Everybody wants to beat Hass. The world over, breeders are looking for that golden ticket: to create a new avocado variety that has a combination of characteristics superior to Hass. There are some contenders. Who will eventually knock King Hass from the throne?
This past week, I attended a webinar where those involved in the avocado breeding program at the University of California discussed varieties they’ve developed that have the potential to supplement or possibly supplant Hass. This program has already given us a few excellent new avocado varieties, from Gwen to Lamb to GEM. More are on the way.
Yet for the purposes of today’s post, what is obvious about these varieties is that most are essentially wannabe Hass. That is not degrading to the new varieties at all; that simply tells us how good Hass is, how high is the standard that Hass has set.
To this day, out of the avocado varieties that I grow in my yard, if I had to give up all but one, I’d keep my Hass. The tree and its fruit are not perfect, but overall they are so far unbeaten.
My goal for this profile is to tell you about the different qualities of the Hass variety of avocado tree and its fruit that combine to make it the standard, as well as add some historical context, so that ultimately you can decide if Hass is an avocado variety that you want to plant in your yard.
Hass tree
Hass avocado trees are vigorous. They’re not slow-growing, weeping runts, like the Holiday variety. My Hass and every other one I know grows both up and out, forming a nice crown of canopy. Compared to Fuerte, Hass grows more upward; compared to Bacon and Reed, Hass grows more outward. Compared to Lamb and GEM, Hass simply grows more.
I planted a Hass tree in my yard in 2013 from a five-gallon container, and it reached 15 feet tall in five years. Since then I’ve pruned it back yearly to maintain it at around that height. And my children enjoy climbing in the tree:
I know of commercial avocado growers who maintain Hass trees a bit shorter, and I know of many unpruned Hass trees that ultimately reach over 25 feet.
Hass fruit
You know Hass fruit. Do I even bother describing it? I do because you may have only had the hit-or-miss Hass avocados from various countries of origin found at a grocery store, and you may be interested in how Hass picked from a backyard tree compares.
Hass avocados are medium sized. They’re bigger than Stewart avocados but smaller than Nabals.
The skin is bumpy, and it is usually green while the fruit is on the tree. Once picked, the skin turns purplish black as it ripens. But if the fruit is left hanging on the tree late into maturity, the skin will turn black before it is even picked (though it will remain hard).
Hass avocado seeds are small but not tiny. There aren’t many varieties that I know that have reliably smaller seeds in proportion to their flesh: Pinkerton, Jan Boyce, Sharwil, and maybe Stewart. Many avocado varieties have larger seeds.
The coat on a Hass seed always remains adhered (it doesn’t stick to the flesh); I find this important because it takes an annoying extra few seconds to prepare an avocado for eating if the seedcoat is stuck to the flesh, as can happen with Fuerte, for example.
The flesh of a Hass avocado is a pleasing color of green with gold toward the center; it is never pale yellow like Zutano although it is also never quite as gold as Sharwil nor as green as Lamb.
I have never met anyone familiar with avocados who doesn’t like to eat Hass. Some aficionados rank other varieties above Hass in terms of taste, but Hass is never far behind. I’ve heard such people say their favorites to eat are Fuerte, or Jan Boyce, or Gwen, or Nabal, or Reed, but Hass is still always in their top handful.
What you must know is that a Hass avocado picked from a backyard tree is different in many ways from a grocery store Hass. First, a backyard Hass ripens from green to purple-black, not the off colors of brown and orange that occur on a grocery store Hass. These unattractive colors are caused by refrigeration.
Next, there are almost never rots in the flesh of a backyard Hass nor are there any fibers. Almost every single avocado from a backyard Hass is perfect inside. And since you are in charge of when to harvest, the flavor is as you like it: mild in the early season (say, March in Southern California) or rich from mid season (usually starting in May).
A Hass picked from a backyard tree at the right time is so nutty rich that if you add it to a salad it stands out, and if you mash it into guacamole you might not even bother adding salt or salsa.
Hass harvest season
I can pick good-tasting fruit from my Hass tree in March, but the remarkable thing about Hass is that the fruit will ripen and taste decent before it’s even really in season, in February, even January. Some other varieties won’t do this. If you pick a Gwen before June, its neck might shrivel even though its taste can be satisfactory.
Most people characterize Hass as a spring into summer fruit, so the harvest season for prime flavor down south runs roughly April through July; and then the harvest season in Ventura and Santa Barbara is a month or two later. I’ve eaten great tasting Hass from right near the beach in Carpinteria as late as November.
In San Luis Obispo County you must add yet another month or two. I ate some good-tasting Hass from Morro Bay this past November, but the fruit actually tasted just shy of peak, like my Hass do in about April. That would make their harvest season at least six months later than mine. (I’m in Ramona, San Diego County.)
In 1935, when Rudolph Gustav Hass applied for a patent on his new avocado variety, he described the fruit as maturing “during summer: namely, May to September.”
Hass variety history
Rudie, as he was known to friends, planted the Mother Hass tree between San Diego and Morro Bay at the southern edge of Los Angeles County in La Habra Heights. He had bought some avocado seeds from a nurseryman in nearby Whittier named A.R. Rideout, which Rudie planted on his two acres in the spring of 1926. The plan was to graft the trees to Fuerte, the most popular commercial variety at the time.
And the trees were grafted, but one never took to the grafting and was allowed to grow up as a seedling until it produced fruit of its own. The tree and the fruit showed so much promise that Mr. Hass registered it as a variety with the California Avocado Society in 1932, and then in 1935 it was granted patent number 139. Hass made a deal with another Whittier nurseryman, H.H. “Harry” Brokaw, whereby Brokaw would pay Hass for buds from the Mother Hass tree and graft them onto his own rootstocks to sell.
Hass strengths
Compared to other varieties back in the 1930s, Hass was an improvement in a number of categories. The fruit cropping was consistent compared to Fuerte. The fruit didn’t drop before it was mature as happened with the Spinks. The tree was vigorous compared to Murrieta Green. The skin of the fruit was thin and leathery compared to the thick, shell-like skin of Mayapan. The skin didn’t crack or split while the fruit was still on the tree as happened with Laurel.
