When it comes to buying an avocado tree, is bigger better? In one major aspect, yes, because a bigger avocado tree is capable of giving you more fruit sooner.
On the flipside, bigger avocado trees come with three disadvantages, which is why I have purchased and planted many more small than big avocado trees in my own yard. But which is better for you?
Price
Small trees win when it comes to price. What do I mean by small though? I’m thinking of trees sold in one-gallon containers up to five-gallon containers. Five-gallon avocado trees are the most widely available at nurseries throughout Southern California. A five-gallon avocado tree is shown on the right in the photo above.
These trees are in what’s called sleeves, and they’re just a tad smaller than five-gallons.
The typical price? Smaller ones might be as low as $20, but five-gallons run anywhere from $25 up to $50.
And when I say big, what do I mean? I’m thinking mostly of avocado trees in fifteen-gallon containers but also those sold in 24-inch wood boxes. These trees cost as little as $60 but usually much more.
From any individual retail outlet, the price of a fifteen-gallon avocado tree tends to be three or four times as much as that of a five-gallon. For example, in the photos of price tags above, a five-gallon costs $36 whereas a fifteen-gallon costs $130.
Planting
Smaller avocado trees are also much easier to plant. Big deal, you might think. I know how to plant a tree. Or, I’m going to have my gardener plant it anyway. Think again.
Avocado trees are the most difficult to plant of any tree I know. This is mostly because avocado roots are uniquely brittle. It’s difficult not to break any during planting, and yet, breaking roots during planting sets the tree’s growth back.
A tiny avocado tree like this Kahaluu, however, is almost as easy to plant as a tomato seedling.
This fifteen-gallon Nimlioh, on the other hand, was a pain in the back, literally. I was knowledgeable enough to do the planting correctly, but due to the weight and awkward balancing needed, I strained my back in the process.
Staking
The trunk of a big avocado tree is often as weak as my back. So here’s the third point on the side of buying a small tree.
The problem is that a big avocado tree has spent many years growing vertically, surrounded by many other avocado trees in a nursery. This makes it unnaturally top heavy. Adding salt to the wound, the big avocado tree has spent its entire life tied to a stake for support.
You know what a tree trunk is supposed to look like, where it’s tapered from top to bottom, slim on top to stout and strong down low. Contrast that with this trunk of a big avocado tree for sale in a nursery:
Nurseries are not stupid or evil for growing trees this way. It’s almost impossible for them to do it economically any other way. It’s also possible for you to still plant, restake, and grow one of these trees with success. It’s just not easy.
(See my post, “How to plant and stake an avocado tree.”)
Staking a big avocado tree usually requires large, strong stakes, many adjustments over the course of a couple years, and eventually it is often necessary to do some pruning in order to get the tree to stand on its own in a balanced manner, especially if your yard is subject to high winds.
Here is that Nimlioh I planted from a fifteen-gallon container in late 2017. It’s now been in the ground for just over a year. It’s growing very well, but despite pruning it for balance, it still requires stakes.
And here is a baby Jan Boyce I planted from a one-gallon container. Never needed a stake, still doesn’t, never will, has withstood 50-mile-per-hour Santa Anas without any help.
Fruiting
But that little Jan Boyce is going to take forever to fruit! That big Nimlioh is ready to carry a dozen avocados this year. There you have it. Back to the major appeal of buying a big avocado tree.
It’s there, it’s real. Planting a big avocado tree will bring you fruit faster. How much faster?
Roughly, a fifteen-gallon avocado tree is one or two years ahead of a five-gallon. A five-gallon tree usually takes three or four years to set its first real crop (at least a handful of avocados), but a fifteen-gallon tree can set a real crop after being in the ground for only one or two years.
(See my post, “How long until an avocado tree fruits?”)
Big or small for you?
Which is better for your situation? Ask yourself a few questions:
-Is money a concern? (You could buy three or four small trees for the price of one big tree.)
-Are you strong enough to plant a big tree, or can someone give you a hand?
-Can you commit to restaking a big tree properly and adjusting frequently?
-Are you in a hurry to eat avocados from the tree?
Of course you are! We all are. The real concerns are the first three.
Whatever you decide, do trust that an excellent avocado tree that bears lots of fruit for decades can be grown — with proper attention — from a big or small beginning.
The most challenging obstacle with either might be having patience. For encouragement there, see this Hass tree in my yard that was planted in summer 2013 from a five-gallon container (read: small tree).
It set its first real crop after three years in the ground, in 2016, when this photo was taken:
And it didn’t only give us a handful at three years old. That first crop was 73 avocados.
You might also like to read my posts:
Well done sir! Any difference you’ve noticed with reed? And perhaps a new post about how to stake growing avocado trees?? Thank you Greg!
Hi Vincent,
No big difference that I’ve seen with Reed. The only thing I can think of is that Reeds tend to try to produce fruit while young, but the fruit gets so big that a small tree has a hard time carrying the weight.
I appreciate the suggestion on staking. I wrote about staking as part of the post on planting, but I think it would be good to separate them and expand on the staking issue.
Greg- you’ve posted in the past about the “multi trunk planting” of avocado trees for cross pollination- ever heard of anyone doing 3 trees in close proximity? I have this itch to see what will happen. I have roughly a 50sqft area in the corner of my yard that already has a reed and a bacon, but I’d like to see if a pinkerton will do sell under the shade of the reed and bacon? Thoughts?
Hi Vincent,
I’m also very curious about these types of plantings. I’ve recently put three avocado trees in one hole; I’ve got another set of three trees that are each five feet from one another; and I’ve got some small trees planted at the canopy edge of larger trees. I’ll certainly photograph and write about them as they show some results.
But I do know of a farm that plants their pollenizer trees as three in one hole. They use Bacon, Zutano, and Ettinger in their Hass orchard. They keep the three-in-one pruned small and so that one variety doesn’t overtake another. It seems to work very well for them. The reason they do it is so at least one of those varieties will be at peak bloom at the same time that their Hass trees are at peak bloom. (Every variety has its peak bloom at slightly different times each year.)
A Pinkerton, Reed, Bacon combination could work. What I’d look out for with that group is putting the Pinkerton to the south because the Bacon and Reed are likely to get much taller than the Pinkerton — if left to grow naturally, without pruning.
Do I have to have more than 1 tree to get fruit
Hi Diane,
No, this is not necessary. But some avocado varieties do produce a lot more fruit if they have an avocado tree of an opposite flower type nearby.
Which kind of avocado do you want to grow? I can tell you if this particular variety would benefit a lot or a little from having a second tree nearby.
More on avocado cross-pollination is here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/cross-pollination-of-avocados-or-why-i-planted-a-hass-next-to-a-fuerte/
Curious if there’s any update on the three trees in one hole and three trees within five feet of each other experiment. :-). I have a Hass and a Reed ready for planting in a small around approximately 8x6ft. I’m itching to potentially plan to plant a third!
Where to buy black avocadoes?
Hi V.,
Do you mean an avocado tree whose fruit turns black when ripe? There are many varieties that do that. Some are Stewart, Mexicola, Lamb, Hass, and Mexicola Grande.
For where to buy those varieties and others, see my post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/where-to-buy-an-avocado-tree/
hi there! I have recently purchased a Little Cado and am wondering about the veracity of the claim that it has both A and B flowers. Regardless, if another variety of avocado would improve fruiting, what semi-dwarf would you suggest? We have limited space to work with.
Thank you!
