You don’t need a backyard orchard to grow an avocado plant—just a little sunlight, a leftover pit, and a bit of patience.
Types of Avocado
When most of us picture an avocado, we are thinking of the Hass avocado variety and with good reason – Hass is the most common cultivar of avocado and accounts for 80% of cultivated avocados in the world so that’s what we’re likely to find at the local grocery store. However, there are in fact hundreds of varieties of this mouth-watering fruit cultivated around the world which all derive from three distinct varieties – Guatemalan, Mexican, and West Indian.
In the US, avocados are grown in California, Florida, and Hawaii. West coast avocados tend to be rich and creamy with a higher fat content and nutty taste (think Haas), while East coast varieties tend to be larger in size, smooth-skinned, bright green in color, and juicer (aka higher water content and lower fat content), with a milder flavor.
Getting Started
Plant in the springtime. Start with a young, grafted nursery tree, which will maintain predictable fruit quality and quantity and bear fruit in a shorter time frame. Dig a hole slightly larger, but not much deeper than the root ball. Place the young tree such that the root ball is level with the surrounding soil or just above and backfill with native soil. (The sooner the tree becomes accustomed to the native soil, the better it will do). Stake young trees and keep them free from weeds. Add a thick layer of mulch and water deeply, continuing every other day for the first week and then once or twice a week thereafter. Avocado tree care must include deep, thorough watering during the growing season. The specific requirements depend on the climate, soil, and age of the tree. Water requirements for growing avocados are three times higher than for apples, and 18 times higher than for tomatoes. Depending on location it takes an average of approximately 18 gallons (70 litres) of applied fresh ground or surface water, not including rainfall or natural moisture in the soil, to grow one avocado which is why water shortages regularly occur in avocado production areas. However, on the flip side the trees will not tolerate soggy conditions as they are prone to root rot. After planting, add a bit of aged compost or worm castings; once the tree is established, it will benefit from a well-balanced slow-release fertilizer once or twice a year. Minimal pruning apart from removal of dead wood in the spring is required, unless you are trying to maintain smaller size.
Avocado tress are partially self-pollinating, but they’ve developed an unusual method of carrying out this process. Avocado flowers are very unique in that they have both male and female parts, but only one gender is active at a time. That means avocado flowers essentially change sexes on a daily basis! How cool is that? The timing of the male and female flower phases differs among cultivars. The two flowering types of avocado trees are cleverly named ‘A’ and ‘B’. Type ‘A’ varieties have flowers that open as female in the morning of day one and close in late morning or early afternoon, then open as male in the afternoon of day two. On the other hand, type ‘B’ varieties open as female in the afternoon of day one, close in later afternoon, and reopen as male in the morning of day two. ‘A’ cultivars include Hass, Lamb Hass, Pinkerton and Reed, while ‘B’ cultivars include Bacon, Fuerte, Sharwil, and Zutano. To encourage optimal fruit development, it is best if both types of trees are planted close-by, though this is not necessary. It just makes things easier since Type ‘A’ avocado female flowers open at the same time as Type ‘B’ male flowers, and vice versa. Not only is this process dependent on pollination (Bees!), but it also requires temperatures above 70 °F (21 °C) day and night.
Where Best to Plant
For most of us the idea of growing an avocado tree in our backyard is downright “nutty!” This fruit requires a tropical or subtropical climate (think Mediterranean) consisting of a long growing season in a warm, frost-free environment with moderate humidity. The ideal temperature range is 60 to 85 °F (16 to 29 °C). In the US, that means California, Florida, Hawaii or deep in the south of Texas.
Specifically, these fruit trees require full sun, protected from winds with plenty of space around them; leave 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 m) from buildings and up to 30 feet (10 m) of space between trees. They need moderately rich but well-draining soil of low saline content.
If you live in a region that generally provides the appropriate conditions, you could grow your avocado tree in a large mobile container that can be brought indoors when the weather gets too cold. However, these will not bear as much fruit as it would if planted in your yard. Make sure to choose a dwarf variety (e.g., Little Cado or Gwen) and use the largest container possible (wide and deep) with excellent drainage. Fill with potting soil, and follow other conditions as for outdoor planting. Place near a sunny window and provide a humidifier nearby if your home is below 40% relative humidity. When the tree is flowering, make sure to move it outdoors for pollination.
Pests & Diseases
Pests affecting avocado trees include borers, caterpillars, lace bugs, mites, pyriform scale insect, and thrips. Trees are vulnerable to bacterial, fungal, viral, and nutritional diseases (excesses and deficiencies of key minerals).
Harvest Time
Most trees produce fruit within a couple of years (2 to 4 on average) and can grow to 66 feet tall (20 meters). Avocados do NOT ripen until they are off the tree! They need to be picked when mature, which can be determined based on cultivar specific information. In general, the fruit will appear duller, changing slightly in color. When you think they’re ready, try picking a fruit and see if it ripens satisfactorily after 3 to 10 days at room temperature. If so, you are good to go! Commercially, a single California avocado tree can produce up to 200 pounds of fresh fruit each year, approximately 500 pieces, although most average around 60 pounds or 150 pieces of fruit. Holy moly – that’s a lot of guacamole!
Grow an Avocado Houseplant
Looking for a fun project? If growing an avocado tree outdoors isn’t possible, try growing an avocado houseplant instead. It’s a great way to turn waste (aka the pit) into something beautiful and a great way to teach kids about the life cycle of plants in general.
Step 1: Purchase avocado.
Step 2: Eat the avocado, saving the avocado seed from a ripe, unrefrigerated avocado. Are you with me so far? Easy, right?
Step 3: Wash the pit and use three or four toothpicks poked into the avocado pit about one-third of the way up from the flat bottom of the seed to suspend it broad end down over a glass of water, covering about an inch of the seed. Put the glass in a warm place with indirect light and replenish the water level as needed.
The seed should split in two to six weeks, revealing new growth – roots and a sprout (the stem). If at first you don’t “suc-SEED”, try, try again. When the stem is 6 to 7 inches (15 to 18 cm) long, cut it back to about 3 inches (8 cm). When the roots are thick and the stem has leaves again, plant it in a pot with soil, leaving the seed half exposed. Water it frequently, with an occasional deep soak to keep soil moist but not saturated. At this point, the more sunlight, the better. If the plant turns yellow, you may be over-watering; let it dry out for a few days. When the stem is 12 inches (30 cm) high, cut it back to 6 inches (15 cm) to encourage the growth of new shoots. If you follow this step-by-step toothpick method eventually (hopefully) you will end up with a new avocado plant with an interesting back-story, though it is unlikely the plant will ever bear avocado fruit. If it were to bear fruit, it would take at least 4 to 6 years and would likely not resemble the parent avocado originally purchased. If you are uber-successful, the plant may grow quite large, requiring you to have to repot several times over. Fingers crossed!
Grow Your Own Garden
If you’re looking for help on how to grow other foods check out these posts!