Compared to varieties that are grown today, Hass still has a leg up in many of these same categories. Stewart fruit cracks while still on the tree, GEM has thick and less pliable skin, Holiday trees lack vigor, Lamb fruit drops before it’s mature.
Hass weaknesses
The Hass avocado tree and its fruit have no serious weaknesses; there are merely imperfections. The original flaw of Hass was the color of its peel. In 1945, Rudolph Hass’s neighbor in the Whittier area, Harlan Griswold, wrote an article for the California Avocado Society in which he promoted the new Hass variety in every way, except to acknowledge one handicap: “Its single disadvantage is its black color which has been associated in the minds of the public with poor quality fruits.”
Others echoed this observation. Writing from Israel, R.J. Ticho and B. Gefen said in 1965, “The Hass carries well to distant markets and tops even the Fuerte in quality, but its well known drawback is its black and warty surface.”
Fuerte was the main cause of the negative view of Hass’s peel color and texture. As the highest quality commercial avocado at the time, Fuerte had gotten everyone used to thinking the best avocados have smooth, green skin.
In fact, when Bob Bergh started breeding avocados at the University of California in the 1950s he was tasked with creating a sort of Fuerte-Hass hybrid. Growers wanted most of the attributes of Hass except for its peel color. Bergh came up with the Gwen variety, which when you look at it, appears like a Hass whose skin stays green.
Everything is inverted now. We are used to quality avocados with black skin because of Hass, so much so that commercial farmers are extremely hesitant to plant any new varieties that don’t have black skin.
A weakness of Hass that remains a weakness today is its susceptibility to tip burn on the leaves during the fall and winter because of the tree’s sensitivity to salt and drought. Some other varieties are less sensitive in this way.
Hass could also be tougher when faced with extreme heat. My Hass dropped all of its young fruit in the July 2018 record heat (about 118 degrees) whereas my nearby Reed and Lamb at least held onto a few pieces of new fruit. This topic of the heat tolerance of avocado varieties hasn’t been formally studied in California to my knowledge, but I’ve been told by others that they’ve also observed Reed, Lamb, Pinkerton, and GEM faring slightly better than Hass in extreme heat.
(See my soon-to-be-updated post, “Heat tolerance of avocado varieties.”)
And Hass isn’t as cold hardy as some other good avocado varieties, such as Fuerte, although it’s also not much weaker. My yard dropped to 25 degrees on February 5, 2020, and the foliage of my Hass was slightly more damaged than my Fuerte. However, the Hass held onto all of its fruit whereas the nearby Reed and Lamb trees dropped numerous avocados. That could have been because they were carrying heavier crops than the Hass; I’ve heard others observe that Lamb tolerates cold slightly better than Hass. Unfortunately, again, I know of no formal studies comparing the cold tolerance of Hass to the newer varieties that are common today.
Hass bearing habit
The original Hass seed is thought to have possibly come from a fruit of the Lyon variety. Lyon trees were known to fruit so heavily and early in their lives that they could stunt or even kill themselves. Whether or not Hass came from Lyon, Hass did inherit a habit of fruiting fairly young and consistently.
Something growers immediately appreciated about Hass compared to Fuerte was this early and consistent fruit production. But how does the yield of a Hass tree compare to newer varieties?
In a study done on trees in Irvine between 1999 and 2005, GEM and Lamb both produced about the same amount, both being more than Hass. However, in an ongoing study of different avocado varieties in Ventura County, it was found that between planting in 2012 through the 2019 harvest, Hass and GEM trees yielded about the same amount of fruit as measured in terms of weight, both of these yielding more than the other varieties (Reed, Lamb, and Carmen).
An interesting note from the Ventura study is that the canopy size of the Hass trees was bigger than that of GEM. Because of this, one conclusion has been to describe GEM as “more efficient” than Hass.
In my own yard, I grow all of these varieties. My Carmen and GEM trees are not the same age as my Lamb, Reed, and Hass. But these latter three are all seven years old now and I keep track of their production. My Lamb has produced well, but it has produced the least of the three, mostly due to its alternate bearing habit. Reed production has been excellent and consistent, but still less than Hass. My Hass has yielded the most, and it also has the largest canopy among the three trees.
Bottom line: Hass may not be the top producer, but it remains among the best-producing avocado varieties.
Is a Hass avocado tree right for your yard?
One situation in which I can imagine a Hass avocado tree not suiting a yard is where the allotted space is small. If you don’t want to prune the tree, then you need around 25 feet in all directions for a mature Hass.
But avocado trees are easy to prune. Their wood is soft and their leaves are too. So that’s an option.
I can understand not wanting that chore to deal with though, in which case a naturally smaller variety such as GEM or Lamb, or even Reed or Pinkerton would fit better.
Another situation where Hass wouldn’t be the right choice is if you have access to good Hass fruit already. Maybe a neighbor has a tree or you have a place to buy Hass avocados of reliable quality. In that case, I’d plant an avocado tree with a harvest season that is complementary to Hass. Good options for earlier avocados include Fuerte, Bacon, Sharwil, Sir-Prize, and Pinkerton. Good options for later avocados include Reed and Lamb.
The Mother Hass avocado tree in La Habra Heights declined in health and was eventually cut down in 2002. You can still see the plaque commemorating the tree in the front yard of a house that was built long after the original Hass seed was planted in 1926. I’ve driven by and even snapped a couple blurry photos.
I’ve also purchased a slice of the Mother Hass tree, which sits on my bookshelf. The wood from the felled tree was donated to the California Avocado Society, who has made some beautiful products with it.
You too can own a piece of avocado history through the California Avocado Society.
Or you might choose to just consider next time you’re eating a Hass avocado how awesome it is that branches taken from this one chance seedling tree planted in 1926 in Southern California have been used to create millions of Hass avocado trees all over the world. After 94 years, the best efforts of breeders have yet to conquer Rudie Hass’s luck.
A page with links to my avocado variety profiles is HERE
A page with links to all Yard Posts is HERE
Cool post! I planted Hass 4 years ago and it practically died in 2018 (and it was just starting to bear) It has recovered and seems to be doing well but is somewhat small for it’s age I think. Looks like I might get 5 or 10 fruit this year.
Good work
Nice article. Hass are great. I have access to a lot of avocados and if I had to choose what to eat right now it would be a hass.
