Any luck w/an Avocado tree?? (flower, growing, avocados, lemon tree)

[fresnochili]

Been thinking of planting an avocado tree for the last couple of yrs. Anybody given it a try in zone 7?

I 've read that there may be some pollination needed. Looks like a 5 gallon would cost me abt $32-35.

I'd like to hear from you...

[Hemlock140]

I can't imagine that a nursery would sell an avocado in zone 7. Even the most hardy would be borderline in zone 8, I wouldn't try it here and I'm in 8B. They are an oddity in the way the pollinate. The flower opens as female, then closes, and opens the next day as male. So the same flower is both but not at the same time. Growers will have multiple varieties so that the have some males and females at the same time and use beehives to get them pollinated. You could do the same with a fine-bristled artists brush but it would be tedious, time consuming work. Even the best growers may only get fruit from 10-20% of the flowers.

[wit-nit]

Avocados grow best near coastal areas especially San Diego and north to Fallbrook CA

Learn How To Grow Your Own Avocado Tree from Seed

[kat949]

Try making your own compost tea and spraying the plant once a week. Amazing root system.

[fresnochili]

Thanks for your replies. I better do some more research.
My neighbor and I both want to give it a try, so I thought we could plant close, and pollinate that way.
We'll see...

[MLSFan]

I have one, it's about 1 foot tall right now, I don't plan to plant it outside though, will keep it trimmed/short and see how it looks after a few years.

I have a 5 foot lemon tree that I get a few lemons each year from, hoping the avocado will do the same and it can be a indoor tree

the leaves on the avocado tree are unique, at least to me. It's fleshy/soft to touch

[zitsky]

I'd like to know if there is a secret to growing avocado trees. In California (peninsula south of San Francisco), I had three that were planted very close to each other on the shady side of a house. I'd estimate they were maybe 10 years old but didn't grow very much and there were no avocados. Maybe there was too much shade.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I'd like to know if there is a secret to growing avocado trees. In California (peninsula south of San Francisco), I had three that were planted very close to each other on the shady side of a house. I'd estimate they were maybe 10 years old but didn't grow very much and there were no avocados. Maybe there was too much shade.

They may take 15 years to fruit for the first time and are heavy feeders so have to be fertilized regularly.

[Moth]

Growing an Avocado tree from seed is quite easy. However, it will be years (if ever) before it produces fruit and even then it will be inferior.

For fruit, you need trees that are grafted or graft a few yourself.

I live in Zone 7 and move my two seed grown trees into a small greenhouse before the first frost.

Try sprouting them in an enclosed jar/terrarium. Then just move them to bigger quarters as they grow.

[Cleonidas]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I'd like to know if there is a secret to growing avocado trees. In California (peninsula south of San Francisco), I had three that were planted very close to each other on the shady side of a house. I'd estimate they were maybe 10 years old but didn't grow very much and there were no avocados. Maybe there was too much shade.

They need shade when they are young or they will sunburn, then they want full sun when they become adolescents (they naturally grow up under the canopy of a mature tree and won't start really taking off until/unless something happens to the parent tree and they start to get full sun). Really picky. They also tend to be very particular about how much water they want on their toes and if they get too cold they don't give you any warning, they just die. Sometimes they just decide that they are going to die for no apparent reason. Avocados are prone to suicidal tendencies, I swear.

I planted one in the shade of a crepe myrtle that I had plans to remove so that it wouldn't burn during the intense sun at midday, then when it was six years old (the second season that it bore usable quantities of well-developed fruit) I killed the crape myrtle and it grew more in the next two years than the previous six. That's the only avocado I've ever had any success with. It was a "Wilma", btw...