Welcome to avocado growing in San Diego area. Please don't get mad and rip out the poor thing - like I did. They do that a lot, cuz they are "unhappy" about something. I'm taking a different approach this year - don't water too much - fertilize too much, try to give the young tree some protection from sun, wind, etc., and hope for the best. I did note, however, that mine improved a bit with the addition of some chicken fertilizer last summer. But - with all of our rain recently and cooler weather - it isn't happy again. Sorry - but in another month or two - it should start liking things again, if it stops raining, or if we don't have too many Santa Anas, or you don't over-fertilize. Good luck - they are delicious - especially when they live to become hardy enough to withstand all that we have to offer. bejay

im a noob, but i doubt its the mineral oil. many people have recommended mineral and vegetable oil and claim it is safe with no problems. my avos were going south before i added anything. i tried vegetable oil for any possible pests, but it didnt help, but didnt hurt it any worse either. i guess perhaps if there was a tremendous amount of oil residue, it could be magnifying sun rays. but that sounds far fetched to me personally, but who knows.

That's what they do at this time of year. My Hass avocados are at their least attractive in April, when the rest of the garden is gorgeous. Their leaves turn brown and drop off (all over the flower beds), leaving almost bare branches. Then the flowers come out, and the trees start to get fresh new green growth by May. I think of them as semi-deciduous. As far as growth, avocados need a huge amount of water and they should be heavily mulched at all times with no disturbance to the roots. If branches are exposed to the sun this spring and begin to get sunburned it may kill the tree. I painted the trunks and new branches with white latex paint when they were babies because I had almost killed them by watering so little, and there was not enough leaf canopy to protect them. Their feeder roots are at the soil surface and only go down a foot to two feet, where the soil dries out rapidly, so avo farmers leave all of the leaf litter under the tree. I ran a soaker-drip line around the drip line of each tree and gave them two full hours of water twice a week. I have cut back since, because the trees are now big and shade their own roots. Good luck with your Mexicola. That is one of the varieties that I killed when I first planted avos and did not water enough. Renee

about the sunlight im really being careful about the so i don't think thats the problem but drainage that might be it, i also wanted to ask how do you know the cup is too small for the avocado plant? because i look at the roots of the plant and they have not reached the bottom, and if i do get a bigger pot, should it be just in height or length as well?