One thing not mentioned was the common misspelling “haas”. Please people spell the man’s name correctly.
Hi Greg..between the fuerte and the Hass, if you have a choice to eat a fuerte or Hass, which would you pick? Assuming the same size.
Hi James,
The best Fuerte avocados are a tad tastier to me than the best Hass avocados. The problem with Fuerte is that they aren’t as consistent in quality as Hass; occasionally Fuertes have strings or seedcoats that peel off.
Thanks for the reminder, Brad. An easy way to remember is that the pronunciation rhymes with “pass” so it must be spelled “Hass.”
Here in lakeside our 4 year in the ground #5 Hass produced about 65 fruits, but didn’t flower, so no fruit for next year. Our 6 year old Bacon gave us 85 fruits, and has a lighter set this year. A friend in La Mesa has two 9 year old Hass that alternate bear. Our #5 Carman that we planted in February is growing very vigorously, and I’m hopeful that it will not alternate like the King Hass. I don’t mind a light crop, but no crop is a bummer. Thx for all the great info, and hope the avo calendar is still coming!
I’m in Del Cerro 92120. I have a large Fuerte Tree that I cut back to the trunk in 2005 and grafted HASS to. It produced about 300 cados this year and still has about 100 on it. It did not flower much this year and I suspect it was from not picking all the fruit off before flowering time, but that is just a guess. My experience is that HASS is much more productive than my other varieties as Greg has stated, but I have noticed alternate light and heavy crops and occasionally little to no crop after an especially heavy yield. If you plant multiple trees you will have a more consistent flow of avocados.
Hi Frank and Richard,
Hass is definitely capable of alternate bearing. Every avocado variety that I know of alternates to a degree. I’ve seen Fuerte, Bacon, and Lamb trees have zero fruit after a year with a heavy crop.
In that study in Irvine I mentioned above, GEM was found to alternate less than Hass; GEM had a more even crop load year after year. Still, GEM’s crop load fluctuated somewhat.
It seems that once a Hass tree has a heavy crop it usually falls into that alternate bearing pattern, and the heavy crop can be caused by either excellent pollination conditions and/or by a bad weather event the previous year, such as the July 2018 heat or a freeze.
My Hass in particular had a very weak bloom this spring, and I think it was because of the cold (25 degree) night it experienced on February 5 which damaged some outer branches, where most flowering occurs. So I wouldn’t be surprised if it came roaring back with a heavy bloom in the spring of 2021, set a heavy crop, and then fell into an alternate bearing pattern.
That photo above of the Hass trees planted 12 feet apart in Ventura County are interesting in that they are girdled every year in order to combat, or actually harness, alternate bearing. Through girdling, the grower forces half the branches in each tree to flower heavily. He girdles a different half of the branches every year. So every year, half of each tree flowers heavily while the other half flowers little if at all. The effect is that, on average, each tree has good production every year (half heavy, half light).
Girdling is a tricky way to manage alternate bearing, but skilled people do use it to great effect. I started playing with it on some of my other trees (not Hass) last year and if I ever feel like I understand it well enough I’ll write a post on it.
I had a similar experience with a Hass. In 2018, the 4ish year old tree produced maybe 30 fruit, but didn’t flower that year. this year I’ve picked over 50 and there’s another 10 – 20 on the tree. Next year’s crop looks to be very big, we’ll see how much stays on. Still getting a few smaller ones dropping, but he number of visible grape or bigger size fruit is impressive. Hoping for 100!
Nobody talks about oxidation. How does Hass compare with Fuerte when its smashed into
guakamole and spends overnight in the frig.
My experience is that both Fuerte and Hass brown quickly. There are some avocado varieties that don’t brown for a long time. I believe I read that Sir Prize is one and my Cadway Cado that I grew from a seed takes much longer to Brown. My Sir Prize tree is too small to fruit, so I have not proven its resistance to browning. I think Fuerte has a little bit better flavor than Hass, but the downside is that Fuerte has a lot of stringiness. Starting Nov 2019 I’ve eaten about 100 Fuerte and am still eating Hass as I’m writing June 2020. I just picked my first Reed today to see if it is time to pick – I’ll know in a couple weeks. My Nabal is not producing yet, so I can’t comment on the taste or oxidation, but I can tell you that Reed is really really good – so good I’m looking forward to eating them. I only had about 30 Reed last year so they didn’t last long enough for me to test the oxidation rate.
Our Gem goes brown much more slowly than the market bought haas.
Hi Dal, Richard, and Alan,
I’m sorry to say that I can’t add much here. I just don’t pay much attention to oxidation. I’ll try to take note of it more in the future. Maybe I’ll test a handful of varieties and photograph them and report on it.
On Reed, I ate my first that tasted decent a few days ago. I’ve yet to pick one, but this Reed was a drop and the flavor was almost there so I’m guessing I’ll start intentionally harvesting my Reeds about July 1. Speaking of stringiness, have you ever found a single fiber in Reed? Amazing how consistently perfect the texture of that variety is!
Keep the seed of a cut avocado and put it in the container of left overs. It will actually stay green longer!
I will cut them in half and just leave the seed in the not needed half to refrigerate. Amazing trick! 💚
Why would you leave guacamole in the frudge overnight?
Hello Sir,
Good and informative article. I enjoy your posts.
I have some old grove Fuerte trees. After reading your micro sprinkler article, I put them on my trees. Question. How long do you water to get a good / adequate soaking?
I suggest you cut back your old trees of non producing wood and leave the truck suckers for grafting to. A strong growing sucker about 3/16″ dia. of nice soft tissue is perfect to graft to. After the graft takes, cut back most if not all of the Fuerte branches. The new grafts will take off and grow very fast an in a couple years you should have fruit on nice healthy green limbs. My Hass on Fuerte produced about 300 avocados in 2019 – about 4 years after the grafts. I believe Greg did an article on watering – you should search his website – it is the best on the web!
Hi Ken,
As Richard mentioned, I do have a post on watering avocados that might help: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-much-and-how-often-to-water-avocado-trees-in-california/
In that post I mention watering my Hass, which is a bigger tree but probably nowhere near as big as your old Fuertes, and I said I ran the micro-sprinklers for about four hours every five days in June.
