I think of my Hass avocado tree as small even though it is far bigger than the newly planted trees above. As I looked at my Hass last week, it stood 17 feet tall. It was time to prune. I prune it every year in order to keep it down to 15 feet.
This post is about continually keeping an avocado tree down to an unnaturally small size while still getting as much fruit as possible. How can we accomplish that?
(Just to note: this post is not about reducing the size of a large avocado tree, nor how to make cuts, nor why to prune in general, nor which shape is best for an avocado tree, etc. Please find more about those topics in my post “Pruning avocado trees.”)
So I set up my camera and recorded video as I pruned the Hass.
Sorry that the top of the tree jutted out of the frame. There is no way to reshoot a pruning video — there’s no putting the branches back on and trying again.
Anyway, if you can’t watch, then just know this: the main things I show are that I use a pole pruner and a pole saw to get the job done, I cut back to lower lateral branches, I try to cut back to branches that grow vertically and toward the south if possible (for less sunburn susceptibility), and that it’s not much work.
Prune every year at least once
It really does only take a couple of cuts to keep the tree down to 15 feet as long as I prune every year. If you miss a year, then you’ve got more wood to cut and you lose some fruit production because avocados make most of their fruit on the outer edge of their canopies.
Last year, I pruned on January 26 (2018). This year, it was March 24 (2019). I just try to prune before there are too many open flowers so I don’t have to mess with bees and so I don’t feel bad cutting off open flowers. And I try to prune after the tree has started to wake up from winter and grow a little; this way I’m confident that as soon as I cut, the tree will cover newly exposed branches with new leaves: no sunburn.
The latest I have pruned avocado trees to keep them small is June, and it wasn’t ideal because I then had to paint upper branches to protect from sunburn — not easy on a 15-foot tree. Pruning during summer is not a great idea because of sunburn, and also because you’re likely to have to cut off a bunch of fruit. I’ve done that before, and it really hurt my heart.
Prune back to where you want fruit to set
With my Hass this year I only had to bring the top down a bit, but with my Reed (which I keep about 12 feet tall) it was a side which had grown out of bounds. The Reed is growing as part of an avocado hedge along my driveway, and I had to cut back a branch on its west side that was shading and impeding the growth of its neighbor. But how far back to cut it?
My rule of thumb is to cut back to where I want fruit to develop. Here’s the Reed (largest tree, center left) before the cut:
Here’s the Reed after the cut:
And here is a close-up of the main cut (done with a saw):
(I actually needed to do a second smaller cut higher up also.)
There’s now enough space for the Reed to flower along the left (west) edge of the canopy and grow fruit there that can be left to develop until next summer when we’ll eat it.
So every time you prune, you’re not pruning to the desired maximum size of the tree; you’re pruning to a bit behind or below that. I think of it as pruning to wherever I want the highest or most outside fruit to grow (allowing for at least six inches of leaves to grow beyond that to protect the fruit from sunburn and cold).
Pinching new growth to stunt and spread
Avocado trees usually grow at least a couple feet each year, mostly in summer, but you don’t have to let them. I don’t always wait until late winter/early spring to prune.
For example, after the fruit sets on that Reed and new leaves grow beyond the fruit, I’ll occasionally nip the foliage back with my fingers, just by pinching off the new, red growth.
I just did this to a branch on my Fuerte. See the new, red leaves:
Now I’ve pinched them off:
What will happen is the leaf buds below the pinch will grow, but most likely the growth will be not as unidirectional. Rather, it will spread out laterally, bush out.
This pinching can be done any time from when the new growth is just a half inch like above or when it’s a couple inches long already. It’s a handy technique to slow down and spread out the growth.
With a small number of cuts done every year, and possibly some pinches, you can keep an avocado tree down to 15 feet (my Hass), 12 feet (my Reed), even 10 feet.
This is fruit on a friend’s Don Gillogly avocado tree that she keeps pruned to 10 feet:
Or how about eight feet!
This is a freshly pruned Reed avocado tree on a farm where all trees — hundreds of them — are pruned down to eight feet tall every year. (It’s the same farm as shown with newly planted trees at the top of the page.)
And if the pruning cuts are done at the right place and in the right time, our trees will still make quite a lot of fruit for their small size.
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Dear Greg: Ive been awaiting this article for years, I live in Oceanside and have a 25 year old Fuerte; which is large, gangly and beautiful. If the goal is more fruit production can I and should I prune this tree? I’ve heard horror stories about pruning. please advise. Is the reason to prune to have more compact, dense foliage with a smaller footprint? Would this result in less water used/consumed/year? This is my jewel so I’m very cautious. Thank you
Joe
Hi Joseph,
Thanks for writing. If the goal is more fruit production, then pruning the tree is unlikely to have that effect. The bigger the tree, the more fruit it can produce.
I prune my avocado trees to keep them small for exactly the reasons you mentioned. If I just had one tree, and it was a Fuerte, I would let it get as big as possible so it would make the most fruit — and so I could climb it. But I’ve got many avocado trees in my yard so I keep them pruned small in order to be able to fit them in, so they use less water, so I can pick all the fruit easily, and so I don’t have more fruit than I can easily eat and share. Since they are all different varieties, they have different harvest seasons so I’m not overloaded with avocados at just one time per year.
(Let me add the sad, honest truth that this year I’m not even loaded with avocados at any time because of that darned heat wave of last July!)
It sounds to me like you shouldn’t prune your Fuerte. Avocado trees, in general, have no need of being pruned for fruitfulness or fruit quality (unlike some other fruit trees). Do you feel like your tree doesn’t produce as much fruit as you’d like?