Hi Rowan,
I’ve never seen a Wurtz tree that flowers on both A and B schedules. (Wurtz is the original name of the variety; Little Cado is a name applied to the same variety by certain nurseries.)
I know one lone Wurtz tree that is very fruitful, but I have heard from other growers with Wurtz trees that are not as fruitful.
Wurtz has an A-type flower. If you want to improve pollination potential with a B-type variety that doesn’t grow as big as some others, you might try Edranol, Sharwil, or Sir-Prize.
Thank you very much! Of the three, do you happen to know what to expect for bearing age if they were to be grown in large containers, specifically grow bags? Thank you!
Edranol fruits earliest in my experience. Sharwil and Sir-Prize are both unpredictable as to when they’ll first fruit. Some Sharwil and Sir-Prize trees will start fruiting after a couple years whereas others wait many years.
We live in South LaCosta. Can we plant a Haas? Any issues re cross fertilization?
I have a big yard. Your thoughts ?
Hi Leslie,
You mean La Costa near Carlsbad and Encinitas, right? That’s a fantastic place to grow a Hass.
If you’re wondering whether you need another kind of avocado tree nearby in order to pollenize the Hass, the answer is no, that’s not necessary. If you did plant another kind of avocado tree nearby, the Hass would likely produce even more fruit though.
Since you have a big yard you might want to plant a second avocado for that cross-pollination and to have fruit during more months of the year. You might like to read my post “What’s the best kind of avocado to grow?” for some suggestions.
Thank you Greg! I had three big fuertes growing up as a kid and loved them, and I have been wanting to grow my own trees for awhile now, which is how I came across your page. I am thinking about a Reed, Fuerte, and hass to start and have 5 acres to work with. I live in Alpine and wonder if you know of any good nurseries closer than North County to check out.
Evergreen in Lakeside and there is another large nursery just down the street from them.
Hi James,
What’s a Southern California childhood without a big Fuerte to climb in? I have the same memories, and I cherish them so much that the first avocado I planted for my kids was a Fuerte.
As Rick already mentioned, check out Evergreen. And then Kniffing’s is right in that area too. Both should have — or be able to order for you — Reed, Fuerte, and Hass.
A little farther, you’d be able to visit Walter Andersen’s in Poway or the one near Point Loma. There are also a number of Armstrong nurseries along the 8. A tad south is Bonita Creek Nursery, if you’re thinking of planting any less common avocado varieties.
Hi Greg, I just came across your page and love it! Duck a wealth of information.
I grew up in SoCal and always loved the avocado farms up in Fallbrook. But now I live in SW Florida on the gulf coast. Can you tell me what type of avocados might grow well in this climate? I hate those things they call Florida avocados here (big giant tasteless things that resemble avocados slightly).
Thanks so much,
Joe
where did you get the jan boyce!
thanks for this post…i was debating on getting 5 gallon or 15 gallon gem avocado but i’m going to opt for the smaller 5 gallon instead.
and what you said is true..i’ve had other fruit trees (mangoes) where the 5 gallon ones can stand by themselves and are stronger while the 7 or 15 gallon ones are just more lanky and needs to be staked.
Hi Johnny,
That Jan Boyce came from the California Rare Fruit Growers, Orange County chapter, at Green Scene at the Fullerton Arboretum. See this post for some info on that: Where to buy an avocado tree
Greg,
Would appreciate your recommendations for fruit trees maintenance service. I’m looking for someone to prune and do preventative treatment several times a year. I’m located in Carlsbad around the intersection of El Camino Real & Cannon Road. Backyard fruit trees range from stone fruits, deciduous, sub & tropical fruits and avocado. All the ones I have found online are way North of my location. Thank you.
Hi K. Stig,
I don’t know anyone off the top of my head that does this in the Carlsbad area, but I’ll ask around and get back to you via email.
I too live in Carlsbad, La Costa area & would love a recommendation for someone to trim my avocado tree. It was supposed to be a dwarf, bought it at Costco ~9. years ago. We rented our home out for a few years (so I wasn’t here to work in the garden) while we lived in another state, & I suspect that the landscape guys thought the grafted part was a sucker & trimmed it off. The left over part of the tree has gotten huge (50 + feet) in ~6 years. We got lots of fruit the last 2 years before we left, but now that the grafted part is gone, no more fruit. I was thinking of putting another dwarf in a pot on my back patio to try to get fruit again. Will that be too far away? The big tree is in our front yard on a little slope. Very small lot (~6500 square feet) so no room for another big tree. Any recommendations on where to get a dwarf tree in Carlsbad?
Hi Kara,
If you want to grow an avocado tree in a pot, then it’s going to be dwarf whether you like it or not because of the pot’s restrictions on its roots. However, an avocado tree in a pot is not going to give you much fruit. If that’s acceptable, then grow any variety you like to eat.
If I were in Carlsbad, I would drive up to Vista or Fallbrook to get my avocado tree at Clausen’s or Maddock or Subtropica. Find more info on these places here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/where-to-buy-an-avocado-tree/
Thanks Greg!
I am fine with not much fruit from the potted one, but if I put the potted one in the back yard of a small lot (~6000 sq ft) will it be close enough to the large tree in the front yard for that one to be pollinated & bear fruit?
Also do you know of an arborist near Carlsbad to trim the large (40-50ft) avocado tree in my front yard?
Hi Kara,
I can only guess, but probably no — I doubt you’ll see any improved pollination of the tree in your front yard from a small tree (with relatively few flowers) in a pot in your backyard. You could try moving the potted tree beside the big tree just during bloom though.
I’m sorry but I don’t know of an arborist near Carlsbad to recommend. I would feel confident in using any certified arborist though.
Hi Greg,
Hope you are well. First, I would like to sincerely thank you for taking the time to create such an awesome website for us! I’m sure you know how much we all appreciate your help and advice.
I wanted to ask for your advice as a new avocado tree owner. I also live in Southern California, in Orange County to be exact, and we recently purchased a 5-gallon avocado tree from Home Depot. I am still not totally sure of the variety since it was labeled as a “Dwarf/Hybrid Avocado”. We picked what we thought was the healthiest looking one but the growth has really stalled over the last 2 months. We have a section of our garden dedicated to fruit trees that have flourished over the decades (most are of the dwarf variety as well). We had our gardener plant this avocado tree in space we created and with fresh mulch, and within the first about 6 weeks or so we noticed some new growth but it has since really stalled. I do my best to make sure it gets enough water weekly and it is still affixed to the wooden stalk it came with. With the recent rains we have done our best not to overwater. I wanted to ask if you may have any advice for us to check if the tree is ok/healthy? Additionally, did we make a mistake by only getting 1 tree instead of 2? Near the avocado tree are lemon trees, orange trees, guava trees and some hibiscus flowers.
I am not sure if there is a way to maybe send you some photos of what the tree looked like when we first got it planted to what it looks now after about 3-4 months for a better idea but we would definitely appreciate any thoughts, tips and advice you may have. Thank you in advance for your time and help!
Best regards,
Kyle S.
Hi Kyle,
Thank you so much for the compliment. I sincerely appreciate it.
No need to worry that your avocado tree has not been growing in the last couple months. No avocado trees in Southern California have! It’s winter. Some fruit trees lose their leaves during winter, but avocado trees just stall this time of year.
Actually, it’s now mid-February, and some kinds of avocado trees have woken up and started flowering and growing leaves. Most, however, wait until about March to really get going. April is super flowering and growth-starting time. It depends a bit on which variety you have (a variety like Mexicola flowers exceptionally early) and where you are in Southern California (if your yard is warm and south-facing then your trees wake up earlier).