I’ll mention that this June I’m watering that same tree with the same micro-sprinkler for about two hours every three or four days (twice per week).
The run time depends mostly on the output of the micro-sprinkler (some apply almost twice as much water in a given amount of time compared to others), and it also depends on whether the tree is getting water elsewhere (another irrigated plant nearby) or whether the tree is having some of its water stolen by a nearby plant (e.g. a large oak nearby).
Two ways to estimate how much water you’re giving the tree, or how deeply the soil has been soaked: put down some tuna cans and see how long it takes for the sprinkler to fill them, which is how long it takes for the sprinkler to apply one inch of water in that spot; and after running the sprinkler for a couple hours, push a long handled screwdriver into the soil to see how deeply it easily sinks, as it will easily sink as deeply as the soil is wet.
Good post on Hass Greg. Here at my home in Alta Loma, CA. (Elevation 2000′) I have a Hass, & Gwen both 34 years old. Two Gems 14 months in the ground. A Kona Sharwil 4 months in ground, and a Jan Boyce one year in ground. Between the Hass & Gwen, the Gwen out produces the Hass every year. Enjoy your articles, keep up the great work.
Hi David,
Thanks for the input. My brother and his family used to live in Alta Loma, and when they moved they had to leave their avocado trees behind. So sad.
The climate in Alta Loma is similar to mine in Ramona so I’m very curious to hear more about your mature Gwen. My Gwen is only a couple years old, but so far it doesn’t show the sensitivities to heat or drought that I’ve read about. Does your Gwen show any more sensitivity to heat or drought (or cold or any other stress) than your Hass?
And when do you tend to harvest your Gwen compared to your Hass? I’ve heard of people harvesting Gwen starting around April, but my Gwens don’t ripen without neck shrivel and don’t have great taste until about here in June.
Finally, how late do you let your Gwens hang on the tree compared to your Hass?
My Gwen is rarely pruned and is about 22′ tall 16′ to 18′ wide and not a spreading tree like the Hass. On that very Hot day last Summer both the Gwen & the Hass suffered very minor leaf burns near the southern upper sections of the trees, but really not much damage. Both the trees have also been thru cold temperatures down to 28 degrees usually happen in December and again very little damage, maybe just a few branches on the outer/ upper exposed leaves. My Hass are usually ready in Late January to mid February. The Gwen follow in late March or mid April. Gwen are easy to notice when you pick to early, as they will shrink after picking. The hang time is really determined mainly by the Rats & Squirrels. I will remove more avocados sooner if they are being attacked regularly. But the Gwens can go into Late July or sometimes August.
Thank you, Greg! I have learned so much from you and your followers! I planted a 24″ box Hass two years ago and did not water it properly until a year ago when I found this site. This is the first year I had any fruit set. But a new problem has emerged! I think squirrels have been chewing on the tree and stripping bark! Has anyone experienced this issue? I do not know how to keep them out of my tree. They have knocked down or eaten all but one or two of my precious fruit!
I am open to any help or suggestions anyone can give me. I am in the South-East San Fernando Valley.
Page: I live in the N.E. San Fernando Valley (Sylmar) and working to keep squirrels away from my avocados is an issue. First get a repeating air gun or rifle. I don’t mind killing those theives but it seems it is better not to kill the squirrels but just “sting” them. They don’t seem to return as fast if you sting them, they must tell their buddies to stay away from that area. Another thing that might help somewhat is a cat, but the squirrels learn to run along the top of fences fast, You might trim up lower branches and place a tin or other metal type ring around the trunk to prevent climbing. I also have a “Hav-a-hart” trap that I bate with nuts. I have not had any experience with squirrels chewing on the tree bark
Hi Page,
Great advice from Dal. I’ll mention that I did write a post about dealing with squirrels here, and be sure to read the comments section for good tips from others: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/dealing-with-squirrels-in-a-food-garden/
And, like Dal, I’ve never noticed squirrels chewing on tree bark, but I’ve definitely noticed rabbits doing that. I put a barrier around the trunks of all of my new trees to prevent this. I usually use poultry wire, but you could also use many other materials. The rabbits lose interest in chewing on the bark once the tree gets older and the bark gets thicker so I remove the trunk cages after a couple years.
Hi Dal and Greg! Thank you so much for the advice. I had assumed it was squirrels. We have a TON of them in the neighborhood. My cat has made friends with them! 🙂 The damage is all over the tree, including higher branches. I don’t have rabbits, but I do have possums and raccoons. Maybe they are the culprits? I think I will try to enclose the tree until it matures and the tasty bark hardens. If that doesn’t work, giving them a little sting may be the way to go!
If something works particularly well, I will let you know! And I will definitely read your post on dealing with those little greedy thieves!
I have with good success placeing a flexiable piece of heavy plastic around the height of the main trunk tied
As the tree trunk grows larger, it will be replaced
It has worked well on trees that are wide apart but squirrels and rats are champions at jumping or dropping fom overhead lines
The night shifts are hard to catch but my dog alerting me and a good BB gun controls the squirrel problem quie well
Coyotes are destructive jerks on low branches in attempting to get fruit so I leave the the dropped fruit for them . That helpsa lot
This is an an outstanding post, not only it’s information about the Hass but also in how it compares it to the other types of avocados. We recently planted a 24″ box Fuerte as my wife really likes those, but Hass was my first choice. We have several other varieties but I wanted something sure to produce as I’ve been avocado challenged over the years.
I work in numerous older homes and it seems that whenever there’s an avocado tree or two, it’s typically a Hass and a Fuerte. These seemed to be the two standard bearers 50+ years ago when people were deciding what to plant in their family home. Hass being an A type and Fuerte a B along with their different seasons is a winner.
Hello! I have a very small yard in the bay area. I can only plant in containers not on the ground. I would like to grow a variety of avocados in a container. Would that be possible and if so, what kinds of avocados? Will the variety of avocados recommended taste good and will have the buttery rich texture? Thank you so much!
Hi Eva,
You can grow any variety of avocado in a container although some are more suited because of their smaller size. I’d try Gwen, GEM, Lamb, or Pinkerton, but don’t be afraid of trying other varieties too.