Hi Greg: Thank you so much your reply. Its a treasure to find a resource as you for my beloved avocado. often go to UCIrvine but sometimes its too technical for me. Last year was unusual, I don’t know why. Usually harvest in Jan-Feb. This year 25 fruit, last year 120??? Currently, the fuerte is 100% loaded with buds which seem to be turning into new leaf growth allowing las years dead, damaged leaves to drop. I think A good sign. I fertilized in Feb. Should I fertilize 3-4 times per year? My retail fertilizer (Home dept) has slow release N in it. Thank you again!!!!!!!!!!!1
Joe
Hi Joe,
Thanks for the kind feedback. Unfortunately, a lot of the U.C. information is oriented toward farmers and not backyard growers, and there are many important differences between growing an avocado tree in a grove situation versus a normal yard. I try to bridge that gap here.
Fertilizing avocados is a surprisingly loaded topic. I did write about it last fall: “Fertilizing avocado trees.”
The short of it is that farmers and researchers have been trying for a hundred years to show that fertilizing a bunch will increase yield, but it just won’t. Avocados don’t need much nitrogen in order to produce fine crops. In fact, it has been found that their yield goes down if too much nitrogen is applied. In addition, fruit quality goes down. Yet farmers and backyard growers everywhere continue to throw lots of fertilizers at their trees.
Beyond a moderate amount of fertility in the soil, there’s no benefit in adding more — except to whoever is selling you the stuff. That’s what the researchers have found, and that aligns with my own personal observations. As for what a moderate amount is, and how you know if you have it, see my post linked above.
Wind broke a large branch with lots of fruit on my Reed on February 1st. Can I salvage that fruit.
Hi Dan,
Sorry to hear this. Is the branch still connected to the tree? If so, the branch might stay alive and keep the fruit alive until maturity (probably May or June at the earliest). If not, the fruit is likely a loss. Here in February, I’ve never had Reed fruit ripen properly and taste acceptable; it’s just too early. Of course you should give it a try though and not just trash the fruit.
Thanks Greg, I thought they were a loss. I heard of a recipe to fry with butter, salt and pepper and soy sauce, hopefully might save some.
Branch loaded with fruit . Put in some support on branch to prevent breakage . Prune back later.
Skinny haas. Hi Greg. We have an 8 foot haas in Anaheim and trunk is very skinny. I’d like it to get bushy to produce more. Seems like a thicker trunk would make it stronger.
I’d like to top it when it gets 10 feet or so but what else can be done for it to get more bulky.
Hi Mike,
An avocado tree will only be bushy if it’s in full sun. The more shade it is in, the taller and more spindly it will be. Just know that because you might be trying to do the impossible through pruning if your tree isn’t getting enough sunlight.
If you want the trunk thicker, then it must wiggle. If it’s staked tightly, it will not thicken.
Hi,
I know you provide avocado advice to folks in SoCal, but I live in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
I have a 4’ Haas tree in a pot, that I started from a pit last year. It wintered over BEAUTIFULLY in my garage, didn’t water it once, still has vibrant green leaves.
On Sunday I brought it outside to my back patio – faces East – and gave it a little drink.
I know Virginia winter temps will kill my tree, so I would like to keep it inside instead of sending it to my sister in Fresno!
I know it’s unlikely to ever produce fruit, but that’s okay with me because it’s such a pretty little tree.
What kind of pruning tips can you give me to keep this tree at 8’, or would we both be better off if I shipped it to CA? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I have a compost bin, so I will put a layer around the tree this coming weekend.
Thank you for any advice you send my (our) way!
John V
Hi John,
I think it’s great that you’re growing that avocado tree. Usually, seedling avocado trees grow mostly vertically with a single, central trunk. If you want to keep it to eight feet tall, then I wouldn’t do anything to it until it nears eight feet. Maybe at around seven feet in height, I would pinch the bud at the very top. This will make the tree grow a few buds just below where you pinched it, stalling and spreading out its growth more laterally up there, and providing protection from sunburn. Just continue pinching back that top growth at the end/beginning of each growth flush (there are usually three per year here in California) and you’ll have a bushy, healthy top that is kept to the height you want.
Hi, I am extremely new to this, literally just bought my trees today. I’m loving all the info, thank you! Curious, if I am understanding the info I am reading correctly. If I plant q Hass and lamb Hass, as long as I keep them pruned, they should stay small? I am planting them in a retaining wall area that is 5ft wide by 50ft long. Are the root systems too big for that area if I keep the tree around 10ft?
My avocado tree is growing skinny can I cut the centerpiece with that it can expand
Hi Marie,
Do you want your tree to be wider, bushier?
Mine is doing this same thing. I bought it from the nursery in April from a 5 Gallon pot. It’s about 6 feet now but very skinny trunk specially at the top. I’d like it to grow to about 8-10 ft tall and about 6 ft wide. It’s staked to the top now but I dont want it to stay too dependent on the stake past the first year. Thoughts?
Hi Scott,
If you don’t want the tree to be dependent on the stake past the first year, then you might need to pinch back or cut back that leader that has grown so tall. You’ll likely get a few branches growing out right below where you cut.
I guess my question is, if you have a small orchard of 15 avocado trees close together, is it appropriate to prune them on a regular basis to keep the trees small but healthy and growing fruit? Steve Penner, Santa Barbara, California.
Hi Steve,
If you have avocado trees planted close together you want to keep them pruned or else they will shade one another, grow tall, and you’ll have more and more dead space near the ground. In other words, all of the leaves and flowers and fruit will be up high where the sun is.