Those trees at Home Depot labelled “Dwarf/Hybrid avocado” are actually an old variety called Wurtz. The trees are also sometimes labelled Littlecado or Minicado. It is a smallish tree for an avocado tree. The fruit stays green even when ripe, unlike Hass.
I wouldn’t say you made a mistake by just planting that one tree. You’ll get fruit from it, especially if you have a healthy population of bees visiting your garden. If you have the space, and you like eating avocados, then you won’t regret planting a second avocado tree of a different variety though.
Hi Greg,
Thank you for your response and apologies for the delay! I had no idea you had responded yet as I was expecting some sort of email from the submission form.
Thank you for clarifying the type of avocado tree we have. I have read some of your other posts so it is helpful to know that this fruit stays green instead of turning darker like Hass and other avocados. I also appreciate you calming my nerves about making a mistake with watering or time of planting. I will keep an eye on the tree going into March/April to see if there is any growth.
I really do love eating avocados but unfortunately I do not think there is anymore space in our garden for another tree. We tried to maximize space by only going with dwarf varieties for all of the fruit trees. Hopefully the bees and other insects that help pollinate the other fruit trees will find their way to the avocado tree (once it flowers). I’ll take a look at your blog to see if maybe there is a way to “self pollinate” the flowers (when the time comes) just in case?
I know you are busy and probably have better things to do but I will take some up-to-date photos and send them over soon. I would appreciate your review and any thoughts on the location or anything else that comes to mind.
Many thanks again for your thoughtful reply! Again, I really appreciate the time you take to help us out!
Best regards,
Kyle
Thanks, Kyle.
Sorry I don’t have the comments set up to message you when I’ve replied. It’s something I’d like to work on, along with allowing photos to be added in the comments section. Someday!
Bees are key. If you have lots of bee activity, you’ll likely get good fruit set from any single tree.
Please do keep me updated. I learn when you do this. I really do enjoy and appreciate following the story of your tree.
Hi Greg,
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you but I have some updates for you! I sent to you via the email address you provided above. I really appreciate your help and support. I sent you a series of photos to document the growth over time. I hope you will them interesting! Many thanks again!
Hi Greg,
Will an Avocado tree survive in East Tn? Can you grow them indoors?
Hi Lisa,
Does your yard get below 30 degrees often in winter? Does it ever get below 25 degrees? Small avocado trees can be killed in temperatures below about 25-28, and large avocado trees sustain a lot of damage at temperatures much below about 25.
Yes, you can grow an avocado tree indoors if the location has enough light.
I think I bought the same kind of tree at Costco labeled “Hybrid Dwarf”. It was available when they briefly had avocado trees for sale in the Vista and Carlsbad stores. I have always wondered if it was a named variety, So it is probably a Wurtz. The one I bought was the only one labeled that way and looked pretty sad, probably the last of the dwarf avos available.
Mine is also growing very slowly and has reached about two foot tall and about two feet wide. While some of the other varieties bought at the same time and place are much bigger and have fruit this year (Hass, Bacon, Lamb) and the biggest at 10′ is the Zutano but it only has two tiny ‘horderve avocados hanging on it.
But then the Holiday and Mexicola withered and died. So at least the “Hybrid Dwarf ” is alive and growing.
For those interested in getting a Reed avocado tree, I saw a few of them in the #5 pots at Home Depot this week, looks like La Verne must have made a recent delivery of them. Very hard to find variety, I didn’t see them around last year so I drove a few hours south to Atkins in Fallbrook to get mine. I also saw at HD, a few Lamb Hass, and the nearly always available Hass, Fuerte, Zutano, Bacon, Little Cado (Wurtz) and a few Pinkertons and Mexicolas, I live in the L.A. South Bay area. In the O.C. area, you can go see Gary at Laguna Hills Nursery in Santa Ana, he’s got Carmens, Reeds, and Holiday in small “liners”, grown by Brokaw. I think he still has a few Ettingers, Mexicola Grande and Hass on clonal Toro Canyon rootstock. Anyways, just want to pass the info along.
Hello Greg,
I have a Hass avacado tree, about 2-3 yrs old in a 5 gallon pot, and about 3ft-4ft tall. I will be up potting to a 15g container this weekend. My question is should I let the flowers be or remove them from the tree? I would prefer growth over fruit this year. I not sure if I should let it be and remove any fruit that develops or just remove it now?
Hi Sergio,
Just let the tree do its thing. If it does set fruit that gets bigger than a marble, go ahead and knock it off then.
Greg- you’ve posted in the past about the “multi trunk planting” of avocado trees for cross pollination- ever heard of anyone doing 3 trees in close proximity? I have this itch to see what will happen. I have roughly a 50sqft area in the corner of my yard that already has a reed and a bacon, but I’d like to see if a pinkerton will do sell under the shade of the reed and bacon? Thoughts?
Hi,
I’m new to your site, and hope that I’m not asking something that’s addressed elsewhere. I have about an acre of pretty steep hillside in Palo Colorado Canyon in Big Sur. Facing SE, I get full sun after about 10 a.m. daily, getting pretty hot in summer. I want to plant avocados and lemons to begin with, and am thinking of doing some terracing to accomodate them.
I’m thinking of planting the trees in 3.5’ x 3.5’ wooden planter boxes both for convenience and because the soil here is largely decomposed granite, which is fine for all I know, but I expect that the trees would prefer something else. Although I plan to have no bottom to the boxes so that the trees can root down as far as they please. Pines and oaks and redwoods do quite well here, and I’m thinking that the fruit trees will be okay once established in more accomodating soil.
I wonder how feasible my ideas are, and if you have any suggestions about proceeding.
Thanks . . . I look forward to exploring your site.
Hi Dan,
It sounds like you have a promising site for avocados and lemons. I wouldn’t bother with either terracing or building boxes for the actual tree planting areas (you may want to terrace a bit for walking to and from, and around, the trees — I don’t know). I have grown both avocados and lemons on very steep slopes without terracing or boxes, but with fine success.
As regards the decomposed granite, it is fine for both: lemons will tolerate it while avocados thrive in it. Don’t bother adding anything but your native dirt to the planting holes, but do add mulch to the surface after planting in order to prevent irrigation runoff and to enhance the organic matter in the DG over time.
If you haven’t already, check out my post called, “How to plant and stake an avocado tree.”
Greg – I came across your site too late. I’ve had two holes prepared for two trees now – avocado and mango and I was getting my info from the antiquated “dig a hole and put in compost and amendments” and I have clay soil. One hole has good drainage – about 2 hours. One took 15 hours. I can dig out most of the half/half mix and refill with half native and the mix. Can I get away with putting a raised box and the avocado tree. I’d like the mango to go in the good spot as it has a deeper fuller root system but I’m afraid of killing my avocado in the clay hole. Thanks again, you are a saint in my book.
Hi Zen,
I’d put the avocado in the faster draining hole.
It might be too much effort now to dig the holes out again and adjust the contents, but I’d at least make sure that you don’t have a bathtub situation where there is clayey native soil all around a distinct hole with uniform walls and the inside of the hole is full of compost, etc. At the very least, try to mix together the amendments with the surrounding clayey soil so there is a more graduated interface. If there’s not, you might have difficulty with irrigation since the clayey soil will suck and hold onto water far more than the compost mix, and your trees’ roots will find it unappealing to penetrate into the surrounding native soil.
Ideally in such a situation, plant on something of a mound where your mound is composed of the native clayey soil mixed with a lighter soil or compost (or both), and again, the interface between the mound and the native soil below is not abrupt but graduated a bit.
