You should definitely remove the dead portion ASAP, lest rot spread into the rest of the tree. Just cut it off where it looks dead and then look at the cross section of the remaining tree trunk. If it looks a little iffy (some black, brown or other off-color), then cut back a little more until you are about 1/4" above a node, preferably one already showing signs of growth. Retraining a leader for a Holiday might be something of a challenge due to the weeping character of the tree. You'll have to do some kind of support to encourage upright growth, but it's doable.

Sfbaysailor, by now your avocados are probably well on their way, and youÂve gotten lots of good advice here. I just want to add my experience with avocado trees. I donÂt think the amount of sun you get will be a problem. Our neighborÂs avocado is in the 15 or 20 foot space between our houses, which is largely shaded. By now itÂs about 30Â tall, so itÂs high enough to get sun, but it grew well without it. I also recently discovered a volunteer avocado over there which has grown to about 6Â so far in dense shade (anyone want to come dig it out?). Our tree gets plenty of sun, but it doesnÂt like freezing temperatures much. Fortunately, we donÂt get many hard freezes here in Long Beach, and the tree is so well established that it isnÂt badly damaged by what we do get, but it can affect how large a crop we get. We normally get 300-400 avocados a season, but it will produce less if it is stressed by a freeze. The thing that really seems to affect production, though, is how many bees we get. I suggest planting flowers that will attract bees to your yard to help with pollination. Several people said that avocados require a lot of water. Ours only gets rainfall (about 15" per year average) and what water we give our lawn (which isnÂt much). I was surprised to see people saying that nothing grows under an avocado. The area under ours is so thickly planted you can barely walk under there. Mainly itÂs where my husband grows ferns. In addition to the ones in the ground (leather fern and woodwardia), we have staghorns on the wall and several ferns in pots hanging from the tree. Clivia and impatiens also do well under there. It may be because my husband has pruned the tree to a fairly open canopy, high enough to make it easy to walk under. ThatÂs a good thing, since itÂs about 40Â wide and extends out over the lawn. Several years ago Sunset magazine came out to see what heÂd done with the pruning, but when they got here they seemed more interested in the plants growing under the tree. I must say that we do have a lot of avocado roots extending out into much of the yard. In a few places they raise up the lawn. We used to play what we called "obstacle croquet." Walknnancy, we grow St. Augustine under our avocado, out about 10Â from the trunk. It does fairly well under there, except for the most densely shaded areas. You donÂt want to let your avocados ripen on the tree. Toward the end of the season, about the time it starts forming buds, they begin ripening on the tree. The flavor isnÂt as good and the pit starts sending sprouts into the meat. We can tell when ours have begun to tree-ripen, because the raccoons, opossums, and squirrels start feasting on them.