Thank you Greg! Your website is super helpful. I was so excited to know that I can plant Avocado trees in pots. I bought 3 varieties (Hass, Stuart and Pinkerton). Summer is the only time I will not have avocados. I’ve been enjoying reading information on your site. Thanks for all the helpful tips, much appreciated!
I forgot to mention that they did not have others that you mentioned at hand but I think I got all good ones. Hopefully after reading up on various avocados. Let me know your thoughts on my purchase. Thank you.
Hi Eva,
I think you’ll be happy with all of the varieties you bought.
A friend gave me an avocado plant from a hass seed? What are your thoughts on growing an avocado from a hass seed? Pros/Cons?
Hi Eva,
I think you’ll enjoy reading this post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/what-kind-of-avocado-tree-do-you-get-when-you-plant-a-seed/
This was helpful information. Basically if you start from a seed, you really won’t know the outcome because it all depends on the pollination. Thank you for the information!
Yes, Eva. But more than that, even when avocado flowers are self pollinated the resulting seed will grow a tree with unpredictable fruit.
I grew up in San Joaquin eating Hass from my grandparents farm. Still love them to this day (can’t stand the tropical varieties which are too sweet and watery to me). Loved this post regarding my beloved Haas. I live in Michigan so no fresh avocadoes for me ;(
A week ago I planted two Hass & one Fuerte – all 1 gal baby trees. The fuerte has thrived while both Hass have been struggling. On one the red baby leaves became sunburned and the other Hass tree’s leaves are looking unburied, but on the decline. They all were planted a few inches out of the ground with mulch as prescribed. I’m debating replanting both Hass trees and mounding them a foot above the clay soil they are in. I may also place a sun screen over them both. The Hass’ were purchased near the coast and my fuerte came from inland. What other suggestions do you have to save these guys? I would have waited to plant, but I’m trying to take advantage of the shelter in place, before I am consumed with other activities. Thanks! Your blog is wonderful. I’ve worked my way through much of your fascinating stories.
Hi Soren,
If your soil is clayey, I would definitely replant on a mound. It’s possible that the little Hass trees had been kept in a greenhouse or under some shade until recently and haven’t been able to acclimate to your yard so rapidly. Shading them lightly might be a good idea for the summer months, but just make sure the shade isn’t more than about 30 percent unless it’s very high above the little trees.
I’ve killed a bunch of trees and most of the time they start to look like you’ve described. Since then I’ve done the shade trick and put them up on a mound or directly into a pile of decomposed granite. all these little trees are grown either shaded by cloth or are so closely grown that they shade each other. When you plant it all of a sudden they’re out in the open. The last avocado we planted I actually took the time to note how it was located in the nursery so planted it the same way at home so the sun worked it the same way. Lately, I’ve managed to keep these things alive despite my best efforts to inadvertently kill them.
When it comes to pruning a Hass or Fuerte, does that have an effect for the following year(s) as far as fruit production goes? Can you just top a tree and leave its radial expansion in place?
Hi Joe,
That’s an important question. Check out the section about when to prune (which time of year) in my post about pruning avocados: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/pruning-avocado-trees/
Yes, you can top an avocado and leave its side branches. In fact, I just took off the top few feet of my Hass but didn’t touch the sides.
If you want to tell me the effect or shape you’re going for with your trees, I’ll give details about how to go about it. Place that comment in the post about pruning avocados.
Hi Greg, Great post! I’m glad you pointed out the difference between a store bought and home grown Hass. I have a set of rootstock seedlings I’m going to graft shortly. During the Age of Quarantine, I keep my travel/contact limited, so most likely I’ll use my neighbors no-name (to her) variety that has regular buttery and nutty avocados. It very likely could be Hass, but my head was thinking store bought. LOL! Thanks, Robert
Another great article! Off topic, but I noticed you included an Ardith in one of your photos. Could you give me your thoughts on the tree and fruit of this variety? I’ve read the history on it but would be interested in any first-hand accounts. Thanks!
Hi Mike,
Thanks! I’d love to share more about Ardith, but my experience with the variety is very limited at this point. I’ve just got one small Ardith tree in my yard, plus a couple grafts on older trees. And that Ardith in the photo is the only one I’ve ever eaten!
Nonetheless, I like what I see in the tree so far, and the fruit tasted very good so there’s potential. I’ll gather more observations on the tree and the fruit when I can.
You don’t disappoint, Greg! What a great post on the Hass avo to add to the collection of avocado profiles! But one weakness I’d add of the Hass is its susceptibility to the Persea Mite (I’m in the Mt.Helix/Casa del Oro hills of La Mesa/Spring Valley). I’m pulling my hair out right now (there’s not much left) because our Hass is still extremely stressed and hasn’t recovered from last years attack. In maybe March of 2019 I first noticed the signs of Persea Mites on both our Hass and Carmen (both planted in March 2014). The Hass then dropped 80% or 90% of its leaves, but the Carmen dropped next to none (and a nearby Fuerte never displayed any of evidence of Persia Mites). I never sprayed insecticide, hoping for natural predators to take over, and with hindsight I’m guessing I should have stripped the Hass of the (relatively small) crop it was carrying last summer and fall, but I was hopeful it would sooner or later come out with a new flush of growth. It wasn’t until this February or March that the Hass finally flushed (without blossoming), but even now the new leaves are whimpy and the tree (at 12’) looks like a skeleton compared to our verdant Carmen that has carried a nice crop. I’d be very grateful for any tips on how to revive the Hass or what to do in the future about Persia Mites.
Hi Nick,
Thanks for bringing up the persea mite vulnerability, and I’m sorry your tree has been suffering.
You’re absolutely right that some other varieties are more resistant (less tasty?) to persea mites, including Fuerte. I’ve been lucky to never have a problem with mites of any kind on my trees, including Hass. I wish I knew exactly why. I used to suspect it was partly due to my not fertilizing with anything potent (just some compost and wood chips on the surface under trees), but I don’t know. I’m probably just lucky, for now.