Yup I came to all the same conclusions as you. I shot a video and I’ll put it together tomorrow after I finish the mulching and show the finished product. You ain’t kidding about how much a pain a 15g can be. Doing it right was much harder than the first one I tried last year haha… Happy growing.
Hi Greg,
I live in Fresno, CA, new to the area, and just purchased a 15 gal Fuerte to put in our basic sized front yard. What would be a good choice of Type A to pair it with? How far is to far to plant from each other? Do you know of any big nurseries up around the Central Valley/Northern to purchase from? I really would like to purchase a 15 gal if possible. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you, Cheri
Hi Cheri,
You’ve identified a gap in my knowledge here, unfortunately. I don’t know many nurseries in the Central Valley. But please see my post “Where to buy an avocado tree” for growers and where they sell their trees. For example, go to the La Verne Nursery website to see where you can buy one of their trees near you. Even give them a call (800-822-1117). They answer, and they’re very kind and helpful. Also, consider getting a smaller tree shipped to you by Four Winds Growers. (If you take good care of a small tree, in a couple years you’ll forget that it started out so small.)
As for a good companion for your Fuerte, I feel more adequate. You’re looking for both an A-type flower and a different harvest season so you can have avocados to pick throughout most months of the year. Hass (including Hass Carmen), GEM, Lamb, and Reed would all fit those requirements very well. Take your pick. I think you’d be satisfied by any of those.
As far as maximizing cross pollination, the canopies of the two trees should be touching. So think about how big you want the trees to get. For example, I have planted pairs 7.5 feet apart, planning for them to eventually make a single tree unit that is about 15 feet wide. Their canopies started to touch after about four years in the ground.
But you will still certainly get cross pollination benefits if the canopies are, say, 10 or 20 feet apart, too. Much beyond that and I wouldn’t count on a lot of cross-pollination. I wrote more about this in my post “Cross pollination of avocados, or Why I planted a Hass next to a Fuerte.”
Hi Greg,
I planted a small (4 foot) Hass tree last February (2018) per your instructions and by the end of summer, it was over 8 feet tall. Now its the end of March and its over 10 feet tall and after the entire tree had blooms, I noticed that there are about 40 marble size avocados on it. These are all in the upper half of the tree as the lower half is still flowering. The lower half will probably have more in a week or two.
My question is, will these eventually fall off of the tree as it’s barely over year old, or might I get some avocados this year from such a young tree?
-Ken
Hi Ken,
Sounds like your tree is thriving. That’s great. You can definitely get some fruit to hang to maturity on a Hass that is 10 feet tall even though it’s only been in the ground just over a year.
But don’t count them until around August. My rule of thumb is that around 75% of the BB-sized fruitlets fall, and then later a much smaller percent of the marble-sized fruitlets fall, and then a few of the egg-sized fruit falls too. Only around August should you take a count of the young fruit that you have on the tree and consider them to be the crop that will very likely hang until maturity.
Judging by the size of your tree and the number of marble-sized fruitlets you said you have, plus the fact that more flowers are on the way and May is usually even better than April for fruitset, I’d guess you’re going to get some avocados to eat in the end despite the tree’s young age.
Thanks for the reply Greg, so August is a good time to count what I may get. I was just surprised to see anything on a young tree. BTW, is there anyway to post pictures in our comments?
Sorry, Ken, there’s no way to post photos in the comments at this time. I’ve been considering trying to make that possible. Is that something you’d like to see?
No, but some posts may be easier to understand if we were able to post pictures. Keep up the good work, your information is invaluable.
Hi Greg let me just start by saying thanks for all the information you’re putting out there for us it’s greatly appreciated. I have a concern that I was hoping you might help me out with. I bought a Hass avocado tree in a 15 gallon bucket I would say at the time it was 6 ft tall in about 4 ft wide healthy and happy and planted it in my backyard back in November. And now this tree has set so much fruit I must have counted at least 200 little avocados on it already and it seems to be having trouble putting out new growth and I noticed that it’s starting from the bottom of the tree the new growth and working its way up I don’t know if that’s normal or not. So my question to you Greg is should I let the tree be and let it go through its natural process or should I thin out the tree and if I thin it out should I take off all the fruit or can I leave some on there.
It just seems to me like way too much fruit for a young tree like this any help would be greatly appreciate it thanks…
Hi Eulogio,
What a good sign for your young Hass to be making so much fruit right now! A Hass tree of its size can certainly carry some fruit now so you don’t need to strip it all. You may not need to strip any of the fruitlets.
There is no objectively right answer here as far as I can tell. For example, last year I had a Gwen tree similar in size to your Hass. It was flowering and setting young fruit like crazy. I stripped all the fruitlets at first, but then it ended up dropping all the fruitlets that it later set anyway. My stripping of the fruitlets also didn’t seem to encourage it to grow more vegetatively.
Usually, I take more of a sit-back-and-see approach. Let the tree set all the fruit it wants at first. Will any grow to marble size? Often, almost all will drop before then. Once you have some at marble size, can the tree carry that load? You’ll probably have even more drop naturally over the next couple months anyway.
The short of it is that it’s rare that small trees set and try to mature more fruit than they’re able. It happens — especially with a few select varieties (Carmen, GEM, Pinkerton, Gwen, Lamb) — but it’s not too common. Usually, they set a lot of fruit but then drop a great percentage over succeeding months, without you having done anything about it, and like it or not.
And with a larger 15-gallon Hass like yours, I’d definitely sit back and see what it tries to hold.
Oh, and yes, sometimes trees do grow new leaves down low first — not always, but sometimes. In my observations, it seems to be a response to the top of the tree having been stressed or injured (even very slightly) by cold or heat during the past year. I’ve got a couple trees growing this way right now.
Hey, thank you so much for writing these up, they help a lot! I have a quick question though: will a large tree give a noticable amount of more fruit over a small one? Or Will they be about the same?
Hi Drew,
Are you asking whether a large avocado tree will produce more fruit than a small avocado tree? (Not about the size of the tree at planting time.)
If so, then yes. All other things being equal (variety, tree health, rootstock, etc.), a large avocado tree will produce more fruit than a small one.
Thanks for such a quick reply! And thank you so much for the answer! If they made about the same then I was planning on going for the dwarfs to save space, but I wanted big ones for the shade they provide! It sounds like heading for a bigger tree if I can find a cheaper one is what I’ll do. Also, I’ve read a ton of your other guides! Thank you so much for having such a archive of info made!
Hi Greg,
I recently saw your site and have already learned a lot. I am planning remove two poorly producing trees (apricot and Babcock peach). The space is only 8X4 feet in Del Mar by the lagoon which gets cool weather. A Haas (15 gal) and cross pollinator Bacon were suggested. What are your thoughts
Many thanks in advance
Dan
Hi Dan,
I’m familiar with your neighborhood; for years, I rode my bike around the lagoon on my way to and from work when I worked at UCSD. I still surf Torrey Pines on occasion.
I wouldn’t bother with the Bacon unless you’ve eaten its fruit and know that you like it. I’m fairly certain that you’ll get plenty of production from just the Hass tree. Being so close to the ocean, Hass trees produce very well without other avocado trees nearby. I have visited many such lone Hass trees from Point Loma up to Carpinteria.
There wouldn’t be anything wrong with also planting the Bacon if you like its fruit though. I’m just worried about taking up precious planting space with the Bacon unnecessarily. You absolutely don’t need it in order to get the Hass to fruit well.