Well, avocados are very particular about how their roots receive water, Suzi. Sitting in standing water is sure death for an avocado tree. Which is why Fallbrook and N. San Diego County were so perfect - all planted on slopes. Avocados prefer being planted on a slope so the water will drain away. Their feeder roots prefer water to pass by them. Yes, they need a LOT of water. And the only reason they are still hanging on in our area, is because they really don't grow well anywhere else (as opposed to citrus, another water-hungry commercial crop). And, the fact that people are willing to pay $1.50 to 2.00 a piece for them. But, unlike citrus, which are being successfully grown in other areas of California, due to water prices having climbed to the outrageous amounts we see here in San Diego, Orange, and Los Angeles counties (and to almost the same extend in Riverside and San Bernardino), avocados have not been able to acclimate to the Coachella or Imperial Valleys. So, they're hanging in there, in Fallbrook, still. So, standing water is about the worst thing you can have for avocados, proper drainage is critical to having them survive. Ben, to your questions: Jan Boyce, Reed and Sharwil all sound like excellent avos, but will my limited spacing realistically allow for these cultivars because of their size? - You can keep them pruned down to size using drop-crotch pruning. Those 3 cultivars are worth the pruning, trust me. How close can I plant to the wall? Naïvely, I was thinking I could just plant within a couple feet and just have a bed extending to about 3-3.5 ft from the wall, but thanks to you all, I’m questioning how realistic that is now, considering the size potential for mammoth-sized trees - at least 6 feet. Preferably 10 to 12 feet. I think raising the root ball up in a raised bed will help considering my poorly-draining soil. Since I don’t have a slope, I plan to put in a French drain at bottom to hopefully help with drainage. - Yes, Yes, Yes! Thing BIG mound or berm. Excellent option. And, a french drain below the mounds, a couple of feet down, sloping away from the trees, hopefully towards your front yard (and out to the street if you don't need the water elsewhere in your yard). I would also see what's happening with your next door neighbor's drainage. Is it draining over to your yard? Are you dealing with your and THEIR water? If so, make your neighbor fix their drainage issues. That's really a big no-no, as some else's water draining over into your yard could affect your home's foundation and that is grounds for a lawsuit. I would make your mound or berm at least 1 to 2 feet high (if you can make it 3' high, that would be superb) and 3 to 5 feet around (or, just continue the berm straight across for all 3 trees). Put down at least 20 pounds of gypsum spread around the base of each of the trees, plant and then mulch the area with 6 inches of woody mulch keeping the material about 6-8 inches away from the tree trunk. Of course, the french drain system should be below the mounds, about a foot or two down in the ground. You can also spread gypsum down into your french drain system as well. That gypsum application will really, really make a difference in the drainage of your soil. And, lastly, it wouldn't hurt to apply one application of Agri-Fos at planting, then again in 1 month. Apply a 3rd application of Agri-Fos in Feb or March, and then once a year in Feb or March thereafter, just to make sure you don't end up with Phytophthora issues due to water built up in the soil. You can also apply it to your citrus for the same reasons. An ounce of prevention can save you a pound of cure (and agony) later on. If avocado roots are shallow, how deep do they typically go? How much spacing tree to tree, at minimum, should I allow? - the feeder roots are very, very shallow. Most exist within the top 6" of your top soil (as compared to citrus feeder roots, which exist in the top 12 to 18" inches of your soil, and they're considered shallow rooted, so you can see how very shallow avocado feeder roots are). That's why their leaf drop is so critical to their survival. They literally make their own mulch, and if removed, it will affect the health of your trees (and even kill them, eventually, believe it or not.) Their feeder roots will grow into their leaf mulch/mold. They have very sensitive root systems, and do not like to be transplanted after being established. But, they can send down fairly deep anchor or tap roots. And being between the 2 houses should getting enough sunlight be a concern? - It can be. I have an inherited (was planted here before we bought the house and moved in) that was planted in the worst possible spot on my entire acre for an avocado - in nearly full shade, at the lowest part of my yard where the large part of my yard drains down to via two large swale systems. It is amazing it is still alive. I would have transplanted it, but it was too large and established. I figured I'd kill it for sure if I tried. It has produced 3 avocados for me since we moved in, in 2009. As opposed to my Lamb Hass, in the ideal location (full sun, on a nice slope), that produced about 30 avos this season (3rd season), and will have over 100 this next year. So, sun is pretty important. If you're sure they will get at least 6 hours of sun, I think they'll be okay. They might grow slower, and produce a little less, but, considering avocado trees can be prolific producers, that may not be a bad thing with 3 avos, lol! I would plant the Reed in the middle, as it is the most columnar in growth habit, and then simply keep them all down to about 15' and you're good! Patty S.

Liliz, your avocado doesn't look too bad. You may have noticed a little less healthier older leaves as the new leaves push out. The older leaves will eventually dry up and die off to make way for the new leaves to grow. I notice a little dry tip on the new growth .. not sure if that was the case as it was a little hard to see clearly. If you keep the plant hydrated, I think it should be ok. As far as I'm concerned, you have a nice looking plant there and it should do well. As to the cold, I think young plants tend to be a little more sensitive than the older ones. If in doubt, just get it indoors if you think it's too cold outside. This time of the year, it should be rather warm for all plants ... so what's your planting zone?