HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN AVOCADO TREE
Planting: Houseplant*
You can start with an avocado seed. Wash
it. Use three toothpicks to suspend it broad end down over a water-filled glass
to cover about an inch of the seed. Put the glass in a warm place out of direct
sunlight and replenish water as needed. You should see the roots and stem start
to sprout in about two to six weeks. (If you’ve followed this process so far
and have not seen roots or a stem sprout in more than six to eight weeks, try
another seed.) When the stem is 6 to 7 inches long, cut it back to about 3 inches.
When the roots are thick and the stem has leaves again, plant it in a rich
humus soil in a 10½-inch-diameter pot, leaving the seed half exposed. Water it
frequently, with an occasional deep soak. The soil should be moist but not
saturated. And don’t forget: the more sunlight, the better. If the plant turns
yellow, you may be over-watering; let it dry out for a few days. If the leaves
turn brown and fry at the tips, too much salt has accumulated in the soil. Let
water run freely into the pot, and drain it for several minutes. When the stem
is 12 inches high, cut it back to 6 inches to encourage the growth of new
shoots.
*Please note that the odds that your
tree will bear fruit are very small.
Planting: Young tree
Remember that avocado trees do best at moderately
warm temperatures (60 F to 85 F) with moderate humidity. They can tolerate
temperatures, once established, of around 28 F to 32 F with minimal damage.
Avoid freezing temperatures. Plant your tree in March through June. If you
plant during the summer, there is always the risk of sun damage, because
avocado trees don’t absorb water very well when they’re young. Plant it in a
non-lawn area and away from sidewalks and, if you can, plant it in a spot
protected from wind and frost. Remember, full sun is best. Dig a hole as deep
as the current root ball and just as wide as the width plus a little extra so
you can get your hands into the hole to plant it. The avocado is a
shallow-rooted tree with most of its feeder roots in the top 6 inches of soil,
so give it good aeration. Its root system is very sensitive, and great care
should be taken not to disturb it when transplanting. If the tree is
root-bound, however, loosen up the soil around the edges and clip the roots
that are going in circles.
Soil
Avocado trees like the soil’s pH around
6 to 6.5. If you have a heavy clay soil, elevate the tree in a mound for better
drainage. Make the mound 1 to 2 feet high and 3 to 5 feet around. Don’t put
gravel or anything else like planting media in the hole. The sooner the roots
get into the bulk soil, the better the tree will do.
Watering
Trees typically need to be watered two
to three times a week. As the roots reach out into the bulk soil, more water
can be applied and the frequency of watering can diminish to about once a week
after a year. When watering the tree, soak the soil well, and then allow it to
dry out somewhat before watering again. As with most plants, you don’t want the
tree to get too dry. The rule of thumb for mature trees is about 20 gallons of
water a day during the irrigation season. Seedlings will require quite a bit
less water, of course. Check the soil before watering each time to make sure it
has dried somewhat. If the soil from around the roots can hold the impression
of a hand when squeezed, it has enough water.
Mulching and Fertilizing
Mulch with coarse yard mulch. Redwood
bark or cocoa bean husks and shredded tree bark will work. Choose something
that is woody and about 2 inches in diameter. Coarse yard mulch is available at
some garden-supply centers and through tree-trimming operations. Tree-trimming
operations sometimes have material that has been pruned from the tops of trees
and doesn’t contain any diseased roots. Use online search engines to find a
local tree service. Put 20 pounds of gypsum spread around the tree base, and
mulch the area with 6 inches of mulch, keeping the material about 6 to 8 inches
away from the tree trunk. Fertilize your young avocado trees with ½ to 1 pound
of actual nitrogen per tree per year. You can spread it out over several
applications as long as it totals ½ to 1 pound of nitrogen. The other important
nutrient for avocado trees is zinc. Ordinary home fertilizer for houseplants
will normally work.
