Bob Bergh directed the avocado breeding program at the University of California for four decades. He planted tens of thousands of avocado seeds. But he chose one to name after his wife: Gwen.
I know more than one person who has eaten many avocado varieties and calls Gwen their favorite. I try not to have a favorite avocado variety, but I wouldn’t argue if you included me in that group.
I’m honored to be able to harvest some Gwens for you from this old tree in the Laferriere Grove in San Bernardino County, California. (Here is the order page with details.)
From the outside, Gwen avocados look very similar to Hass except that they don’t turn black as they ripen. (Gwens do sometimes get a few dark spots on their green skins as they ripen though.) The skin of a Gwen is a little stiffer than the skin of Hass.
On the inside, Gwen avocados have seeds about the same size as Hass, maybe slightly larger, and the flesh can be a tad paler. The flesh of Gwen also cracks sometimes. It’s a firm, dense flesh, but it is also creamy and without any fiber.
The taste of Gwen, oh the taste of Gwen! It has a unique, nutty richness that I love. More than that, Gwen is also a pleasure to eat because its tough peel makes it very easy to scoop out with a spoon.
Bob Bergh and his assistant Gray Martin performed taste tests with Gwen and Hass over a period of ten years, and they found that the rating of Gwen rose above Hass in mid-April and remained superior to Hass for the rest of its season. Gwen also reached a higher peak rating for taste (“GOOD+”) than Hass ever did. (See “Determining the Optimum Time to Pick Gwen” in the 1988 California Avocado Society Yearbook.)
Gwen avocados hanging on a tree also maintain exceptional eating quality well into the summer.
I will pack a box of Gwens harvested from the Laferriere Grove and ship them to your door. I’ll fit as many as I can into the box, likely 8-10 avocados.
I’ll be harvesting on Tuesday, May 3, and shipping on the next day. The box of Gwens should arrive to you by Saturday, May 7.
Here is the order page with details.
Here is my (very short) video profile of the Gwen avocado:
Here is a post about my planting a Gwen tree to mark the birth of my daughter.
Extra fun fact: Gwen is the mother of GEM. Bob Bergh planted many Gwen seeds, considering it an excellent breeding parent, and one of those Gwen seeds grew into the avocado tree later christened GEM. So if you recently ordered a box of GEMs, it might be fun to compare them to their mother: Gwen.
I’ve yet to write a profile post on the Gwen variety. I’ll do so in the next month, along with a video about the tree. Until then, here’s a deeper read on the variety: “The Gwen Avocado” by Bob Bergh and Gray Martin.
I don’t know anywhere else one can buy Gwen avocados right now. Please let us know in the comments section if you do.
All of my Yard Posts are HERE
The gwen order page says password protected!
Hi Steve,
It was password protected for one day in order to give Supporters a chance to order first. That’s what I promised them for their generous support.
Learn how you can become a Supporter: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/supporting-the-yard-posts/
All is open for general sales now!
Do you know where I can get a Gwen tree? I have been on the wait list for one at Four Winds for 2 years now.
Wish I knew off the top of my head. I know that in the past Atkins and Subtropica (both in Fallbrook) have made some Gwen trees, but they don’t always stock them. But I would contact them to ask. Find their info here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/where-to-buy-an-avocado-tree/
I checked Subtropica and Atkins this spring looking for a Gwen Tree and neither had any nor did it seem like they would any time soon. The search continues…
I found a number of Gwen trees at Louie’s nursery in Riverside. The only problem is they only have large trees so they are very expensive. I picked up one cause I am tired of looking.
I didn’t realize they had a wait list. Last time I talked to them they said, well, watch the webpage, sometime in the spring for Avocados…everything still showing sold out. I got a pretty nice Reed from them last year, but i killed it.
I know ripe avocados will “hold” in the refrigerator for a week or so, but can you refrigerate un-ripe avocados to hold them in that state and then have them ripen later?
Hi Rob,
Yes, but . . . it’s trickier. Avocados that are refrigerated when freshly picked or before they’re ripe more often end up with color and rot problems upon ripening, in my experience.
Reading about the experiments that have been done over the years, it seems that unripe avocados don’t like to be kept at temperatures as cold as our refrigerators’ (basically, under 40 degrees). So the packinghouses store unripe avocados at slightly higher temperatures.
Yet, for whatever reason, just-ripe or firm-ripe avocados keep in those colder refrigerator temperatures for a long time without any decay.
Here’s one place where you can read more about this: http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu/Commodity_Resources/Fact_Sheets/Datastores/Fruit_English/?uid=8&ds=798
Hi Greg, the order page is still password-protected. Does that mean you’re no longer taking orders?
By the way, I tried a Fuerte avocado for the first time in February, and it was so good and nutty. Read your profile on it!
Sorry, Giang. This harvest of Gwen is sold out. I should be making another next week or the following.
Glad you got that Fuerte and liked it!
My Fuerte produced some great fruit this past season. I still have a few stragglers on-tree, and they are super right now. Glad you had the chance to try one.
Thanks for posting this. Now I need to find a Gwen somewhere so I can graft it into one of my trees… On related news, any chance you could do a profile on the Anaheim avocado? I hadn’t heard about it until recently, and it seems like another good varietal to add to my yard.
off topic but some of the avocado tree varieties are now showing available on fourwinds website. i just ordered a reed and a carmen.
I received my Gem avocados a few days ago and they are already starting to ripen. Ate the first one today. Very delicious and similar to Hass in taste. I think I liked the flavor of the Pinkerton better – it also had a longer ripening time. I hope you will be able to have boxes of Reed and Stewart, since those are the two varieties I have planted. I also just ordered a Carmen and a Lamb Hass from Four Winds. Epicenter Avocados in Watsonville recommends those two and Reed as the best varieties for Northern California. Thank you so much for doing this. It is fun to be able to sample all the different avocados.
Thanks for sharing this, Alethea. Coincidentally, a friend was over the other day and we ate GEM, Hass, and Pinkerton together and he thought Pinkerton was superior.
I will have Reed, probably in July. As for Stewart, the season’s past, but I’ll try to offer it this winter. I should also have Lamb for sale around July or August.
I am going to try to sprout a few of the Gem pits and am wondering if they were growing in a grove of only Gem or a mixed grove, and if so what other varieties were growoing nearby.