thanks for al your advice. i had been keeping it on the dry side, but was afraid i'd let it get too dry b/c the leaf drop was still happening. i may have overwatered in compensation. i will never buy the mg stuff again- i think it has killed several of my vines. i resisted forever, but i was desperate- it's getting harder and harder to find soil without fertilizer added. irony is i typically underfertilize- mostly out of laziness, frankly. i water the house stuff with my fishtank water and that's what they get yr round, with an occasional bit more(like 2x a yr). the outdoor stuff gets espoma planttone or gardentone- an organic fertilizer that's low and gentle in all the nutrients. i will take it out and ck the roots. it is indeed beginning to look scraggly- though the leaves that are left are nice and green- not burnt looking. i do have a decent amount of humidity in my house, so that's probably not the problem. 1, we have gas heat, which isn't as drying as electric. 2, i have a ton of houseplants, most of which sit on humidity trays. and 3, i have 3 fishtanks. this yr has been very warm, and the heat's been running very little- my feet & hands aren't drying out at all. i have athsma, so i can't deal with it getting too dry or too humid either one. do you think coffee hulls would be ok to add some drainage, or too acidic? i could always add some lime. that's what i have on hand that would add some drainage fast. well, and some orchid mix. i realize with you being in florida, you probably have yours out in the sun, but when you do bring them in, if you do, do you keep them warm or coolish? thanks for all your advice. tammy

TT, I can't answer either of your questions but I will make a suggestion. If either/both or your plants do become established you may want to try grafting on some proper fruit-bearing scions to your root stock. There are plenty of people on these forums that would be willing to send you cuttings for postage or trade or if you know of anyone w/a nice tree you can ask for a few cuttings.

From what I've read and seen with my plants putting them in containers does hinder their growth(2), but only marginally as their roots can only expand so far. the timetable on which it sets fruit shouldnt change(3). It'll grow as much as the container will let it, eventually you'll have to up the container size if you dont want to plant it(4). I put a ring of fruit tree fertilizer around the edge of the soil to help the tree deal with being watered, I think watering in containers washes out nutrients faster than watering in the ground(5). In Miami, you should be blessed with the good weather to get another set of fruit, but nothing is set in stone(6). I don't see why you couldnt do the same with avocados, shop around for some soil for fruit trees, and the little white balls were probly styrofoam, some soils use those but i'm not sure why(7). :-)

Hi Mangodog, IF you can find the Maha Chinook anywhere else, please let me know. As far as being able to tell you that I have ate specific varieties of mango, I cannot do that but I can tell you that out of what I have had here in my local groery stores(usually pretty crappy!), Florida(pretty darn good!) and Puerto Rico(very good fruits!) the Maha fruit was probobly in the top 2 of my mango tastings. I wish I had neighbors that loved mango! I did a double take about 5 years ago when I saw mango trees at a nursery about 45 minutes away. That was one time but I am working on it. They should be bringing my Carrie mango up from this tropical fruit expo in Florida. I can't wait! Andrew