Hi- I have a 40 year old forte avocado tree that think is infested with thrip mites. Do they go away on their own? Or best to treat. I know the latter. :). Neem oil is what I am going to try. I must have over 100 avocados but half have their skin that looks like alligator skin. I don’t want to use toxic stuff but I noticed they are getting worse each year. (I thought it was sun damage). Do I need to try wettable sulfur or start with the name oil?
Hi Greg,
I just purchased my first avocado tree, a Hass variety, and I’m wondering if it can be kept at around 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide once mature and still have decent production? I see that your Hass is 15 ft tall. I just have some space restrictions in my yard where I would like to plant it. Thanks!
Hi Jeremy,
It’s possible, yes, Eventually, you’ll have to prune two or three times each year. See a photo in this post (toward the end) of a farm that grew Hass at 10×10 spacing for 15 years but finally gave up and topworked the trees to GEM because of the constant pruning required: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-far-apart-to-plant-avocado-trees/
Hi Greg,
My yard is 29 feet wide. how close can I plant my avocado tree to my house? Will having it pruned the same size as yours be ok?
Hi Juan,
That depends a lot on which shape you want the tree to take. Do you want the tree to arch over the roof or stay a few feet away from the house entirely? See some examples of plantings here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-far-apart-to-plant-avocado-trees/
So I live in Fullerton, CA and I have a 60 year old avocado tree that is about 80 feet if not taller: This beautiful tree produces hundreds of very large oval avocados. Like 6 to 8 inches long. I believe it’s a Haas avocado tree. Other than watering it, what is the best way to care for this beautiful tree?
What is the best time to prune your avocado trees in the Western Cape’s?
Hi Esna,
I would guess that August or September might be the best time because you’re coming out of winter then so the threat of cold damage has just passed.
Dear Greg Alder: THANK YOU !!!!!!!! Your quick thoughtful, insightful responses to my questions are much appreciated. I read and re-read several times as they contain valuable insights I’ve found nowhere else. I think your spot on !!!!! My 35yr old Fuente will not be pruned, something i mentally argued with myself for years. Also the fertilize concepts you put forward I will try. I fertilized in March and that will be it for the year, even though the temptation exists. i do water weekly and throughly and increase as the heat increases for me (mid-June~-Sept). I also gather the fallen leaves and mound them under the tree umbrella/root zone and will add mulch to keep the roots cool and happy. Thank you again. I can tell you have a LOVE / Passion for Avocado trees of any species.. Best Regards,
joe
Thanks for an interesting post! I came here after looking at Yoshimi Yonemoto’s more extreme pruning (also a lot more work!): http://htfg.org/conferences/2016/2016_JohnYoshimiYonemoto_GrowingandHarvestingtheBestAvocados.pdf
I have a question: I just got some new Haas trees that are basically 40″-50″ sticks with a modest number of short branches. I want to keep the trees to about 8′ tall and not too wide. Do I do nothing ’til the central leader reaches 8′ or should I start now and pinch it back after the tree sets fruit?
Hi Thorsten,
No need to prune until the tree gets taller than you want.
My Avacado tree is 64 inches tall and the main limb on it is thin and droops to one side, should I cut it down so that it will not droop or leave it.
Hi Zenon,
I tried to talk about that kind of situation a bit in this post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-to-plant-and-stake-an-avocado-tree/
But the short of it is that there is no easy solution or correct answer, and I’ve both left such central branches and cut them back. These days, I lean toward cutting them back if they’ve gotten all the way up to five feet tall like yours and are still weak and droopy.
Hello Mr. Adler,
I bought a house in Mission Viejo, California a couple months ago. There is a fairly large avocado tree that I would like to properly care for and your posts help a bunch, thank you for that. I’m pretty sure it is a hass tree. I’m noticing what might be odd behaviour with the tree- last month it dumped a ton of leaves, but still has a bunch of healthy and newer leaves. When I was raking, I found one avocado that randomly fell to the ground as I was raking. I was only able to find one other fruit hanging on the tree.
Additionally, there are a ton of tiny buds of young avocados on it right now, and it seems too late in the season for this. Are these next year’s yield?
Lastly, I need to reduce the tree’s size when the time is right. Is there a correct way to reduce a tree’s size without doing too much and killing it or causing major sunburn?
Thanks for any help!
Hi Mike,
This is the time of year to see a bunch of new, small avocados forming. These are next year’s fruit, yes, unless you have an early variety, in which case they are the fruit you’ll eat at the end of this year.
In Mission Viejo, the best time to reduce the size of your tree is likely to be this coming February, probably later in that month. This is if the tree is looking healthy at the end of the year. You don’t want to severely prune a sick tree.
If it’s healthy, then you can cut it down to whatever size you want and it will grow back and recover.
Pruning in late February will reduce the chances of sunburn but won’t eliminate them. You’ll still want to paint all branches whose bark sees the sunlight with white latex paint. I thin the white latex paint about 50/50 with water.
If you haven’t already, you might like to read my other post about pruning avocados: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/pruning-avocado-trees/
I planted my avocado trees close to neighbor’s wall. If I prune the trees deligently to 6-8 ft high, is it possible to contain the roots from growing too big to affect the wall eventually?
Hi Ken,
I’ve never seen an avocado tree’s roots affecting the integrity of a wall. Avocados just don’t have very tough roots.
As an example, my mom has an avocado tree that is at least 20 feet tall but only five feet from a wall, and there is no damage. So I don’t think you’ll have a problem, especially if you keep the tree pruned down.
Can I propagate the cut off young parts of my tree?
Hi Anne,
If you’re asking if you can use the prunings for grafting, then yes. If you’re asking if you can use the prunings for rooting, then maybe. Rooting avocados is not easy to do.
Hi Greg,
Just wondering what farm you visited where the avocado trees were spaced so close? You mentioned they were kept trimmed to 8 ft. What was the spacing they were planted at? I am interested in high density planting.
Thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris,
That was a farm in Bonsall. They planted those Reeds every ten feet originally (in 2015), but after a couple years planted additional Reed trees in between. So now there are trees every five feet going down the row. They’ve needed to prune the original trees down to eight feet for the past two years now.
I am also interested in high density planting. There are so many varieties that I want to try out so I’m always looking to squeeze more trees into a given amount of space. The density you can get away with depends a lot on what you want from the trees.
If you just want to get some fruit (not maximum fruit long term), then you can plant closer. For example, when planting seeds in the breeding program of UC Riverside, they plant four feet apart. They only want to get some fruit from the trees to see if they’re worth growing. Then if the fruit is good, they plant a grafted tree that has more space around it so they can get more production.
I’m sort of copying this method in my yard just so I can afford to try more varieties in a given amount of space.
Check out this commercial planting in Chile spaced only four feet apart. Read the comments below: they realize this isn’t sustainable without serious pruning or tree removal, but it is a way to get a lot of fruit fast.
Hi Greg,
Very interesting, thanks, I have not seen that blog before! The author of the blog, Reuben Hofshi, as you are probably aware, has been promoting this idea of HD planting for a long time. I am sure you are aware it is the Hofshi foundation that sponsors avocadosource.com which you reference in another part of your blog. Reuben has some interesting article on HD planting of Reed avocados in there. I was interested in that orchard you pictured because it looks like they are doing in successfully in a commercial environment!
I was recently down in Fallbrook at subtropical picking up some avocados I ordered and his son Eli was there. We talked for quite a while and the topic drifted to high density, as I was picking up a couple of GEMs (among others!) which he is trying to promote for HD planting, and he was kind enough to show me where he was doing some high density experimenting using the GEM and REED avocados. Spaced at 7ft and he is also trying 5 ft.
As for me, I have bought one too many Mexican avocados that were brown when I opened them and I think I just snapped inside (I know you can relate!). So now I am trying to figure out how many avocados I can plant on my suburban property in Mission Viejo. I want to free myself from dependency on the grocery stores for my avocado habit! I have also planted 15 citrus at 4-6ft spacing, 3 orange, 4 mandarin, 3 grapefruit, 3 lime and 2 lemon (yes I have scoured your citrus blog). And now I have 7 avocados ready to plant, I am looking at planting with 7-7.5 ft spacing and I am just trying to figure if I can go even closer and get even more in my available space! I am sure that this spacing would be fine I am just weighing the possibility of going even closer to get another one or two in! My wife tells me I am crazy and obsessed, and she is probably right. I think if I could quit my job and become an Avocado farmer I probably would!
Thanks for writing your blog, I have used it for one of my main resources for planning and choosing trees for my orchard!
Chris
Awesome stuff, Chris! We are cut from the same cloth. I have learned a ton from Eli and Reuben, both of whom are so generous with their avocado knowledge.
Are you thinking of planting the avocados in a single row or in multiple rows?
What are the varieties? I have found that it’s easy to fill the kitchen with great tasting avocados from the yard from about March through August, but there is less coming in from September through fall and into winter, depending on the weather.
Most of the best tasting (to me) varieties are spring and summer varieties. There aren’t as many great fall and winter varieties.
Fuerte is my favorite early (winter) variety, but it usually doesn’t produce enough or consistently enough to rely on a single Fuerte tree. I’ve been trying to bulk up on winter production. This has been my personal challenge to ample, year-round avocados for the family. What are you thinking for your winter avocados?
Hi Greg,
The Avocados I have ready to plant are:
Carmen Haas, Gwen, GEM, Sharwill, Reed, Sir Prize, Holliday, Pinkerton
I know what you are thinking… where is the Fuerte? Part of my selection process was to maximize the varieties and number of trees (for different season and alternate bearing years) and everything about the Fuerte I could find says it is BIG. So I opted for smaller varieties. I WISH I could figure out how to put a Fuerte in the mix!
The first four, Carmen Haas, Gwen, GEM, Sharwill, are for spring summer.
I am hoping that the second four, the Reed, Sir Prize, Holliday, Pinkerton will keep me in avocados from fall through when the first group starts producing again…
As for the planting scheme, I have two locations. The first location is a west facing slightly sloped plot in my front yard. This is interesting as one side of my driveway is a lawn and pygmy date palms, a typical southern CA suburban yard. On the other side of the driveway I have a pretty good size plot (for a suburban home) and I am turning it into an orchard with 7 citrus trees on 6 fr centers and a few stone fruit trees (planted close a’la Wilson Nurseries), and four avocados, the Gwen, GEM, Sharwill (‘B’ for the front) and Reed. These will be planted in two rows of two, offset like a parallelogram and all will be 7.5ft apart from each other. A few neighbors have stopped by while I have been planting and they like it, not sure what the others think, it is definitely not a typical look for my neighborhood and city! The second is a place ina side yard that gets a lot of sun and it will be home to 3, possibly four in a line. It is about 10-12 ft wide and I have about 25 linear feet to plant. I am thinking 9-10 ft for the Carmen Hass, leaving 15 linear ft. plenty enough for 2 more at 7.5ft each, but if I want 3 more in that space I am looking at 5ft per tree. Getting kind of tight. In addition to the Carmen Haas I am planning on putting the Sir Prize (‘B’ type), the Pinkerton and maybe the Holliday?