A friend has had persistent persea mite infestations on his avocados but he has also controlled them well each year with predator mites. He buys the species Neoseiulus (Amblyseius) californicus from this company: https://www.naturesgoodguys.com/
Be sure to check out this page for more ideas on controlling persea mites: https://www2.ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/avocado/persea-mite/
Greg, last year I grafted some Mexicola to my Hass & Gwen. I have noticed that the Mexicola rarely has any problems with Persea Mites at a property in the San Gabriel Valley. Two out of Three grafts took and I am seeing less activity from the mites near where the Mexicola is now growing. Could there be some scent given off by Mexicola leaves that naturally the mites don’t like?
Hi David,
Interesting idea about the scent. Maybe there is something in that anise odor of the leaves of some varieties (Mexicola, Fuerte, Zutano) that is also distasteful to the persea mites.
If so, I guess there must still be other attributes that attract or repel persea mites since Lamb is said to be less affected by persea mites, but Lamb doesn’t have that scent. I just crushed a Lamb leaf and didn’t smell any trace of anise.
Greg,
I’m having trouble with my haas. I live in a neighboring city to la Habra heights, so you’d expect my haas to be happy in its native climate. We planted it 3 years ago, along with a fuerte. Our fuerte is about 9 feet tall now and produces giant, beautiful fruit. The haas was attacked by squirrels who bit off many of its branches 2 years ago. It came back and has produced a fruit or two since. But over the last few weeks, it has become increasingly droopy, to the point where I think it might be dying. I water it only when I see the leaves start to droop, and it’s been healthy, though slow growing since. However, my husband has been messing with our sprinklers, so it may have been getting extra watering without my knowledge. Is there something I can do to save it?? It’s only about 3 feet tall, due to the crazy squirrels. But it has about 10 avocados on it, so I don’t know what happened from blossoming until now. If you have a chance, please let me know what you would do. This is my go to site for all things avocado. I appreciate the detailed information you share with us.
Thank you,
Amelia
Hi Amelia,
Sorry to hear about the struggling Hass. The best way to find the truth about the tree’s water need is to scratch into the dirt under it and feel the moisture in the soil wherever you see roots. Get some details on this here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/get-your-hands-dirty-discover-the-truth-about-your-irrigation-practices/
Also, check this post about reading the leaves to tell you what the tree needs: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/reading-avocado-leaves/
Once you get the watering figured out, you’ll probably have it all figured out (except for the squirrels, which is another story all together!). But let me know how that goes, and we’ll take it from there.
Hi Greg,
I currently have about 9 different avocado trees, with varieties ranging from hass, GEM, Reed, Fuerte, and sir Prize.
I am currently waiting to get a Jan Boyce (hopefully in August).
I was wondering what you think about the Nabal and Holiday varieties?
I would like 1 more summer variety so I was thinking between Nabal and lamb hass, and as for holiday, it seems to be the only one with the weird Labor Day- New Years harvest season. But how are it’s fruit?
I am hoping you give a profile on Jan Boyce, Nabal, and Holiday soon!
Thank you
Hi Ayven,
You’ve got a very nice collection of varieties there, with about the whole year covered.
I’d choose Nabal or Lamb over Holiday. And between Nabal and Lamb, Nabal is a bigger tree with bigger fruit, but Lamb might be more productive.
Holiday fruit tastes good, but I don’t know anyone who gets many from their tree compared to other varieties (Nabal and Lamb included).
I’m hoping to profile Nabal and Holiday before the summer is done. And I’ll try to do Jan Boyce next spring.
Thank you. I picked up a beautiful Nabal. Just room for one more in my yard, waiting for a Jan Boyce!
Hey Greg
I just discovered your blog. It is AMAZING! My wife and I just moved our family to San Diego this past year and we finally purchased a home that has a yard to grow a few trees in. We are planning on growing 2 citrus trees and 2 avocado trees. Your blog is going to be a huge resource for us. Thank you in advance.
I understand times are very strange now with Covid. But do you have any suggestions of places to check out where we could buy the less common variety of Avocados to taste prior to planting? With that said it seems like you suggest Haas and Reed, so perhaps we will just go with that.
Hi Adam,
What a nice message to receive. I hope you find some good guidance on the website here.
You’ve pointed out a problem that I’ve longed to solve. In short, there are no convenient, reliable sources where one can taste uncommon avocados in order to help decide which to plant. But I would try any farmers market. You can often find more than Hass at farmers markets.
If you’re willing to drive north on the 15 a little ways, visit Eli’s Farmstand in Fallbrook. Right now, he’s selling Gwen and Reed avocados. Later this summer, I’m sure he’ll have Lambs too. See: https://www.elisfarms.com/farmers-markets
Hi Greg,
Thank you for your posts and videos — your tree profiles are especially helpful to me. I am a relatively new home grower in a 10a climate zone up north in Oakland. I have Gem, Sir Prize, Pinkerton, Ardith, Lamb, Carmen, and Reed in the ground, along with some very young trees still in pots.
What are your favorite B-type varieties, and which would you say have been the most productive for you? There are many compelling B-type varieties such as Fuerte, Nabal, Sharwil, and Queen, although these same varieties seem to be known for inconsistent production.
Thanks,
Vin
Hi Vin,
Thank you, and that’s a great question. My favorite B-type avocados to eat are Fuerte and Sharwil. But I don’t know of any B types that produce as well as A types, in terms of consistency and in a wide range of locations. But Bacon, Fuerte, Sharwil, Nabal, Stewart, and Zutano I’ve seen produce well in certain locations. (I’ve also seen Sir-Prize produce well in certain locations, by the way.)
I would guess that if you have decent production from one B type avocado, then your location has the potential to have decent production from any B type.
I have a large Hass avacado tree that my neighbor gave us a gift in 1985 it had avacados on the tree when we planted it in the ground. We have a thick mulch around the tree, we give it organic avocado fertilizer, a probitoic fertilizer, worm casting and plenty of water. I get thousands of delicious avacados every year but it is a very large avacado tree.
Hi Dora,
The way you treat your Hass tree, you deserve thousands of avocados from it every year! It pleases me to hear how well you care for it and how it pays you in return.
This is a very insightful article which l have read very keenly.I have ventured into large scale commercial growing of Hass avocado.I look forward to visiting California some day to see the hass cultivation best practices.