Hi Greg
Thanks for the prompt response. You rode your bike past my house then off Carmel Valley Rd (Via Esperia)
In the 4X8 space is two trees too much? I plan on keeping them at six-seven feet. Richard Wright of Edible Eden btw is the person who has been advising me.
Also, I have a couple of Babcock peaches that haven’t produced well. Is that because of the variety? Love white peaches…..Thanks again
Dan Smiley
Hi Dan,
You can put two avocado trees in a 4×8 space and keep them to seven feet tall, for sure. It would just be a matter of keeping on top of the pruning. I think that the best way to accomplish this would be to plant the trees right next to each other, in one hole, no more than a foot apart. You’re then going to train and prune the trees into two halves of a single tree unit. A friend of mine has done exactly this with many avocado trees. From afar each double-tree just looks like one tree, and then up close you notice that it has two trunks.
I’m not sure, but I’d be surprised if your Babcock peaches don’t produce well because of the variety. I know of other Babcock peach trees that produce well in similar climates. For example, my aunt has a Babcock peach tree that produces extremely well and her yard is almost exactly one mile from the ocean in Encinitas.
What else could be the cause? I suppose your pruning practices might be reducing the fruiting wood too much. (Peaches flower and fruit mostly on branches that grew the previous summer, not on branches any older than that.) Or maybe the trees don’t get enough sun?
Hi again,
My yard gets great morning and most of the day sun so that’s not the issue. Also I understand the idea of fruiting wood. My yellow peach makes dozens of sweet peaches which I battle against June bugs for the crop. Your making me think I should keep tree at least another year…..
That would mean that the space for avocado is reduced to 5X4. Is that beg enough for the two tree planting?
Many thanks
Dan
Hi Dan,
That space is big enough for the short term, but it might prove too small in the long run. You would end up having to do a lot of pruning and I’m not sure how much fruit you would get. But you could plant the trees and deal with that as it comes.
Hi Greg and Thank you for your responses. I think what I’ll do is plant just one Haas in that spot and maybe another (Fuerte) nearby. To make this more appealing to the general audience can you comment on having only one avocado tree in a garden with respect to fruit production as there is a ?myth that two tree are needed to get fruit.
Thanks once more,
Dan
Hi Dan,
I think that’s a good idea. I plan to write a post in the next few months dealing with the commonly repeated notion that you need two avocado trees in order to get fruit. It’s a shame that people keep saying this with zero evidence for it and mountains of evidence against it. I actually did write a post about it a few years ago, but it’s not very good. I need to write a better one. Still, here is the old one: “Do you need two avocado trees to get fruit?”
Hi Greg
A Holiday variety was suggested for the small space (5X5). Question is can you really keep an Avocado tree trimmed to 8 or 9 feet max and expect fruit?
Cheers
Dan
PS Read those previous posts. Strange trees…..
Hi Dan,
You can keep an avocado tree trimmed to nine feet and get fruit, yes. It’s been done thousands of times in many commercial farms around the world. And I’ve seen it in backyards throughout Southern California.
However, I wouldn’t bother with the Holiday variety. Yes, the Holiday is a runt tree that is very easy to keep small, but it doesn’t produce nearly as much as many other varieties. If you’re capable and willing to do some pruning on an avocado tree and you want many avocados to eat from the tree, then you would be better off with another variety. I have grown two Holiday trees in different locations myself, and I’ve seen many others around and my opinion is that they’re inferior.
Hello fellow dirt diggers.
I’m wanting to plant 2 avocado trees, Reed, Hass, and Fuerte avocado. I’m a little short of room in my yard because of my newly planted Blood Orange trees. But I do have 18 foot x 75 foot strip of virgin soil by the street.
I have 2 question.
1. If plant avocado trees right up against the street does everyone that passes by steal them clean?
2. (different area) Can they also be planted by a California pepper tree. Right now the pepper trees keeps the public from staring right into my house and was hoping to replace on with the other over time . trim back the pepper tree when the avocados start to grow.
Hi Jim,
I’d guess you will lose most if not all of your avocados on the street, unless perhaps you remove all fruit that is visible from the outside. Lots of people don’t even know an avocado tree when they see one, and if the fruit is hidden by foliage then — out of sight, out of mind. This would be easiest to do with Reed. Hass and Fuerte show their fruit more. Lamb is another variety that hides its fruit well.
You might be able to plant the trees by the pepper, but it would be a challenge. The pepper will infiltrate with its roots and drink the irrigation you give to the avocados. You’ll want to prune the pepper roots a couple times a year, plus give the avocados extra water especially in the first couple years. I’ve gone through this same process with avocados near large eucalyptus, ficus, and live oak trees.
After a couple years, you’ll want to worry more about sunlight and start trimming back the pepper as necessary so that your avocados get enough sun to be fruitful.
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to my awesome questions. I have another one for you, a question that is.
1. Last year I planted a Torocco Blood Orange 15 gallon right where I should have put a avocado tree. Just now started to show new growth. Can I plant a Reed avocado within 3-5 feet, trunk to trunk, of the blood orange?
If No
Then I plan to remove the orange to a extra big pot and put the avocado it’s place.
2. I have simi limited space and I will also be growing a Fuerte on the property. What are your thoughts on the Reed and the Fuerte sharing the same hole with about 35” trunk spacing? I was also thinking on throwing in a Hass into the hole but I think I might be pressing my luck. Any thoughts.
Hi Steven,
You could do either of those planting options. It would just be a matter of pruning properly going forward in order to prevent one tree from crowding the other. And yes, you can even do three trees in one hole.
I would rather manage two or three avocados in proximity than an avocado beside a citrus just because the needs of the two tree types are a little different, but I have avocados growing very close to citrus trees in my yard and it works out fine.
Hi Greg
How about a Gwynn and a Hass for my one hole planting. Reason: Longest continuous fruiting seasons combined.
Thank you in advance,
Dan Smiley
Hi Dan,
Gwen and Hass are both excellent varieties, but their harvest seasons overlap a lot. Hass is earlier than Gwen, but only by a couple months. Probably, with a Hass and Gwen you’d get very good avocados for around eight months maximum out of the year in your location. That’s a lot. Still, if you chose Reed or Lamb to complement Hass you could have more like a ten month harvest (if the trees had enough fruit on them). Anyway, I’d love to have both Gwen and Hass in my yard. That would be a delicious pair!
Hi Greg
My neighbor has been kind enough to offer some space in his yard next to me! In that case should I separate the Hass and Reed or still but them in one hole? If separating, how far apart?
As an aside, what’s your opinion on mason bees?
Thank you
Dan
Hi Dan,
That’s great news! Your spacing should mostly depend on how many avocados you want from each tree. The more space between the trees, the wider they can grow and the more fruit you’ll get, up to a point.
If you plant them in one hole and grow them like one tree that is about 15 feet wide and 15 feet tall ultimately, you can expect to average 100 avocados from the pair each year. It’s certainly possible that you’ll average more than that. I’m basing this mostly on what I average from my trees, but you are in a kinder climate for avocados.
If you’d like to get more like 200 avocados from the pair each year (still at 15 feet in height), then you might plant them around 10 feet apart. For maximum production from 15-foot tall trees, space them 15 feet apart (or more).
I’m fascinated by mason bees as well as other native bees. I’ve been working to attract more to my yard in the last few years and it’s working. I have not purchased any bees. I just grow flowering plants to feed them and they magically arrive. I can’t be sure about their effect on pollination but they seem to help.
