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Stewart avocado tree: a profile
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I'm Greg. My goal is to help you grow food at home, with a focus on vegetables and fruits -- especially avocados -- in Southern California. I write a new "Yard Post" every Friday.
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My Stewart is growing straight up like a pine tree. When you saw it you weren’t sure it was a Stewart. It looks nothing like yours. I suppose if it flowers this season I’ll know next year if it is or isn’t.
Hi Bob,
I remember trying to judge based on the appearance of the leaves of your tree. I’ll fill this post in with a full profile sometime soon in order to help with identification issues like this. For now, I can say that Stewart leaves smell of anise when crushed and sometimes — not always — they have wavy leaf margins.
Whether they grow straight up like a pine tree before they have their first crop might have a lot to do with how they were pruned and trained at the nursery before you bought the tree so I wouldn’t put too much stock in that characteristic, yet.
Definitely anise smelling. I’m gonna let it grow bigger than I should as the leaves and branches can be used in traditional Mexican cooking (pit in the ground). A roofer I know said when that tree is big enough we’re gonna have a feast. Also, that lavender gem tangelo graft is loaded. I’m thinking I might pull one in January, but by February is when there gonna be outstanding. I’ll keep you posted.
Mine is like a pine tree too, flowered for the first time and set 4 fruits this year. Looks like the flower buds are just forming now for 2022. So far the early fruits, are my favorites, as you don’t have to WAIT 12-16 months to harvest. And for us ANY home grown avo beat the store bot ones. Thx for all the great videos
Hi Frank,
Were there many strings in your Stewarts? My wife has called them her favorite whenever they’re not stringy. They can be darn good, I agree.
I’m in Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area, Concord. My Stewart is also growing like a pine tree, very vigorous grower so far. Planted in 2019
Thanks for sharing, Tony. Has it bloomed yet?
It has two small fruit
Greg, fruit on my Stewart has fallen off. Now I have a nine year old seedling Avocado that has 32 Avocados that seem to ripening now. Last year it had two fruit. One fell off on Nov. 1. Ripening in kitchen, skin wrinkled and ate it on Nov 15. Flavor ok, but I don’t think it was really ripe. On Nov 28, I picked the largest fruit, ripened it , no skin shrinkage, and ate it on Dec 3. Flavor ok. Skin is smooth, size 5 1/2 “ long and 2 1/2” wide. On Dec I have again picked the biggest Avocado and ripening it in my kitchen.. will let you know the results. I am trying to determine possible parent variety. Any suggestions ? Where can I send photos of tree and fruit ?
Greg, my Stewart is a little over 10 feet tall. This spring it was loaded with flowers. It now has approximately 30 or more fruit with many about golf ball size. It’s beginning to fill out and I think by next year it will begin to resemble your Stewart. I also have two successful grafts, Lamb and Bacon on one of my my seedling trees, which is also loaded with small fruits which hang in groups of 3-4 like cherries. My Zutano lost most of it’s fruit due to a hot spell.
Hi Tony,
That sounds great (except for the Zutano). I hope you get to harvest about 30 avocados from the Stewart.
Hi Greg, My Stewart is growing like a weed ! I added another stake to the existing tree stake because the top was growing towards the ground . I didn’t want to top it, but I may have to if it won’t support the top growth. This last heat wave didn’t affect this tree at all, it has 45 plus avocados on it now and the tree and fruit look healthy . I’ll let you know when I’m able to harvest my first avocados.
What would the name be if the small Mexican avocado that is commercially sold in stores?
Hi Jorge,
Describe them a little more. Are they similar to Mexicola or Puebla avocados? See videos of those two varieties here: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/avocado-variety-profiles/
Hi Greg, great that you are posting all this info. In 1986 i wanted to do my graduate work on citrus and avocado.. the santa Ana field station was near me..I ended up studying malting barley in wis. Tony R. From concord did a reply. I live near concord.. a few freezing nights a year,, but a big concern.. If he is reading this how big is your stewart now?