I am actually hesitant to try and plant the avocados on 5 ft centers, and actually have some room to keep some in pots in the back. I can plant the Holliday and maybe a few others in pots there. I know that this is not typically recommended, however I will probably try it and here is why: When I got my Carmen and Reed avocados, they were basically 4 leaves grafted to a pit for roots.in a small plastic sleeve (purchased from Gary at Laguna Hills Nursery in Tustin). I planted them in 5 gal pots with an inert potting mix with time release fertilizer and they have been growing about a foot a month, I think they would be 6ft before the end of the year if I left them in the pots and did not plant them in the ground!. So I think my plan is to get a few 15gal pots and see what I can do with judicious watering and fertilizing. The Holiday, and I do have a second GEM maybe I will try a Fuerte in a pot now that I think about it… yes, yes and maybe a Lamb Hass, and and and… Haha, I am already getting carried away! we will see!
Hi Chris,
I love following along with your plantings and plans. This is great fun.
My guess is that Fuerte is always called a big tree because it’s the oldest variety still around. In every part of Southern California that has been farm land or houses for more than 75 years, there are giant old Fuerte trees. It’s not that other varieties don’t get big as much as the fact that almost all other varieties haven’t been grown for so long.
I know of Fuerte trees that produce well and are kept to ten feet tall. I never would have thought it possible until I saw such trees. There are even a few Holiday trees that exceed that height!
Some people say you can’t or shouldn’t grow avocados in pots, but some years back I had success with a couple trees in pots that carried a couple pieces of fruit. I’ve also seen others with bigger trees carrying a handful of avocados. The biggest I’ve seen with my own two eyes were in 24-inch boxes. It’s obviously possible for at least a handful of years.
I’m curious how long a fruitful avocado tree can be maintained in a pot. I’ve started growing a couple in pots that I plan to keep in pots just as a challenge, but I don’t want to go any bigger than around 15 gallons if possible. I think it would be useful to many people to be able to grow a small but fruitful avocado tree in a pot long term. Maybe it’s possible with judicious watering and fertilizing, as you said.
Thanks Greg, glad to be able to share what I am planting and how with someone who is interested! I think at this point I am going to go with some additional avocados in pots. I will probably start a multi year experiment, some in dirt, some in an inorganic medium and I may even try a couple using hydroponic methods for watering and feeding!. I’ll post a link to a photo or two once I am all planted in the ground and in pots! PS, one of the pots will for sure be a Fuerte, maybe I will be able to “make room” for it in the ground in the next year or two!
Can you transplant an avocado tree? I don’t know what kind it is but I do know I planted a two year old plant bought at a local nursery about 3 years ago so it is likely 5 yrs old. I’m in an area of dry rain forest at sea level in Costa Rica (southern Nicoya Peninsula). Rainy season (with significant rain) is Sept -Dec. The rest of year mostly hot and dry. I am sad I have to move the tree as it’s likely getting close to fruiting but I have no choice so would like to try if it is possible. Thanks for your response or suggestions. I realize growing avocados in Costa Rica is likely way different than San Diego.
Hi Susan,
You can transplant avocado trees. The smaller the tree, the easier — of course. The key is moving as much of the roots as possible without disturbing them, meaning don’t chop them off with a shovel and don’t let them lose contact with the dirt they’re in either. So what you want to try to do is dig up the wide, heavy ball of roots and dirt under the tree, and then move it without it falling apart. It helps to have many hands on deck.
Here in California, the best time for this is winter because the temperatures are cool. You never get cool temperatures in that part of Costa Rica, but at least you have humidity even during the dry season, which is helpful. I wish you luck!
Thank you for your blog posts! I have a backyard orchard in a regular suburban lot in Lakewood, CA. My husband and I love avocados, so we decided to grow them (we have 16 fruit trees total, 8 of which are citrus).
I have a 6 year old Fuerte tree I keep to 10-12 feet (I consistently get 50+ fruit a year) and a Haas I keep about the same size. My Haas nearly died a few years ago due to sunburn, but I now know to keep the trees painted and protected from the sun. I tried adding a Reed last Spring, but it didn’t make it (grubs got to the roots), but I will plant another one next Spring. I have learned so much about watering and caring for the trees from your posts!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! My trees are much happier since I found your blog.
Thank you for taking the time to write this, Beth. Great to hear. Hope the new Reed grows like a weed!
Hi Greg, I have a avocado tree that has not produced any fruit since I’ve had it. going on 3 years now 🙁 I don’t see any flowers on it and I’m wondering why and how can I get it to flower? Should I prune it? Should I cut the lower branches that are growing down on the ground?
Hi Lynne,
Sorry your avocado hasn’t flowered yet. At three or four years is when you expect to get your first crop on an avocado tree that was planted from a five-gallon container. It could be that you need to wait one more year; maybe the tree will flower this spring.
But I want to make sure that rootstock hasn’t taken over your tree. Are branches coming from the trunk down at the level of the soil? Can you find a bump on the trunk that looks like a graft union? See my post “Your fruit tree is grafted — Why? And so what?” for more on this.
No matter what, pruning the tree won’t cause it to flower. In fact, pruning will only delay or reduce flowering.
Hi Greg, I do not live in California but central Florida. I am in Tampa only a few blocks from Tampa Bay. We are considered a subtropical zone for growing. I can’t find much info about the avocado tree I have in the backyard. I rooted it from a seed from the tree next door. That tree is at least 50 to 60 feet tall and has a huge canopy. I have no idea what type my tree is or the root system. It is blooming now and has had fruit for the last 4 year, is about 18 to 20 ft tall and seems more interested in going up than getting very wide. Trunk is about 5 in across. I want to prune it when it is appropriate as my backyard is small. I mistakenly probably planted it to close to my pool (7 ft away) not thinking about the roots. The leaves are large, smooth and a medium green. From looking at pictures I think it may be a Poncho or a Brogdon?? I need some info for pruning and if I have problems about the roots and thoughts on its type. Thank you so much, Sharon Hickinbotham
Hi Sharon,
Since your avocado tree is grown from a seed (and not grafted), it is a unique tree. It can’t be a Poncho or Brogdon or any other variety in existence. Every seedling avocado tree is a totally new and unique creature.