Hi Paul,
May I be presumptive and guess that you’re in South Africa? A couple years ago at the annual meeting of the California Avocado Society, I had a nice time speaking with an avocado grower named Jan from South Africa who was visiting. That would be a great time to visit and do field tours and see practices here firsthand: during the CAS annual meeting (usually in October).
Good Morning Greg,
I planted a Hass about 6 months ago and is about 6 feet tall. My question is in the past few days a deer cam a long and ate all the leaves off except for the very top few and now is a naked tree. What is the likely hood of this tree surviving it was doing really well before this happened.
Thank you
Hi James,
What a mean deer. Since the tree was doing really well before this happened, I’d guess that the likelihood of recovery is high. Just be careful right now about watering. Since the tree lost most of its leaves it won’t need nearly as much water, and if you give it too much water the roots can be asphyxiated.
Thank you, I sure hope so. Just glad he missed my Fuerte that I planted two years ago.
Hi Greg,
Really enjoy the info you share about avocado growing.
I just planted a Hass I grew from seed. I planted it Nov 2 and it’s settled well. Thing is I’m seeing lots of advice to plant it higher than the surrounding soil to prevent root rot.
I’m in SF Bay Area with 9b climate. Not much rain and very dry in summer. Can I get away with protecting the tree with a plastic cover to shade it from rain?
Or Should I dig it up and replant higher? Then, How much higher should it be? Some people say a couple inches , others say a foot up.
Best regards,
-Elaine.
Wanted to note the soil in my area(SF Peninsula) is powdery when dry and clumpy when wet. – Elaine.
Hi Elaine,
Thank you. I would do a quick drainage test. Dig a hole near where you planted your Hass seedling and follow my guidelines here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-to-plant-and-stake-an-avocado-tree/
I was pleasantly surprised when a couple weeks ago we had winds that knocked a handful of immature fruit off my Hass. They did ripen up and taste decent. Today I found one that I had missed, sitting on the top rail of a fence. Very soft, I was thinking it was likely rotten. Nope, it was also tasty atop by burrito for lunch. I won’t be picking any others soon, but if we get winds at least the ones that get knocked off won’t go to waste. Waiting much longer than I normally would is better with these immature fruit.
Hey Greg!
I have 5 Hass, 4 GEM, 2 Reed, 1 Sir Prize, 1 Fuerte, and 1 Nabal (which died from the heat this summer :/ )
My question to you is, what is your top 5 or 10 ranking for strictly the flavor of avocado varieties?
I’ve heard many people mention Hass (of course), reed, Jan Boyce, and Nabal.
I want to get a few more varieties, namely Jan boyce, but not sure which other to get (Nabal, sharwil, Gwen, etc).
What do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Ayven,
That’s such a hard question. Do you mean flavor or overall eating quality (including characteristics like being easy to peel, having a small seed, etc)?
For flavor, my personal top group includes Fuerte, Jan Boyce, Hass, GEM, Gwen, Nabal.
For overall eating quality, the group would be larger and include all of the above plus Pinkerton, Sir-Prize, Sharwil, Ardith, Reed, and Lamb.
Don’t hold me to this too strictly though. I’m probably forgetting a few, and there are some others that are very good but that I haven’t eaten enough times to judge properly or are nearly impossible to buy so I won’t bother mentioning.
Where can I get small tree’s
Hi Alan,
In South Africa?
I live in Rhode Island in weather zone 6B. Is it possible to grow a fruit bearing tree in a container that is brought indoors during the winter?
Hi Stephen,
Yes, this is technically possible. But it is challenging. You need a spot indoors in the winter that also gets enough sun. The ideal such spot would be a heated greenhouse. If it’s in your living room, it might be warm but it might suffer from low light.
My family’s Hass avocado tree has been very stunted the last few years (is now tall, thin and bare at ~8ft but not growing). Last year it gave us 6 avocados for the first time ever and this year it is going to give us 6 as well. How can I help it grow taller and bushier? We painted the bark white with an organic paint, fertilize early before fruit set and again after they set, water a couple times a week but make sure it dries out a bit. We also have an old, small Fuerte that grew a lot last year but has never given us fruit (7 feet), and a new Reed and GEM avocado that we planted this year (each around 4 feet). Any advice and suggests would be very appreciated!!! We live in San Diego, a few miles from the coast. Thank you.
Hi Ravi,
What’s your soil like? Have you tested how long it takes for water to drain out of a hole dug in it?
Hello Greg,
Thank you very much for your response! Our soil is not amazing. all the trees are on a hill that we believe was built up when they designed our neighborhood. We have dug a large hole, filled it with water, and waited. I would say that it can take over 24 hours in the worst places/conditions. other places it is closer to just overnight or less.
It is very hard and seems almost like compact, rock like white sand with bits of large boulders/rocks and clay interspersed.
Should we water less as a result? The holes are all very deep (2-3+ feet deep). Any suggestions?
Thank you,
Ravi
Hi Ravi,
Thanks for the detailed response. This is not hospitable soil for avocados, unfortunately. Other kinds of fruit trees can grow well in this kind of soil, but not avocados. When the recording is available, you might like to watch the presentation I made the other night, “Growing Avocados: FAQs and Your Qs.” In it I talk about soil conditions that avocados don’t like and what to do about it.
Since your trees are already planted, the best you can do for them is to apply a mulch of wood chips under the trees about six inches thick. I would also apply about 20 pounds of gypsum under each. Then you should continue watering carefully as you already have been. The aim of all of this is to give the roots an environment that is more aerated and that is antagonistic to the root rot disease while still giving the tree as much water as it needs.
Hi Greg,
I planted my 5 gallon Hass tree last June. It’s over 6 feet tall now with a canopy that stretches about 2-3 feet wide, depending on what side you’re looking at. It looks like it’s doing very well, at least based on my inexperienced observation. Lots of new growth, and beautiful red flush of leaves in multiple places. However, there has been no flowering on it. My understanding is that most likely I won’t see fruit for 3-5 years after planting so I’m not anticipating early fruit, but as I walk through my neighborhood I see some trees that look smaller and less mature yet with flower buds. Is the lack of flowering at this stage indicative of a tree that won’t produce, or at least will produce less and later? Or is it normal to have no flowers even with vigorous growth of leaves and branches at this stage? Thank you!