Hi Greg,
I’m late to this website but love it already! We have had a weeping avocado, Wurtz I think, tree in our yard since we bought our house in west Los Angeles area more than 20 years ago. It produces a lot and people love them. The roots from the tree have made their way to our compost heap so it is well fed. The compost had three little trees sprout up so I took two of them out and planted them in containers in summer 2019.
By Feb 2020 one is almost up to the roof of our house and is strong and beautiful.
I always intended to give it to someone who wants a tree but not sure how to go about finding the right person. I am as attached as if it were a puppy—I can’t keep it but want it to go to a good home.
Any thoughts?
Many thanks
Hi Margaret,
Thanks! I do just what you’ve done all the time. I can’t let seedling avocado trees go to waste either. The trouble with seedling avocado trees is that they are mysteries: you never know when they’ll eventually fruit nor what the fruit will be like. Because of this, people aren’t likely to want them as gifts.
What I often do with my seedling trees is practice my grafting and do other experiments on them. You could try to graft a branch of your mature tree onto the seedling. If you were to successfully graft your mature tree onto the seedling, then you could give it to one of the people who like the fruit from your mature tree and they would be assured of getting that same fruit from the new tree.
Or you could try to prune the seedling into a bush form and make it fit in a small corner of your yard.
Of course, if you grow the seedling long enough it will eventually fruit and that will be a fun discovery.
Hi Greg,
I wanted to ask if you think I can grow an avocado tree given my clay soil, north facing back yard in Orinda, CA. While it is in Zone 9b, I suspect it probably fits the microclimate of zone 8. It gets weak sun the in morning and by 4PM in the winter time, there is no more sun at all. The yard is surrounded by tall trees on all side. I think I am thinking about cutting the trees or thinning the surrounding trees. If you think a certain variety may be hardy with some shade and colder temps, please let me know?
Thank you!
Alice
Hi Alice,
I would give it a shot. I know of avocados that grow not far from you. Plant the tree on a mound. See this post about how to do that: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-to-plant-and-stake-an-avocado-tree/
And I’d first try an A type rather than a B type because A types usually produce better where the spring weather is cooler. If you like Hass, just try Hass. I would. My mature Hass got through a 25-degree night with very little damage to leaves and zero damage to fruit this last winter. You’ll want to protect the young tree from cold nights for the first couple years, but once they get some canopy volume they’re surprisingly tough.
I’d rather try a variety whose fruit I know I like first. The worst that can happen is that you lose the tree and go for an unknown or second-rate variety after that. If Hass doesn’t work, my next varieties to try would be Gwen, then Lamb, then maybe Stewart. (These are varieties with tasty fruit, that I’ve observed can take cold and set fruit in cooler weather than many others.)
Hi Greg
Hope you are staying safe. I dug up a non productive apricot tree. Now I want to plant something edible. Already have peaches, oranges, limes and lemons. Any suggestions? Thinking of an Oroblanco grapefruit no apples please or something else that I would keep to 8-9 ft.
Thank you and be well,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the well wishes. Same to you. I’m thinking you might want something that ripens somewhere between late summer (after peaches) and early winter (before oranges). Oroblanco grapefruit are tasty, but they probably wouldn’t ripen for you near the ocean until spring. And I’ve always thought that you should make sure you really like grapefruit before you plant a tree because that’s a lot of grapefruit (even from a tree kept to 8-9 feet). My neighbor is currently giving away as much grapefruit from her tree as we will accept.
How about an early mandarin? Or how about a pomegranate? Or a pineapple guava? Or some bananas?
Hi Greg
Hmmm, Have a Pineapple Guava (which doesn’t seem to get mature fruit). Not enough into pomegranate Or Passion Fruit to want a tree, my nice neighbor has the mandarins covered; can you really grow bananas in Del Mar?
Thought about a Macadamia tree but they are huge. Still don’t have the answer….
Thanks in advance for another suggestion
Take care,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Bananas are an easy yes for you in Del Mar. If you like the look of bananas and you like to eat them, then I’d definitely grow some. In your location they are very easy. See my post for a little more on growing bananas: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/growing-bananas-in-southern-california/
Hi Greg
Went for the Oroblanco grapefruit for that spot.
Getting closer to the avo choices. My latest thoughts:
Carmen for the Haas as it fruits twice a year. And now the tougher choice- Reed vs Lamb. Another voice (Ellen Baker of Epicenter Avocado Trees) said a Reed is a bad fit as the tree sizes are so different. She recommended the Lamb but it is also an A type and has similar fruit to the Carmen/Haas. My question is will the Reed still work if I keep trimming the Carmen to equalise?
Hope all is well,
Dan
Hi Dan,
Is the idea that Carmen is more vigorous than Reed? Carmen is not significantly different in vigor compared to Reed or Lamb in my experience. A trial in Ventura has found Carmen to be equal in vigor (canopy volume) to Lamb and slightly more vigorous than Reed. You could easily keep a Carmen and Reed or Lamb side by side and happy without too much pruning, I think. (I have a Reed and Lamb 7.5 feet apart, and I’ve found them very compatible).
Hi Greg,
Sorry to bother you but I went to order a Reed or Lamb and realised that they are both A type. How about a Bacon for my project? Or another B suggestion for the Del Mar area.
Best,
Dan
Hi Dan,
I wouldn’t worry about Reed and Lamb being A types. They produce very well without a B type nearby, just as Carmen and Hass do. Also, the B types that mature in summer are limited and harder to locate. If you do want to try one, I’d go for Nabal. Bacon’s harvest season overlaps with Hass and Carmen a lot.
Dear Greg,
I reseaerched your site before planting my avocado tree. It is an awesome resource. Thank you.
In mid March I planted a 5 gallon Reed in my backyard in Long Beach. It’s on a 1 foot tall mound, painted white on the exposed trunk and branches, staked, mulched, etc. I tried to follow your advice. It seemed to be doing fine until we had the rain that lasted for 5 or 6 days straight. Since then the small leaves and branches on the upper half of the tree have been dying. The leaves seem to die and hang and the branches turn brown/black. The lower part of the tree looks good. By the way, I saw the first flowers on the lower part opening up today.
Please advise what will help the tree grow better. Thank you so much.
Hi Kyle,
Hard to say what’s going on without seeing the tree. It could be natural senescence of the leaves or it could be due to waterlogging from the rains. Did you check your drainage before planting?
See my post here for images of different avocado leaves. Do the senescent leaves look like yours? https://gregalder.com/yardposts/reading-avocado-leaves/
Hi Greg,
Thanks for the reply. I checked drainage and it seemed OK. The tree is also on a mound at least 1 foot high. I mixed some DG into the soil to improve drainage as well. The leaves and small branches turned brown and died so it seems to be than senescent. I’ll water per your plan and see how it goes.
Thanks again,
Kyle
Hi Greg,
The moment of truth has arrived. A 3 ft Carmen and Sir Prise (B) are arriving soon. The growers think putting them in one hole is a bit crazy but I’m ready to do it. In one hole the trunks will not be touching. Is that ok? Any last minute advice would be great
Dan
Hi Dan,
I know it seems crazy, but trees grow like this in nature all the time. I’d put the trunks about a foot apart. That’s not a rule, but that’s what I’d do.
I live in Poway and the soil in my area is awful so I planted my GEM and Reed avocados in large containers 45 gallon. They are each about 6-7 ft tall and very lush. Do you know of anyone who successfully got fruit from container avocados? I transplanted a Fuerte from a 5 gallon to a 23 gallon container and it does not look happy. Is there something to give them to improve fruit set? Last year my Reed had 7-8 fruitlets and they all fell off the tree on the same day. Had one GEM avocado grow to harvest, it was so good. Advice?