You might like to read my post related to this: “What kind of avocado tree do you get when you plant a seed?”
Prune whenever the tree gets taller or wider than you want, basically. And I doubt you’ll have problems from the tree’s roots, as avocado roots are kind of wimpy.
Hi Greg, If the Hass tree without prune and let it grow naturally, how many fruit i can get per year? If i plant 10ft x 10ft and prune the tree keep it to 8ft height, how many fruit i can get per year?
Hi Sean,
Those questions can’t be answered with precision because it depends where you are located, etc. But I can say that the Mother Hass tree was left to grow naturally and was reported to produce over 500 pounds of fruit in a good year (that’s well over 500 avocados). A Hass kept to 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide might average around 50 avocados. (My Hass that I keep to 15 feet tall averages about 100 avocados.)
Hi Greg! I’ve been spending the last few hours on your avocado posts, and now that I’m a LOT smarter, I have more intelligent questions than I just asked about dwarf varieties on another post of yours. I really like your statement regarding “if I could just plant three trees”, they would be a Hass, a Reed & a Fuerte. Due to limited my limited space, I now know that I can keep a Reed down to 8′ hi x 6′ wide. I believe I can also keep a Hass & a Fuerte down to maybe 10′ hi x 6′ wide? And if I could plant 4 (vs 3) avocado trees, which would you recommend adding….maybe a second Fuerte, due to their sometimes inconsistent yields?
Greg, a bit more information….the planting bed is 2′ wide x 50′ long. The spacing between the trees would be about 7′, and I would dig deep holes for them at least 2x the diameter of the 3.5 gal rootball, and follow all your tips on soil, watering, wood chip mulch, sunburn prevention, etc. This planting area previously supported texas privet to over 10′ high, and a couple patio trees to over 20′ high. Just need to ensure properly pruned Hass, Reed & Fuerte trees can indeed thrive there.
Hi Thomas,
If I were adding a fourth variety to Fuerte, Hass, and Reed, I’d consider Lamb. While Lamb’s harvest season is nearly the same as Reed, it does hang a bit longer into fall for me, and it also has a relatively upright growth habit, which seems to fit your planting needs.
I’d also consider Carmen if you don’t live too far inland (say, within 10 miles of the ocean) because Carmen will give you a crop of avocados in the spring and a second crop in the fall. Carmen blooms twice each year in locations that aren’t too far inland.
I wouldn’t add a second Fuerte because most likely you’ll either find that Fuerte produces well in your yard or it doesn’t, regardless of how many Fuerte trees you have.
By the way, I have some avocado trees planted 7.5 feet apart and I’ve found it manageable to keep them from overcrowding their neighbors and pruned down to roughly 12 feet tall.
Thank you, Greg. To clarify, the planting bed which is 2′ wide x 50′ long is not too restrictive, correct?
So the bed is two feet wide, but how about the width that the tree canopies will be allowed to grow to? Do you also want them kept to two feet wide? That’s possible but much more challenging (growers have been espaliering avocados in South Africa successfully for a few years).
The canopies would be around 7′ x 7′ in diameter, and around 10′ in height.
Is that 14 feet in diameter or 7 feet in diameter?
Canopies would be 7′ in diameter, Greg.
Seven feet in diameter is possible. Pruning consistently will be key. You’ll probably need to do one hard pruning per year and a couple of light prunings on top of that once the trees get older and their root systems are powerful.
Greg, thank you so much for all your advice, much appreciated! I went to Subtropica this week and picked up five trees…Reed, Lamb, GEM, Gwen & Kona Sharwil (all 3 gallon size). Eli advised me to read the blogs of a guy named Greg Alder, and I busted out laughing, since I have already read just about everything you (and your followers) have written about avocado growing. I will increase the spacing between trees to 8′ and let them get 12′ tall, along with following all your advice on planting & caring for them. Again, thank you!!
Awesome! That made me laugh too!
Hi Greg,
I have limited space for just one tree and am wondering what variety you recommend? I know elsewhere you have said you would plant a Hass if you could have only one tree. But I’d like to keep my tree to 8′ tall and wide. Is that doable with a Hass? Are there varieties that are better for keeping small?
I’ve tried for 5 years to grow a Day Avocado. The tree is still less than 2 feet tall and has never produced a fruit. This new tree will replace it. Or if I plant a B type I may plant it next to the Day, which is an A type and flowers reliably.
Finally, how many fruits do you expect from a tree this size? Maybe 50? I’m weighing that factor against planting a citrus or fig tree that might offer hundreds of fruits.
Hi Joe,
If you haven’t already, check out my post called “Can you grow an avocado tree in a small yard?”
As for varieties that can be most easily kept to eight feet tall and wide, and are productive and delicious, I would go with GEM, Lamb, or Gwen. These varieties would require less pruning than some others, such as Hass (which is more vigorous).
From one of those varieties at eight feet tall, I think you could average nearly 50 avocados per year, yes, but probably slightly less, realistically. For example, I have a Lamb that produced about 30 avocados for the couple years when it was about eight feet tall (it’s taller now), but I was also thinning some fruit on one side because the tree was leaning too far that way. Additionally, it is planted 7.5 feet from another avocado tree so it gets some shade and doesn’t produce quite as much on that side of the tree. So yeah, just under 50 avocados per year from an eight-foot-tall Lamb or GEM or Gwen seems about right.
