I have to disagree with jean001 a little. New potting soil (looks like yours has some perlite as well) will not compact and/or dry out such that it pulls away from the edge of the pot, and water runs right through without wetting it. Given the size of your pot, and the amount you're watering, I'd say it's been too wet. Avocados like well-drained soil, on the slightly dry side. A new tree, with few roots to absorb and transpire water, doesn't require much. As it grows and water needs increase, it can use more, but easy does it. As jean001 suggested, growing in a pot is MUCH different than in the ground. Care must be taken to maintain the correct soil moisture. There are perhaps a few avocado varieties that will produce in a container, but it would have to be a very large container. Also, you'll get few, if any, fruits, without cross-pollination. If you maintain a drier pot, and keep an eye on moisture levels further down in the mix before watering, it's possible your tree will come back. The way it's looking at the moment, I'd give it about a 30-40% chance. Also, small avocados are prone to sunburn -- don't keep it in direct sun all day. Shade it slightly, and/or paint the trunk. -Bruce

I have been looking at propagation from stem cuttings, and it seems that it is superior to the seed method because you get a genetic clone and it grows into a fruiting tree in four years instead of 10. There appears to be a group of people who use pieces of aloe vera plant to stick the stems into before burying in soil. Apparently, it is a natural root hormone. I definitely am going to try it because I have aloe vera growing in my yard, and I don't want to search for root hormone and shell out money when I have a potentially equivalent product at home. I also already have two grafted avocado trees. They are small, and I had already cut back the Fuerte, but I still haven't pruned the Mexicola Grande. I might use that pruned leader as a test. The Mexicola Grande would probably make the best root stock for grafting, anyway.

i'M PRETTY SURE THE REDDISH NEW LEAVES ARE HIGH IN ANTHOCYANIN, WHICH IS AN EXCELLENT ANTIOXIDANT THE PLANT MAKES TO PROTECT NEW DELICATE LEAVES. ANTHOCYANINS ARE EXTREMELY HEALTHY ESPECIALLY FOR THE HIPPOCAMPUS (IN THE BRAIN) AND HELP IT GROW, (CARRINGTON@POST.HARVARD.EDU)

With most avocados, you need two plants (a type A and a type B) in order to produce fruit. This basically means they need cross pollination from another variety in order to set fruit. I am guessing you have a Hass avocado which is type A. Type B cultivars that can be used with this variety are Fuerte, Zutano, Bacon, Whitsell or StirPrize. Your pot seems awfully small. Any chance you have room for it in the ground? It probably would be much happier. If I were going to plant it, I would cut it right before it changes from the darker green color to the yellow green color (based on your picture). If you need to keep it in a pot, I would get a bigger one to put it in. A good book to reference is the Sunset Western Garden Book, which has quite a bit of detailed information regarding Avocados. Most libraries have this book, so it is worth checking it out.