Hi Donna,
I do know of some avocado trees that have carried fruit to maturity in containers. It’s definitely possible.
Avocados in containers don’t need anything different from what avocado trees in the ground need in order to set fruit and hold them to harvest.
Did your Reeds fall when they were small (say, pea size) or when they were big (say, baseball size)?
This is fun to hear that you’re having good luck (mostly) with your container avocados. Yes, I do know of avocado trees in containers that have held fruit. But I don’t know of any that have fruited successfully for many years — I’ve only read about such trees so I can’t say much about them.
Hi Greg,
As you know we are planting the new avos in Del Mar. Do you think we need to put shade cloth up for sun protection or is that overkill? And yes paint the trunk white?
Thanks so much for all your advice
Dan
Hi Dan,
No need for shade cloth in your location, but do still paint the trunk and any exposed branches.
Happy Memorial Day
New trees planted in one hole three days ago. The soil is very sandy and drains fast. The leaves look a little droopy but that may be normal? We did put up a sun shade as it really bakes there in the afternoon. Question is about watering. Everyday or every other for the first week or so? Will the leaves perk up? They are 2-3 feet tall right now.
Thx
Dan
Hi Dan, not sure your frame of reference regarding experience with other trees. I planted my second avocado in mid April. Its leaves, at least the bottom two thirds, seemed droopy to me also. The top third were perky but distinctly yellow. I’m comparing to my ~5-6 year old tree which is exploding with new leaves. Now, 6 weeks later, its pushing out new growth and the original droopy leaves (and the yellow leaves) are beginning to fall off. I was sort of worried like you, but since the leaves didn’t really change over time (take a picture, big help!) I just let it ride.
re: wattering freq, there’s a post with watering frequency for a new tree https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-to-water-a-newly-planted-avocado-tree/
Guessing the frequency would be good for 3 in one hole, but maybe the quantity should go up a bit. I’d guess 2x, be curious to hear what Greg says on that one.
Hi Dan,
As Matt said, it’s hard to tell sometimes if your tree’s leaves are droopy naturally or if there’s a problem. I find that the easiest way to distinguish is to observe them after you’ve watered. If they noticeably perk up, then they had been thirsty. If not, then lack of water wasn’t a problem and there might be no problem — that’s just the way the leaves look.
Also see this post for how avocado leaves look when they’re thirsty: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/reading-avocado-leaves/
Every other day for the first week or two is frequent enough in your climate right by the beach and lagoon, and giving the whole planting around three or four gallons each time should be sufficient for trees of that size, just like Matt suggested. (Thanks, Matt!)
I live in Houston with clay soil. Any chance i can do a combo of raised bed and excavation hole to give the roots a good area to grow? I understand once the tap root touches clay the tree growth will likely be stunted. As far as the excavated portion, I plan to do a gravel sump pit to keep it from sitting water logged. Think it will work or just go with the raised bed?
i have 1 hass an one fuerte. Any chance these things make it?
Hi Caleb,
I’d just go with a large mound. I know of a number of plantings like this that have been successful. Make it two to three feet high and five to eight feet wide, roughly. Avocados root mostly in the upper foot anyway. You just want extra depth in order to help with drainage.
We live in San Diego and 6 months ago planted a 15 gallon Hass. Although covered with thumb sized fruit it now is losing leaves due to persea mites. Our nearby Fuerte doesn’t have this problem but the outside 1/3 of the leaf tip turns brown and dies. Any suggestions how to treat these problems?
Hi Dianne,
See this post about persea mite identification and ways to manage an infestation: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/reading-avocado-leaves/
If your Fuerte has tip burn here in June, it’s most likely because you aren’t watering it enough. Watering it more now will not make the tip burn disappear, but it will prevent the tip burn from getting much worse. You’ll get another round of new leaves growing on the tree in the summer, and if you’re watering enough then, those new leaves should remain fully green until the fall or winter. Some tip burn in fall and winter is typical and acceptable, and it doesn’t reduce the amount of fruit the tree can produce.
See this post for more: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/avocado-leaves-turning-brown-why/
Hi Greg,
I have fairly large area of my front yard that I’m planing to plant a Hass, Fuerte, and a Reed. I have already bought the Hass and Fuerte but I’m still looking for the Reed. I was reading on the website of a local nursery that avocados in 5 gallon pots do far more poorly than those in sleeves. Is this true?
Laura
Hi Laura,
That has not been my experience in my own yard, nor have I observed that to be true in other yards. I’ve grown quite a few avocado trees from both 5-gallon containers and smaller sleeves, and I haven’t noticed one type consistently doing better than the other. I’ve had failures or poor growth from trees of both types at around the same proportion.
As the container size gets bigger, there is more opportunity for the tree to have been potted up too late and become rootbound and later develop circling roots that can be harmful. That much is true.
But in my experience of actually growing out trees from different sized containers, I haven’t noticed a relationship between the container size and how well the tree grows, except that the bigger trees grow better in one specific situation: I have a large live oak tree in my yard, and I’ve planted seven avocado trees around its canopy edge within about twenty feet. In this instance, the avocado trees I planted from smaller containers have grown more poorly overall than the avocado trees I planted from 15-gallon containers. The smaller trees seem to have more trouble competing with the oak roots.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for all the incredible info on your site. Have learned so much from these comment sections too!
I’d been planning a mini avo orchard where we lost 1.5 mature oaks in a storm last winter, and now am wondering if a Norcal oak woodland with clay soil is just too tricky. It is, however, a western-facing, protected slope below our house, which sits on a ridge in a frost-free banana belt (Orinda, zone 15/9B). How would you plant/irrigate, or best to switch to a spot far away from oaks?
Hi Ashley,
Thanks!
It’s certainly possible to plant avocados near oaks. You just have to be aware of the potential for that water stealing issue. (It’s not just oaks that will do this, of course. In a previous yard, I had a large eucalyptus invading the root zones of my young avocados. And a friend had a large camphor stealing much of the water he was giving his young avocados.)
I’d plant as far from the oaks as practical. If your soil is heavy, I’d plant the trees on mounds. And I’d be prepared to water frequently if the trees are planted on mounds, and if the oaks find the water you’re giving the avocados.
Also, if the oaks find the avocado water, just increase the water and expand the area under the avocados that you’re watering. This has helped my young trees that are planted near large oaks.
If you want to keep your oaks I would not let any water get near their root system in the summer. The quickest way to kill an oak in California is to plant a lawn under it. Native trees are adjusted to summer dry spells in CA.
After years of planting, growing, or trying to grow avocado trees I have concluded that “Smaller is Better”. Over the years I have had an estimated 50% success rate with the trees I have planted. I started out as a fan of 15 gallon trees. Sometimes you could find Bacon 15 gallon pots for sale that had fruit hanging on them. Now that’s instant gratification! Life was great but only for a while. I slowly found that as that Bacon or other trees grew larger, stress from a root bound system grew grater. Examination of most of my dead 15 gallon trees that slowly died showed root problems. What is more irritating is the time wasted as the trees “slowly” died. Enough 5 gallon trees also died from root problems that I am now a fan of sleeves. Plant a low cost 1 or 3 gallon tree, give it shade, mulch, and proper watering and you have a tree with no staking or balance problems.
You might notice, that’s what commercial growers do. No 20 gallon wood boxes for them.