Hi Greg! I live in the Inland Empire and I would like to possibly grow a Reed avocado tree. Unfortunately there is a possibility that I will not be able to plant in the ground, so I may be constrained to container planting. I saw that on the farm you visited, the Reeds were about 8ft tall. Would This be possible to grow in a pot? I understand that the size of the pot may stunt growth but will that prevent the tree from flowering and producing fruit? Any advice? Thanks!
Hi Annette,
I’m sure that it is technically possible to grow an 8-foot tall Reed in a container. I recall seeing a gardener in Texas growing a Reed of about that height in a container in his greenhouse. The key is providing a large enough container once the tree is large. And yes, the tree can certainly fruit.
Greg,
I am currently growing 2 Haas trees in 8 gallon pots (thriving thanks to all your posts). The goal is in 2-3 years to be able to purchase a home here in San Diego and plant the trees. My initial thought was to keep the trees trimmed back to 6ft total height. But perhaps that should be 6 feet from the soil? Any recommendations? We have fair wind blockage so I’m not worried about tipping.
Moving these boys will be a pain. But alas I am a crazy plant lady and my husband will have to figure it out.
Hi Laura,
You can let the trees get as big as you want, just being sure to put them into bigger pots as their canopies get bigger. And if you want to keep the canopies down in size, feel free to trim them at any time. There’s no right or wrong here, just whatever you desire. It’s true that big trees would eventually be a pain to move and plant at a new house, but I’d just deal with that problem when it arrives (or your husband will get to deal with it).
Greg, after some consideration I’d love to plant a Hass in my yard. I’ve got enough room to grow one but I was told it’s roots could extend far enough which could potentially damage my concrete paver patio that is approximately 8-10 feet away. Should I be concerned? If so, is there a root barrier that could be used to prevent this from happening? Thank you so much!
Hi Mike,
Avocado roots are relatively shallow, few growing below one foot deep, so I’d guess that you could contain them well with one of those plastic barriers/borders that are sold at all garden centers. But this is probably unnecessary. I’ve yet to see an avocado tree do damage to sidewalks or patios of concrete pavers like yours. Avocado roots seem to be too wimpy to be dangerous in this way.
Quite interesting insight on Avocados, I’m looking to grow avos from pit in South Africa (5 km from sea) and keep them small 3m high, hopefully lightning won’t strike this one…will be using your advice. Thanks
Hi Simosakhe,
What kind of pits are you planning to use? Where in South Africa are you — Natal?
I’m sure you’ll be able to keep your trees down to that size, but after a handful of years it will likely require multiple prunings per year.
Hah the name sold me, you guesed right im from KwaZulu Natal, I’m looking to grow the Maluma Haas pit and that the challenge I’m willing to take…
Good morning, I am growing an avocado tree from a seed, and it is about 5 feet tall very skinny and has about 4 Sprouts on it. I need to know if i can I prune it, so it will bush out. I live in central Alabama and I am trying to grow this avocado tree. I’m from California and i would like to grow a avocado tree here in the south. I haven it planted in a large pot right now, but I plan on transplanting it in the ground when the time is right. Thank you for your help
Hi Audrey,
I know that if I moved to Alabama I would also still be trying to grow avocados. Sure you can prune your tree. Seedling avocados naturally grow very upright so to make them bushy, the easiest thing to do is to pinch the ends of the branches, where there’s a cluster of tiny leaves known as a terminal bud. This will make them fork when they start to grow again.
Hi Greg,
I was really glad to find you blog. We recently moved to Sacramento and were thrilled to buy a condo with a Fuerte in our courtyard that bore much fruit. We grieved when we were forced to cut it down to accommodate building repairs.It was 25 feet tall and had an 8 inch diameter trunk. We now are very excited because the trunk is re-sprouting like crazy into a bush. I have been wanting someone to advise me how to prune it. We would like to keep it to 12 feet, and your blog gives me hope that we can do that. The trunk is about 1 foot tall, and has six buds and each bud has three to six sprouts that are one to two feet tall. ten weeks after being cut down, it now looks like a vigorous two and a half ft tall bush. I wish I could send you a picture. Should I prune the sprouts down to one or two per bud? Can I have a multiple trunk tree? Do you have any input? If I could have a wide, 12 foot bush in the corner of my courtyard that produced fruit, that would be exciting. By the way, my wife and I have decided we like the taste of our Fuertes better tha the Has we buy in the market.
Hi Larry,
You can definitely form that Fuerte into the 12-foot tree you desire. I’m actually doing something similar to my own Fuerte right now. One good way to go about it is to choose four scaffold branches, one for each quadrant (North, South, East, West), approximately. And if any of the chosen branches end up growing too tall without putting out side branches you can pinch that branch’s tip to induce side branching in order to get the bushy shape.
Hi Greg, this is such a useful and educating post for me. I am new to gardening and I stay in zone 9. I have started 3 avocado plants from seeds and they are growing pretty well. From your experience, do thing this plant will ever bear fruit? A friend of mine was saying that we get fruits faster from a grafted plant but from a seed grown one may take years if I get any at all. Do you have any advice for this new wannabe gardener? Any tips would help. Thank you so much
Hi Sree,
I think you’ll enjoy these posts related to your situation:
https://gregalder.com/yardposts/what-kind-of-avocado-tree-do-you-get-when-you-plant-a-seed/
https://gregalder.com/yardposts/how-long-until-an-avocado-tree-fruits/
Hi Greg-
Super informative post – thanks for sharing!
We have a bacon avocado tree that’s about 6 years old. Last year when I pruned it, the wounds developed a white, chalky looking substance.
Should I be concerned about that? And any suggestions on how prevent it?
The tree is generally healthy–lots of sun, water, nutrients, etc.
