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I grew my avocado plant from seed this spring. It’s been doing amazing, I water it every 5 days or so, and it sits directly in the sun. I live in Canada and now our winter is hitting my avocado pretty hard.

I use the planta app which is telling me I should only water every 2 weeks in my climate. The leaves are starting to turn brown, curl up, and are very dry. The top layer of my soil is also quite dry however, every time I add a little water it seems to only make it worse.

Is this a sunlight/ heat problem or over/under watering? I keep it on my window ledge during the day (has the most sun exposure) and then move it aside at night so it isn’t as cold.

I’ve attached photos for reference, any help would be great

enter image description here

As you can see the leaves are curling and burnt. Has turned this way within the last 3 weeks- month.

enter image description here

Rohit Gupta
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Lindsay
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  • When the plant is on the windowsill, do the leaves touch the glass? – csk Jan 15 '21 at 17:22
  • Good question and good illustration; if could include an illustration of the top, overall height, current watering amount, current & previous nutrient type & amount & frequency, soil, if some coarse gravel in the bottom and a hole in the bottom for good aereation & drainage, current hours of sunlight and current hours of diffused light per day, typical daytime temperature, and typical night time temperature, could also be helpful. We encourage you to take the [Tour], and browse through the [Help], to learn more about how the site works! Thank you! Welcome to the site! – M H Jan 15 '21 at 19:49
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    I will try adding another photo however it wasn’t letting me upload others earlier. It’s about 15-20cm high with 7 leaves. It currently is not in a pot with drainage other than rocks at the bottom- I know this is recommended so considered repotting however haven’t had issues until now. It hasn’t been particularly sunny lately but still in a bright spot. Sun rises around 8am sets 5pm so about 8-9 hours of sunlight. Temp has been low -5 high plus 3. I used to water twice a week but have cut to once a week or every 2 weeks for winter however still seems dry and gets worse when water – Lindsay Jan 15 '21 at 21:08
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    The leaves do not touch the window however, the pot does. Trying to find a more humid place to keep it while also having lots of sun. – Lindsay Jan 15 '21 at 21:09
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    Hi! You have a couple of user accounts. Please consider [merging them](/help/merging-accounts) together, which will allow you to [edit](/help/privileges/create-posts), and [comment on](/help/privileges/comment) any of your posts and [accept an answer](/help/someone-answers) on your question. Thanks, and welcome to the site! – Niall C. Jan 15 '21 at 22:25
  • Very helpful additional illustration & helpful details; the temperature is important, and if it's in a lot of low humidity air current that also could affect dryness. Thank you :) – M H Jan 16 '21 at 09:58

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I see a potential culprit in the second photo. That heat vent is maybe a problem. Many plants do not tolerate being near them. The hot warm air dries them out. Lots of plants will shrivel to nothing in just a few days of being by a heat vent. Others will get stressed and wind up with white fly or fungus or brown spots on their leaves etc. My hibiscus hates heat vents.

You can try a few things. Find a place away from the heat vent. Or put a re-director over the vent so the air flow goes along the floor away from the plant. Or put some kind of wind-break barrier between the plant and the vent so the air flow does not hit the plant.

Boba Fit
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