Avocados are not "same hole" trees like stone fruits. Think of them as the "SUV's of the garden", lol! Even more "compact" avocados are only relatively compact (as opposed to ginormous non-compact avocado varieties). They need their own space. A slope is ideal, as they don't like to sit in standing water, but DO need lots of water, even more than citrus. Backfilling a hole just creates a "bathtub" effect in clay soil. The current line of thinking with trees is NOT to amend the hole, but to top dress with compost and other soil amendments. With clay you would want to plant on a mound to help facilitate drainage. You're going to want to monitor your soil moisture about 18" down to make sure you're not creating a water logged environment. I would try to move the the Reed, but warning - avocados do not at all like their roots disturbed, so this very well may spell the demise of the Reed, as may also upset the Gem. Always leave their fallen leaves underneath as this is something the feeder roots like and actually require. Drip emitters are fine, just make sure they do give a good soaking, and the well should be dug out to at least the drip line (edge of the canopy) where the feeder roots reside, just make sure that you're not creating too wet an environment for them. Drip emitters come in varying gph outputs, so you can get a very large volume of water to a tree with drip emitters. I have two per avocado, and have actually had to dial them down a bit. And your trees are still pretty young to bear fruit, not to worry. It can take up to 5 years for an avocado to become established enough to bear fruit. I have a Lamb Haas that is full of fruit in it's second year with me, which was shocking. All my other avos are still barren. Who suggested to you to plant these two trees in the same hole, anyway?

Patty S.

Patty,

I know you have some beautiful avocados, and I am horribly jealous, but there are some people who advocate two-in-one hole planting. I don't know who's right, but check out:

http://www.plantsthatproduce.com/guides/PlantingAvocadoOrTwo.htm

I don't know if there's better scholarship out there on it... Seems like you'd just need to keep the pruning tight.

Also, I have no idea what's wrong with your avocados, Jeff. I've gotten some good answers from the people at UCR, who have a huge Avocado collection: http://www.ucavo.ucr.edu/

Reed is more cold-tender and has a later fruiting season than the Gem. It takes about 3 -4 years for an avocado to produce fruit after planting. The link below has more information.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing avocados

I have never heard of planting two avocados together before.
I suspect that the root system of the more vigorous avocado might impact the less vigorous one. Perhaps you should amp up the water a bit and fertilize, since the two trees are in the same hole.

You did a nice job protecting them from sunburn with the paint. They should leaf out more now.

Some avocados drop a lot of leaves in May and then get fresh foliage. My Hass are making a mess of my yard right now, and they look a bit bare. Reed may be the same way. I don't think there's much wrong with your Reed aside from sunburn; you may need to protect it with shade cloth this summer. Keep an eye on the soil moisture and keep that good mulch over the roots. Good luck!

Renee

I agree with Patty S.

To me the Gem is fighting the Reed for root-room and winning hands down. The Reed perhaps had accidental root damage when planted and is rapidly losing the war.

If they were mine I would yank the Reed, minimizing damage to the Gem, and plant a new Reed at least a few feet away.

Planting on a slope is a good idea, they need the drainage. A thick mulch to keep the roots cool until they can drop enough litter to keep themselves cool.

Baby plants of any kind will often not set seed or fruit. They are babies and don't quite have the energy yet. It's completely normal.

Just because an "expert" says its okay to plant them in the same hole, doesn't mean every planting will be successful. Perhaps you got an extra vigorous Gem and a poorly Reed; they competed and the Reed is losing. This whole multiple-trees-in-the-same-hole-thing, sure, it often works, but not always. Plants compete with each other, sometimes one is winner-takes-all.