown spots are getting bigger though. But I also see some tiny buds of new growth so I hope at some point there will be new leaves and my plant will survive. And I hope I didn't give it too much shock by disturbing the roots.. I was only halfway through all the awesome avocado plant info on this website and didn't know yet that the roots are so sensitive. Do you think it is a good idea to use fertilizer at this point? Or should I wait a bit longer? Here is a picture of one of the leaves, I have been looking into deficiencies but none seem to match exactly.