Jaime Serrato has managed thousands of acres of avocados around San Diego County over the course of his career. His perspective holds weight; numerous avocado growers whom I hold in high regard always speak of Jaime with respect.
As part of the California Avocado Society’s June 2024 seminar, he talked about how he cares for the 42 acres of GEM avocado trees that he manages on the Jackson Ranch in Valley Center. Topics include specifics on GEM flowering, pruning, and watering.
See here about upcoming seminars of the California Avocado Society, and see here about joining the Society.
Here are a few more posts on GEM avocado trees:
My profile of the GEM avocado variety
GEM avocado trees’ need for a pollenizer during cool springs
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I have only one GEM and this year it bloomed heavily and set fruit heavily. So heavily that I put a strap to hold up a branch and I said to the tree, “There is no way you can hold all these fruit.” I was right. Significant fruit drop of golf ball-sized fruit in July. A very good crop left.
I have been spraying the flush with a mixture of a quart of water and about a teaspoon of pure urea every evening when it gets cool. It has kept the tree flushing all summer until near the end of July. I am convinced that foliar spraying with dilute urea is a way to feed for the home grower. Even slightly too strong a concentration and leaf damage occurs, convincing me of three things 1) urea gets beyond the forming cuticle and has an effect, 2) accelerated vegetative growth does not interfere with fruit set, and 3) foliar urea is a hell of a nutrient. Do not try this on apples – long term freaky effects – and it kills tomato seedlings. Avocados can handle it and they love it, even when leaves get a little too much and get thick and leathery. I have a young Pinkerton and a Lamb straight from the nursery this spring and they love the urea spray and have tripled their number of leaves. My dad is a urea salesman. Just kidding. My dad was a geologist.
I have a garden at my high school in Anaheim. My avocado tree is about 7 years old. It fruited in it’s 5th year and then turned brown and looks withered. I was told to give more water. I water every day and also have treated it with copper fungicide on the advice of someone on campus. It is not thriving and I don’t know how to help it. It is so brown, I am afraid it may never bloom again. It looked great this spring and now it looks frail.