Enjoy this five-minute video I made about the Ettinger variety of avocado, including its eating qualities compared to other varieties, plus a bit about its origin in Israel and its status in California today.
My experience with growing Ettinger trees is still . . . growing. I’ll publish a comprehensive profile of the variety (tree and fruit) when I can do so with sufficient firsthand observations to draw from.
See more of my avocado variety profiles HERE
All of my Yard Posts are HERE
Hi Greg – I just stumbled on to your website. This is great! Last year I decided to try to grow an avocado from a seed. I started in August 2019 and one of the seeds started growing and is now almost 4 feet tall! It’s in a 15 gallon plastic pot in my backyard. Is the fact that it is in a pot going to stunt it’s growth? At what point should I plant this in the ground? Thanks!
Hi Peter,
Growing in a pot will only stunt the tree once its roots need more space than the pot allows. You can assess this by carefully removing the rootball from the pot and seeing if the roots are circling along the sides. You can also look into the holes in the bottom to see if there are many roots down there.
You can plant the tree in the ground at any time if you live in Sunset zone 22 or higher. Otherwise, I’d wait until March.
Great. Thanks Greg! I really appreciate it.
Hi Peter!
I’m from Velencia in Spain ( Europe)
I’d like to know how tolerant to the wind is the Ettinger tree and also the productivity and the shape and growing of the tree .
Thank you very muchu
Hey Greg, your the man. Did your ettinger flower this season?
Hi Damien,
Ha! Yes, had good flowering and decent fruitset on both of my Ettingers this spring. Are you growing Ettinger?
Yes I do it hasn’t set fruit. It’s about 6ft tall so hopefully in spring. I have a Reed, Pinkerton and Carmen. I have room for one more type B. What would you recommend for regular production?
Hi Damien,
Hard to say which B type will produce regularly for you, as many seem picky about microclimate and temperature during each spring’s bloom. But here are some that produce regularly for some people: Bacon, Zutano, Fuerte, Nabal, Edranol, and Sir-Prize.
Thanks Greg!
I got this 15 gallon ettinger and planted it in the ground in April. Mt helix area. It looked like a stick and then it flowered in may. Now here in August and there is some little leaves coming from some of the ends but that is about it. No buds hardly any growth. I think it is gophers but not sure. Should this tree start to really bud and take off or is this normal? It looks like sticks with maybe 5 leaves or so on the ends. No new growth coming. I am watering consistently. Any thoughts?
Hi Doug,
That’s a tough situation which I’ve been in before too. I recently removed a tree that did this. But I have another one doing this that I am coddling because it’s a rare rootstock-scion combination.
The bottom line is that this behavior is not normal for a healthy tree. It should be covered in leaves and they should all be full size. But especially if a young tree flowers heavily it can be retarded in its vegetative growth for some months.
I would look out for a couple of problems that could be holding it back from recovery: gopher damage (as you mentioned), root competition from nearby large trees, as well as overwatering. It’s tricky, but you have to make sure you are not keeping the roots constantly wet since the tree doesn’t have many leaves to use the water you give it.
Thanks so much for your thoughts! I do have a five foot wide firecracker flower bush about 6 ft away from this Ettinger. I probably should get rid of it from what you say i’ve been watering the Ettinger almost daily about 3 minutes with a hose since it’s hot now here 92F. Using old horse manure and eucalyptus and oak mulch about 12 inches away from the trunk. In June I split for a month and had it on automatic watering and there was a huge gopher hole 10 inches from the trunk when I returned. I gassed it and used scram and uncle Ian’s and other gopher repellents to get rid of that problem. It’s a combination of things I think on this Ettinger. Maybe if I remove the firecracker flower bush, or try to move it, and baby this Ettinger it will come back?
I also have a reed planted in April too 15 gallon that initially budded like crazy after planting and when I returned in July it stopped all growth. And the leaves got pretty munched, June bugs i suppose, but now it’s just dormant. No new budding. Hopefully, it will come back. Same on the mulch, old horse pooh, water. etc. The guy at Bonita nursery says the problem maybe fertilizer on both of these trees. There’s a giant oak about 30 ft away. I think I’ll just keep babying it and hope for the best. This website of yours is really awesome!
My other 7 trees planted in April are doing great. Lamb hass, Sirpriz, Hass, Fuerte, Pinkerton, Stewart, and Carmen hass is coming back after a gopher problem. I planted a Mexicola 6 years ago and its started to do better since reading you posts. Thinking of adding a Sharwil to round things out?
Hi Doug, speaking of gophers… any time there is a LIVE gopher on or near your property there is a “gopher problem”. Period. Gassing and Scram do not kill a gopher, it just pushes them out of range temporarily. And a live gopher will always breed providing you with many more gophers to come and eat the roots and kill the trees. If you want to be organic then use traps or The Rodenator to blow up their tunnels and kill them with a concussion blast. I like the long lasting defense that poison offers, it kills the current gopher and then the poison is waiting in the tunnel for the next invading gopher to eat. The most effective that I use is Gopher Bait 50 by Martin’s with strychnine. It kills within an hour of consumption. Of course since it works it is difficult to purchase in California now. The 40 pound 5 gallon bucket costs about $200 ($5/lb) while the 4 pound jug costs about $50 ($12/lb) .
It is difficult when neighbors provide a breeding habitat for gophers. Their laziness creates more work and expense for you.
Hi Greg! Hope you are doing well.
I was just doing some research on Ettinger fruit because I’m trying to decide when to harvest mine. Your video mentions decent flavor for fruit picked in mid/late Dec and that they hit peak flavor around March. Are there any physical characteristics for the fruit on the tree that will tell me I’m nearing good or near peak flavor? I don’t want to miss my window and end up with bad tasting fruit because I waited too long… these are the first avocados I’ve successfully grown at home!
I have this tree paired with a Hass not far away. Do you think they will do well pollinating each other?
Thanks so much!
Hi dcote,
The changes in Ettinger are subtle. The skin doesn’t dull much or change color. The only big thing to look out for is cracking of the bottom of the fruit. If you see that, then the fruit is overmature (but still totally edible).
Hass and Ettinger are a great pair for cross-pollination. Many commercial farmers use them together.
Hello Greg,
How cold hardy is the Ettinger variety, which is a Mexican type avocado?
Hello again Greg,
In my last entry I should have mentioned that I live in the North SJ Valley and I’m looking for another variety that can take colder temperatures and preferably a type B to help pollinate my Lamb avocado. I’m also considering getting a Reed in the future, after reading on your Yard Posts that it can tolerate both heat and cold better than many others varieties. I’ve learned so much watching your videos and reading these Yard Posts. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge with the rest of us!