Other growing tips
Be patient about seeing fruit. If you
have purchased and planted a tree, you can probably expect to see your first
fruit three to four years after planting. If you are growing from a seed, it
can take anywhere from five to 13 years before the tree is mature enough to set
fruit. When the tree does flower, expect a lot of flowers to fall without
setting fruit. This is natural.
Avocado flowering
patterns fall into two groups: "A" type and "B" type
flowers. A-type flowers open female in the morning and male in the afternoon,
B-type are male in the morning and female in the afternoon.
It is widely accepted
that fruit production can be helped with the presence of another avocado
variety, but it isn’t always required.
Optimum fruit set occurs
at temperatures between about 65 - 75 F. Cooler or warmer temperatures are less
ideal.
Under some conditions, you may get a fruit
from a flower that did not pollinate properly. These small, elongated fruit
will often fall from the tree on their own, but if they "hang on" you
can pick them and eat them. These fruit are called "cukes" but are sometimes
marketed in stores as "Cocktail" or "Finger" avocados.
This is called fruit drop. An avocado tree typically
produces about one million flowers, but only 100-200 pieces of fruit per tree.
In other words, 1 fruit in 10,000 will set and mature. Sometimes the tree will
set fruit but drop them when they are pea to walnut size. This is typical.
To minimize fruit drop of good
"fertilized" fruit, avoid stressing the tree. Don't under or
overwater it. Research suggests that fruit retention is also better when there
are other avocado varieties present to provide cross-pollination, and that
these crossed fruit have a higher tendency to stay on the tree.
There is also some indication that
over-fertilizing with Nitrogen during the early fruit stages can also somewhat
influence fruit drop. Check with your master gardener for help with fertilizers
for your climate/location.
Avocados do not
"ripen" on the tree, that is, they do not get soft while on the tree.
They mature on the tree.
Once you pick an avocado, it can take from
7-21 days for it to soften when left at room temperature. You can speed the
process up slightly by placing the avocado in a bag with some other ripe fruit
(like an apple or banana) or slow the process down by keeping the fruit in the
refrigerator. More on how to ripen avocados.
Pick a couple of avocados and try to ripen
them. If they shrivel up or seem rubbery instead of soft, they are not mature
yet. Keep picking fruit every few weeks. Note on the calendar when they soften
instead of turning rubbery.
Also, note the taste of the fruit. The oil
content of the fruit usually increases through the season, and there will be a
certain point when it tastes "just right." That date will usually
vary somewhat due to climate conditions, and some years will be better than
others. Some varieties can also reach a point where they have too much oil and
some will turn rancid (although many types fall from the tree before reaching
that point).
The Hass
Avocado in California typically comes to maturity in February and is good
through September or October. These dates depend a lot on where you live and
climate conditions.
It is possible for an avocado tree to produce 200 to 300
fruit per tree once it is about 5-7 years of age. The avocado tree, however,
alternates bearing. This means that the tree may produce a large crop one year,
and then produce a small crop the following year. There are lots of variables
that influence this.
Typically, an avocado tree will continue to grow and produce
fruit until something kills the tree.
Avocados can be pruned any time of the year, but there tends
to be less vigorous regrowth if it is done after cold weather in the winter,
sometime around February.
Growth is reflected in rootstock, variety, soil depth and
texture, windiness, irrigation and pruning. Reed, Bacon and Hass trees can
ultimately grow to 35 feet in 30 years. Pruning can keep the trees to a
manageable size, under 15 feet, but it must be done on a regular basis.
It is just sap coming from a wound. It dries into that sugary
white, fluffy stuff.
Most areas of Southern California are suitable for avocados,
except for the mountains and high deserts, where it gets too cold and too dry
for fruit set. Outside of Southern California, it depends on the climate. Cold
is most often the problem faced in other parts of the state. Still, there are
home growers with avocado trees in and around San Francisco. There is also an
area along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where avocados are
being grown in Fresno and Tulare Counties. Growing areas in Southern California
include:
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