sd....this is so funny you posted this thread! I was going to post about a similar dilemna with my Reed on another site. haha. Both my 3 year old Reed in the ground, and my newly grafted 5 gallon tree from last year....are way behind all my other avocados. I have like 18 trees and 15 varieties...so I have a lot of diversity to compare. For some reason these Reeds are really slow to get going in the Spring. They still look rough because they have dropped their old leaves and not replaced them yet. There may be some strange relationship with how sensitive these are to frosts...I don't know. No worries...these Reeds are really good to eat! PM me if you come up with anything....

In pot One year old From seed The tree looks a lot better than it did a few weeks ago, but there are still a few dead leaves and I'm worried about it spreading again.

I live in inland northern California, near Sacramento where the summers are hot and dry, and the winters have several weeks in the mid to upper 20s. Planted a dwarf Little Cado in a raised bed alongside some dwarf citrus trees in the spring over a year ago. It branched out nicely all summer under a 50% shade canopy I erected with wooden stakes. My next door neighbor, desperate for a Type B pollinator for his 7 year old Hass, brought me a Stewart to plant in my yard. Then my father in law gave me a Nabal, although I really didn't have room to plant it, so I squeezed it near the Little Cado. The first winter, despite erecting frost cloths and watering well before a frosty night, the Nabal quickly perished, being the most frost sensitive. Then the Stewart began showing signs of frost damage, being less established. Finally, during nearly a week of temps from 25 to 28 degrees, the branches and growing tip of the formerly robust Little Cado turned black. I ran a 100 watt incandescent trouble light under the frost cloths, but it was too little too late. The Stewart and Little Cado were in such bad shape by the end of winter that I decided to euthanize them and try again. So this past spring, I replanted a dwarf avocado and the Stewart a bit further away. This time, I will try placing old fashioned Christmas lights under the frost cloths for extra warmth. If I can get them through the first 2 winters, I think this is key. My neighbor finally got a large crop of Hass avocados from his now 8 year old tree. He gleefully brought me a bagful. Guess he didn't need a nearby pollinator after all. And his mature tree weathered the 25 degree freeze just fine. P.S Me too. I love avocados.

ajsmama, thanks for your comments. the house was built in the 50s and the problem is not with the bedding touching the outlet but with it being only one of 2 outlets in the room, we will need to plug into it and it's an older outlet where the plugs sag out of it. My dh doesn't want the plugs from a light to be jammed against the bed, and since my son is only 3 1/2 we need a bedrail and a wall for him not to fall out so bed needs to be against wall...I guess we could have another outlet put in at some point, but not now. Polly929, I will be getting rid of the dresser soon and getting a long one to put in it's place against the wall the head of the bed in on. The curtains we have do come in red (Pottery Barn Kids)and you can't really tell but they are navy blue with colorful stitching in stipes. I just noticed they have curtains which match the bedding (see link) what do you think about that? Shannon01, the door is on the same wall as the bed. The closet wall is to the left of the door and the closet is not very long but takes up half of that wall. In the picture with the bookcase, the wall to the left is where the closet is, pretty much within inches of the left edge of photo. I like your ideas. I think I will keep the bed where it is. As for toy, we have a playroom so he doesn't really need any storage for them. Just books. And we just bought this bedding he picked out in January when he changed from a crib to a big boy bed. So that stays. Making a headboard out of the cards is a fantastic idea! Valinsv, thank you for considering the real reason behind my son's feelings. We actually have had a big year with lots of changes. We moved in October (just up the street, so same friends etc but still a move), I just had a baby, and he moved from a crib to a big boy bed. I'm with you in not wanting to make too many changes at once. The problem is that ever since we moved in here, his room has been in constant flux, now with the bed so I guess this is my last ditch effort to get it right. But I agree too much change is no good. So I think the biggest thing is the paint color. I will paint it a wheat/khaki. I will keep the bed where it is and move the animal cards down to make either a headboard or put on the wall next to his bed. And I will get a new longer dresser for safety reasons and put it next to his bed. But like you said, first the paint and then wait to see. We don't have room for a chair but we do cuddle up for a long while on his bed and talk and read at night. The problem is I don't feel warm and cozy in there, so there may be a real issue of design to address as well as being sensitive to is growing independence and feelings of fear. Wow. This has all become much more complex than when I began but it's good. I'm going to involve him in all of this too so that should help. So tell me what you all think of matching the curtains to the bedding? Here is a link that might be useful: Madras curtains