I live in Puerto Rico and plan to put and hass avocado tree in my back yard… i wanted to know if it would grow quicker in my climate? I want to buy a smaller tree (budget and transporting it with me on the airplane)… and also do I need another tree… I have lots of fruit trees around my house.
Hi Andrea,
I hear that avocados do grow more quickly in your climate than here in colder Southern California. I don’t know for sure how Hass would act in Puerto Rico, but I can’t imagine any reason that you would need another avocado tree for decent pollination.
I really enjoy reading through these posts, thanks for doing this.
I live in Hemet Ca and recently planted a Reed, Sir Prize, Carmen Hass and a Queen. At my previous house approximately a quarter mile away my littlecado did gangbusters after maturing enough to handle the slightly colder than should be for a avocado dec/jan of Hemet. I will likely heat lamp and cover on those very cold nights, any other suggestions. I was thinking about adding a Jan Boyce and Nabal to the mix. I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you have much experience with the Queen
Hi J.Z.,
Adding a Jan Boyce would be good for the front end of your season to supplement the Sir-Prize, and then Nabal would supplement the Reed season. I think those would be nice varieties to add.
I don’t have much experience with Queen. I have a young Queen that hasn’t even borne fruit yet.
I’m curious why you didn’t plant another Wurtz at your new place. Any specific reason?
It was highly productive and very tolerant of Hemet conditions but I really liked the flavor of Reed and Hass more than the Wurtz. I have thought of planting a new one but I wanted some novelty so I planted the Queen. I live on a half acre and have quite a few fruit trees as well so I’m kind of pacing myself. I’ve only been at the new house a year and besides a few citrus it was a blank canvas. Louies in riverside has a great selection of healthy trees to pick from so I go back and forth of what to plant.
Is your queen growing well. My queen sir prize and carmen Hass are growing incredibly fast, the reed much slower. Have you tried the sugar water technique to encourage growing. Thanks for being available
JZ
Hi JZ,
My Queen is neglected, planted in a poor location, and not growing so well. I need to do something about it.
What’s the sugar water technique?
I’ve watched some videos like Gary’s garden tips… and they say the sugar in sugar water can penetrate the leaves and provide the nutrition/glucose boost for some slow growing trees.
Hi J.Z.,
I see. I’ve never tried such a treatment. I’ve always been discouraged from it based on the results of past studies which essentially find that avocados don’t absorb foliar sprays very well: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7009
But I’ve also heard from researchers that the new flush on avocado absorbs a foliar spray a bit better than the thick, waxy old leaves. So timing might be important. Better than just applying nutrients to the soil though? I don’t know.
We live in Morgan Hill, CA. I am longing for a Haas for the same nostalgic reasons of a childhood tree.
Will a Haas do well in my region?
Do I need to plant a second tree (dwarf) for pollination? If yes, which one? Can you recommend a nursery nearby?
Hi Tani,
I don’t know. I have been told by some people in your area that they grow Hass successfully, but I haven’t seen the trees in person. My guess is that it depends on the micro-environment of your yard as regards the temperatures on winter nights. For example, if you are on a south-facing hillside, then it’s much more possible.
I would connect with the nice and experienced folks at Epicenter Nursery in La Selva Beach. They’re not too far from you. Read their latest blog post about growing avocados in the Bay Area here: http://www.epicenteravocados.com/blog/
So I’m still figuring things out and I’ve been considering a Sharwill vs Jan Boyce to add to the Reed Carmen Hass sir prize and queen. i believe I’ve decided to add a Nabal as well but of course everything changes as things like this do until its time to really pull the trigger. do you have a preference to Sharwill vs Jan Boyce?
Hi J.Z.,
I would slightly incline toward Jan Boyce because it seems to produce better in most locations. If you already get good production from another B-type avocado, then you might get good production from Sharwil. Otherwise, Jan Boyce would be a safer bet in terms of reliable fruit production.
In other categories like eating quality and size, they are both awesome avocados. Jan Boyce doesn’t peel though, if you care about that.
Hi Greg,
Another newbie to your blog.
I am still surprised and that after hours and hours of reading your various posts on avocados, so I just want to make sure you get the credits you deserve for it.
But I also have a question about avocado’s wind resistance. You mention the Santa Ana winds a couple of times and 50 mph isn’t a light moisture pacific breeze, won’t it damage the leaves?
I’m asking because my concerns to plant the new trees in the open land are worrying me.
Greets from Southern Portugal,
Vasco
Hi Vasco,
Great to hear from you in Portugal! High winds do blow some old leaves off and blow away some of the leaf mulch from under trees, but that is not what most people are concerned about. Last week in Southern California we had winds up to about 60 mph in some avocado groves, and the main problem was fruit being blown off. I saw photos of groves where one-third of the fruit had been knocked off.
But that doesn’t happen much in lesser wind, and it happens less on some varieties. Hass drops fruit in the wind more than some other varieties, such as Lamb or Pinkerton, in my experience.
I wouldn’t hesitate to plant on open land that is mildly breezy, but in an area that is prone to occasional strong winds (well over 40 mph) I would consider keeping the trees pruned short and stout, as well as planting a row of windbreak trees. Around here, growers have historically used eucalyptus for windbreaks.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for talking your time.
60 mph isn’t really the standard here in Portugal at least at mainland.
According to Windguru, which I like to check on daily basis, 38 nots (≈ 44 mph) were reached once the last 3-4 years.
Two 3 years old Hass are definitely going to be in the dirt this week, along with pairs of 2 years old Bacon and Fuerte. Struggling to buy Pinkerton, Reed and Lamb; right know (all come from Spanish nurseries).
I have a 3 year old, 3-4 ft tall Hass planted 2 years ago. It flowered last spring/summer but no fruits grew. I noticed ants on the flowers…
We planted bamboos (both running and clumping type) to shield our vegetables that are grown on an farer away area and they made it through the 1 year in pretty well conditions.
I’m thinking about adding a row of an noninvasive variety closer to the avocados, they grow fast.
After the readings, I will have to figure out if there is space enough so they don´t get in a fight about the water.
We have a nice variety here that can stand the wind well, the Arbutus Unedo, I believe you know them as strawberry tree. It a very hardy shrub/tree that grows well in our climate with very little water. I planted a few rows of them hoping also the fruits will attract bees and other pollinators.
I planted eucalyptus that produce this citronella fragrance, but unfortunately we don’t like eucalyptus very much; they take control of the water resources and spread wildfires when growing as mono cultivars without the proper forest management.
Apart of the avocados and other fruit trees, I’m all in with native trees like the different Quercus, olives, pines and carobs.
Hi Vasco,
It’s so interesting to hear all of the similar plants you grow there. Yes, I know arbutus unedo (strawberry tree) and used to snack on them at the university campus where I worked. Their bell-shaped flowers are beautiful.
You sound safe with your windspeeds. I wish you luck in finding a Pinkerton, Reed, and Lamb. I’d just send them over if it were that simple. If you haven’t already checked, I’d ask at Brokaw Spain: https://www.viverosbrokaw.com/products/avocado/avocado-varieties/?lang=en
Hi Greg! Not sure you still check this thread but just planted a 15g Hass and a 5g sir prize. The nursery guy said to trim the top hass of the hass for the next year to not let it grow any taller..do you have an opinion on that? Thanks!
Hi Tiff,
The only reason to cut the top of an avocado tree is if it is taller than you want. So if it is 10 feet tall, but you want it to be 8 feet tall, then you cut it down to 8 feet tall.
I can’t think of any good reason to trim the top of a newly planted tree except if it is floppy and you don’t want to stake it.