Thanks in advance!
Sam
Hi Sam,
Thanks! It’s probably no big deal. That’s just the dried avocado sap. It’s like our blood forming a scab. Check out this post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/white-powder-on-avocado-branches/
Hi Greg.
Really enjoying your avo growing tips. I live in Cape Town and we have a Mediterranean climate. I am a prolific avo eater in our winter time (May-August), which is when store bought avos are the cheapest. I only really notice three varieties. Haas, Fuerte, and Calvin(?). Have you heard of Calvin? It is rare and I haven’t seen it on the shelves for quite a few years.
Last winter I shoved all my favourite avo pits into a large empty planter on my patio and out of 15, eight sprouted. I have no idea which is which! I have, excitedly, moved them all into individual pots. I am terrified I am going to kill them. I’m not very good at gardening, hence the initial vacant planter. I don’t have a large garden, and what there is is occupied with mostly indigenous extremely thorny fruit trees.
I would (guiltily and broken heartedly) remove them all and plant my avos if I thought they would survive and fruit.
Thinking of just keeping them in pots until they show their true colours.
Hi Tanya,
That’s a fun project. I love growing avocado seedlings because you never know what you’re going to get.
I haven’t heard of Calvin, but when I lived in Lesotho I would sometimes find Ryan avocados in the Shoprite in Maseru (grown up near Tzaneen, I’d guess). They are a variety that remains green-skinned even when ripe.
Usually, avocado seedlings take a handful of years before they fruit, but it varies a lot. You might like to see this post: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/what-kind-of-avocado-tree-do-you-get-when-you-plant-a-seed/
I would like a small tree so i was thinking of getting a dwarf avocado, what i read is that there is only one true dwarf avocado tree. Or do you think just keeping a haas trimmed up, would like to keep it to 10′. Are dwarf avocados much smaller then say the Haas?
thxs for your time
val
Hi Val,
Avocado varieties all vary in their vigor. If you would like to keep your tree to ten feet tall, then there are a handful of varieties that are conducive to that goal. Hass, however, would be tough to keep to ten feet. It’s possible, but you would eventually have to prune it two or three times each year. See this post for variety suggestions and more on this topic: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/can-you-grow-an-avocado-tree-in-a-small-yard-space/
Hi Greg, I live in N. Calif. and purchased a Super Haas dwarf avocado tree. I was wondering if you know anything about these grafted trees and could tell me what I might expect from a dwarf tree? They should be more manageable height wise compared to a normal one. If the yield is smaller, I was considering a second tree.
Hi Jerry,
I don’t know such a variety although I’ve heard names like that being used for trees grown in Florida. Where did you buy the tree?
Hi Greg, do you know any avocado orchard that I can visit near Tampa? It can be up to 3 hours away from Tampa. Thanks:)
Hello Greg – I live in northern CA (bay area) in a climate similar to the Inland Empire. I have two Haas Avocado trees which are both 8-10 years old. I live in a residential neighborhood and I planted them as a fruiting privacy hedge between my house and my neighbor. The privacy part is working out ok (they’re now about 8-10 ft tall) but I get almost no fruits from either tree. They’re about 4 ft apart and in a line with many other citrus – all of which fruit prolifically. They seem to get lots of sun. Sometimes fruit sets but drops shortly thereafter. Any suggestions ? Thanks !
I need help! I finally got my first haas avacado seed to grow and is it ever growing. I live in Portland Oregon area and put it out on my deck after growing inside for a couple years. It went crazy and I was so proud of it until I saw an article that said it should be pruned at about 5 to 6″. Mine has been pruned. It has a good sturdy healthy stalk but it is close to 5′ tall!
The leaves are healthy and most are about 12 to 13″ in length. It is in an 8″ tall x 8″ wide pot and needs to be transplanted into a much bigger pot (as I have read) like 24″? Can you please tell me how to prune this tree. How much for first ever pruning. It has CONSTANT new growth so I’ll be cutting that off no matter how long I wait. The plant is about 4 years old. Any help will be so much appreciated. I don’t want to see it die.
Hi Gai,
There’s no need to prune your avocado tree unless it’s too big for your preferences. Pruning the tree does not help it in any way.
But if it grows too big for your space needs or other needs, then go ahead and trim it down.
If you’re hoping it will flower and fruit, then do not prune it. Pruning a young avocado tree simply delays its flowering and fruiting.
I wouldn’t transplant it from an eight-inch pot to a 24-inch pot. I would try to go up in size more incrementally. From eight you might go to 12. Making a big jump in pot size often ends up in the tree roots staying too wet for too long because so much of the potting mix is not filled with roots.
I need help! I finally got my first haas avacado seed to grow and is it ever growing. I live in Portland Oregon area and put it out on my deck after growing inside for a couple years. It went crazy and I was so proud of it until I saw an article that said it should be pruned at about 5 to 6″. Mine has been pruned. It has a good sturdy healthy stalk but it is close to 5′ tall!
The leaves are healthy and most are about 12 to 13″ in length. It is in an 8″ tall x 8″ wide pot and needs to be transplanted into a much bigger pot (as I have read) like 24″? Can you please tell me how to prune this tree. How much for first ever pruning. It has CONSTANT new growth so I’ll be cutting that off no matter how long I wait. The plant is about 4 years old. Any help will be so much appreciated. I don’t want to see it die.
Greg …
Thank you so much for the quick response. One more thing though. If I do not prune it I will never have branches?
Sorry did not realize the reply line would repeat my last comment.
Again I thank you for your fast response. Just to clarify though if I do not prune it at all I will never have branches??
Hi Gai,
The tree will form branches. It doesn’t need to be pruned in order to form branches.