Hi Joseph,
I wouldn’t read too much into the situation at this point. Sometimes young Hass trees don’t flower the first year or two and then flower profusely. Sometimes they alternate a bit and flower their first year in the ground and then take the next year off. My mature Hass tree didn’t flower at all or much its first couple years in the ground; however, it fruits well now.
Hello Greg. Am Michaell Asiimwe, I leave in Uganda which is the of most fertile countries in the world. I have fallen in love with Hass Avocado and want to grow this variety to a commercial leavel ,i.e 70 acres, but I have limited resource, I therefore request you that If out there in your reach have someone that I can partner with to achieve this dream. I will provide the land and on site management requirements. I will be extremely grateful to hear from you. Thank you
Hi Michael,
I wish I could join you in this venture. I know a couple people from Uganda and my wife has visited your country — seems like an amazing place. I hope you find someone to partner with you.
Hello Greg,
Thank you so much for your time to return my mail. And I need to acknowledge my love for this page, indeed I have read almost every latter on your page and I think if I kept it I will have many of my challenges sorted, for I have discovered that out there, many are in love with Avocado.not only as a delicacy but a fruit of nature.
Keep the page alive.
Thank you
Hello Greg,
I have a 7 yr old Hass. The last few years I have gotten a decent amount of avocados. They look and taste much better than store bought Hass. One problem is that the skin is a lot thinner than store bought, and breaks apart when peeled. This can get annoying. Could this be a sign of bad care. The tree looks like it is in okay shape, but after reading some of your post, I think I need to improve my watering. Could it have some mutation giving it thin skin. Thanks for all the info you share on this site
Hi David,
Hass is such an old variety (almost 100 years) that there have developed many mutations. The mutations have affected things such as the speed of fruit maturity (Flavia and Eugenin mutations from Chile), the flowering behavior (Carmen/Mendez from Mexico), the tree’s productivity (Rio), and the fruit’s skin. I notice some Hass trees in various parts of Southern California producing fruit with far bumpier skin than others. So yes, it’s possible that you have a mutation on your hands.
Are all the fruit on your tree the same, year after year? Or are some fruit on some branches noticeably different?
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the reply. I live about a mile from Mother Hass and always got a kick from the idea of the journey my little tree took to come so close from where it started. Guess it changed a little on the way.
Good question. Some fruit may be a little better than others. I never thought of paying attention to which fruit came from which branch. My tree has three main branches and one of those branches had at least 90% of the fruit. It could be only the thin-skinned fruit are coming from it. I only have a few fruits left this year and they are already getting ripe on my counter. Good news I have tons of little fruit on all branches for next year. I’ll be sure to check this out.
Hi David,
What a cool neighborhood you’re in. I love that some of the streets are even named after old avocado varieties, like Leucadia and Panchoy.
Hey Greg, i’m curious how your evaporative cooling has helped your trees. Have you seen any improvements in less fruit drop due to heat stress?
Great article as usual Greg!
I had a dilemma where I had to choose between Carmen and Gem because I needed space to grow a Lamorinda I grafted. I chose to pot the Carmen and kept the Gem after reading this I feel good about the decision. Because as you said I can easily get Carmens from Mexico at the store for a dollar each in which case I a may as well grow a different variety based on flavor besides Gem does really well in Northern California.
Much appreciated!
Greg
Your posts are wonderful! Very helpful in my education of growing avacados Thank you
I have 13 varieties in cultivation and so far i am not impressed with the holiday and the weak Jan Boyce trees but really I’m impressed with the hass , kona sharwull, sir prise , reed, and nabal. We shall see what they do inthe coming years
I planted a Queen variety based on a report that it was an old variety that produced large good fruit.. where by can i find information on it?
Bob
Hi Bob,
There’s not much info around on Queen, and I haven’t profiled it yet.
It’s a big fruit that turns black and has ridges. The trees that I know aren’t the most productive, and the fruit is decent but it’s mostly of interest because of its large size. The variety was brought up from Guatemala by E.E. Knight of Yorba Linda, Orange County, about a hundred years ago.
You can read a bit more about Queen in this database: http://www.avocadosource.com/AvocadoVarieties/QueryDB.asp
You can read what Knight says about Queen here: https://archive.org/details/CAT31307824/page/n1/mode/2up
You can see some immature Queen fruit on the tree in the U.C. variety collection in Irvine here (at 3:27): https://youtu.be/7z5ONrV67MY
I really enjoy your posts and have learned a lot from you -THANK YOU
I have a small Queen and will see how it does and keep you posted .I’m not expecting any great production but interested in the old varieties ,and have the room for them . I also have a Nobal,and kona Sherwill .Just for coursity and knowledge.
I have 10 more varietys started ,but not impressd with the cloned trees nor the holiday.
The Jan Boyce trees I was able to find are small and poor specmiuns but are growing . The heat wave was tough on all of them but the Carmens actually thrived in the heat I’m happy to say.
I’ll heck out the links you suggested thanks
Like how most Hass leaves have round and smooth ends, do some Hass leaves tend to have pointy tips?
I wish I’d have known about “The Yard Posts” a few years ago. I grew up in the Whittier hills about a nine iron’s distance from Rideout Way. My Father purchased our house, built in 1930 in large part because of the eight huge avocado trees in the back yard. We bought it around 1976 so I think it’s a pretty good bet that those trees were part of Rideout Heights and the grove where the Hass was born. Each of our trees was different and I have no idea what they were but one was like a Fuerte, another similar to Reed and Queen. Each one was really different from the other but some of the trees were 30+ feet high and towered over our two story home. My Father grew up an Oklahoma farmer so, he took great care of those trees and some years we had many hundreds which he gave away to friends, family & his customers. Anyway, I have great memories of harvesting cados with my Dad, playing in the tree house and many yummy meals that included those amazing avocados. Sadly, when I sold the home in 2021, the new owners chopped all the trees down even though they were still productive. I started my own trees in South OC here about two years ago and have been struggling but thanks to your site and others, I think I might get some crops before long. Clay soil and root rot have been my nemesis.
Great memories, Michael. Thanks for sharing. Shame about those trees being cut down.
In case you haven’t seen it, check this post out: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/planting-avocados-in-poor-soil/