Hi Brian, my Stewart is about 10 feet tall and growing columnar like a pine tree. Did not hold any fruit last season.
Hi Greg, do you happen to have any nabal avocado scions for sale?
Hi Nick,
I’m sorry I don’t, but check out this post for sources: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/where-to-get-avocado-scion-wood/
I’m certain you can find one. I’d first make a posting requesting the Nabal scions on Tropical Fruit Forum.
Hi Greg,
have appreciated your various posts for several years. I am in Temecula and after killing many avocado trees for many years, I finally learned how to grow avocados in our environment here.
my second avocado tree (Stewart) was purchased at Home Depot Temecula in 2017 as a scruffy looking 15 gal tree in full bloom. Broke out some concrete and prepared a hole next to an 12′ high Fuerte tree that had produced fruit for only 2 seasons. first year 11 fruit. huge fruit from my very skinny upright tree only 9 feet from the Fuerte tree. Today they share canopies somewhat even as I keep pruning the Fuerte. Last season the Stewart put on well over 100 fruit that it kept. the Fuerte had about 150 fruit. This year it is only beginning to show signs of upcoming blossoms, while the Fuerte beside the Stewart is holding 60+ fruit and flowering with the beginnings of fruit set just now. Reed, Lamb are holding a lot of fruit, Sir Prize just flowering. GEM is only a little guy as I purchased a little slipper from Subtropic early last year. I am popular with neighbors and friends. Heirloom Tomatoes have been my thing for years,,,but now the avocados are another preoccupation.
just a shout out to you and your Yard Posts, I don’t see much information on the Stewart Avo. Yes! it’s fruit is one of my favorites, we eat them in December. smooth and buttery, mine have a nutty taste….but supper creamy is the primary attribute (well, there are those damned thin skins….the native folks of these trees eat the skins along with the fruit, I have heard anyway.
best regards,
Hi Greg, I just bought an Stewart last week. I have a question; on some of the new trees I have from La Verne nursery the soil is like composted wood chips. Should I wash the soil off before up potting or planting in the ground?
Hi Hoda,
I have planted avocado trees from La Verne in that mix and never done anything to the rootball and the trees have grown fine (for about a decade now).
Have a 18 foot Stewart that will not bear more than a few fruit. Could you please suggest the best way to approach cutting it back and grafting on new varieties to pollinate? And the best type of grafts?
Was thinking of reducing the height by 40% and top grafting onto limbs that are several inches wide. Is it best to graft onto older, woody limbs, or onto newer ones with yellow-green bark? Are cleft grafts okay or do your recommend other types?
Thanks a lot!!!
Hi Harry,
It’s easiest to graft onto branches that are pencil thick up to a couple inches in diameter and with green bark.
You can use cleft grafts on the small branches, but a bark graft is better on bigger ones.
See this post and the resources it contains: https://gregalder.com/yardposts/grafting-avocados/
Hi Greg, can’t recall if I reached out to you on this before but sending again as I don’t see a post. Have you ever encountered a Stewart that doesn’t turn black? I have one planted, it grows well and sets fruit, but the fruit never turns color and stays a lime green till it falls off/cracks. The leaves on the tree get hit by mites pretty hard vs. the others around it, but beyond that it seems fine. This last harvest was the first year I got any fruit from it but was surprised when none turned black. If it happens again this year I may rip it out sadly. It is planted next to a Mexicola Grande that grows fine, as well as multiple other trees that are producing as expected. This one is just odd and as I don’t have experience with them was wondering if you have seen this before. Fruit all looks right other than the color of the skin when ripe.
I have a mexicola and learned after 15 yrs. with only two fruit a yr., I had to spray honey water on the flower buds for bees to come and pollinate. However, Mexicolas are known for uneven ripening, so I heard, and most of the avocado crop won’t ripen and are rubbery. Is there anything I can do to make them ripen?