Avocado Trees For Your Backyard

Avocado Tree Hass

*For avocado varieties currently available go here >> avocado trees we grow

 


We have a good climate to grow avocados down here in Bunbury, Perth and the rest of the southwest. Avocados are in demand and there are many orchards in WA from up north Carnarvon way, down south to Manjimup and Pemberton – even as far as Albany. And there’s certainly a good supply of avocados in the markets but as you probably know, they can get a bit pricey, and they’re good, but just not a good as freshly picked off the tree – which is a good reason to want to grow your own supply of fresh avocados.

We get enquiries every day about avocados.   Avocado tree production is always at the top of the to do list.  So which tree is for you? Here’s a rundown on the Avocado trees we’re producing here. Right now we have waiting lists for avocados, we’re working hard to fill in commercial farm orders and usually have some available year round. Mostly Hass, but we will do the following whenever the opportunity presents itself – usually depending on when we can get cuttings (scion wood)

 

Farm Growers >>  Please contact us for availability of stock Give us a call or send an email for further information on availability as things change all the time.

Continue reading for planting information.

For info on how we planted out our avocado trees, go here

Hass (A)– most grown commercial variety because it transports so well. It turns black when ripe. Matures in April -August. Taste is really nice. Rich, nutty type taste. Everyone seems happy with Hass and is our most sought after Avocado for the backyard. However…there are other Avocados out there that are so yummy and flavoursome, and worth a try.

Pinkerton (A) – A smaller, dwarf Avocado tree. Fruit is similar to Hass, but with a smaller seed and a longer neck, ready to pick in winter time. Tree has a smaller spreading habit, is a consistent cropper and is also cold tolerant.

Fuerte (B)– a great cold tolerant variety which is also grown commercially as a pollinator to Hass. Fuerte is the most creamy, buttery avocado with a relatively small seed and a good amount of flesh. The tree itself grows quite tall.

Bacon (B)–  Fruit is green and thin skinned. Good pollinator for A types.  Fruit matures April-June. The tree itself is a spreading type of tree to about 4m. Gets to 10m if left unpruned.

Wurtz (A) A smaller, dwarf avocado tree with a spread out fruiting period – Jul-Dec.  Fruit is dark green, medium sized.

Reed (A)– a large round fruit with firm flesh, ready to pick around November- December. Really tasty and we look forward to when Reeds are in season.

Growing from Seed You can grow Avocados from seed easily enough and they do grow into a nice tree.

 We’ve got 2 that popped up in the vegie patch, most likely from Hass seeds that were turfed into the compost. They are really growing strong, and have tolerated several cold and windy winters and hot, summers without any protective shade-cloth structure. These guys are survivors, so we’re letting them stay for now – to see what kind of fruit they produce, but they’ll take a lot longer to fruit than a known, grafted variety – even up to 10 or so years or more –  and when they do finally fruit, there’s no guarantee that the fruit will be of a good size or eating quality.  The benefit of Grafted Avos are that they start producing after a few years in the ground and you’re getting a known fruit variety that you can look forward to.

By the way- getting an avocado seed to germinate is quite easy. Plant your seed in a pot and you’ll get a seedling in no time! Strangely enough, the internet seems to favour a method that involves toothpicks, and a glass of water – which sounds like fun thing to do on the kitchen sink, but not really necessary.

avocado treeAvocados make such a nice tree with their spreading branches – just waiting for a kid to climb

Choose a Spot

Avocados are subtropical, originating from Mexico and  Central America.  Despite these subtropical origins, they do grow quite well here down South, in Bunbury, Perth and there are commercial Avocado orchards all the way down Manjimup and Pemberton way.  What you want to do is recreate the micro climate from which they orginate,  as much as you can, which means choosing a warm protected spot, away from wind, frost, and direct sun with plenty of water.

Mature avocado trees like to be out in full sun, although judging by the leaf size, which is quite large, they look to have evolved to grow up from a shady, dappled light situation toward the sunlight.  You’ll need to protect your young trees from the sun as they can get sunburnt which can damage the young tree irreparably or cause the tree to struggle. You can paint the trunk with a waterbased white household paint to protect, or  plant out with a shade structure to protect from the frost and wind as well. There are cold tolerant varieties like Fuerte or Bacon, but most varieties will work, provided you give them a good start in life.

Drainage and Soil Planting Mix

Drainage is essential to an avocado tree.  They will not tolerate water logged soil, even for a couple of days. Avocados can develop root rot caused by the soil borne pathogen ‘phytopthera cinnamomi’ which is caused by wet conditions.   As they have small, shallow feeder roots, they must be kept moist, but not saturated. If your soil needs better drainage, plant it on a hillside, if accessible, or mound it up. Lucky for many of us on the coast, the sandy soil is very free draining. So we’re half way there. To keep those feeder roots moist, add to your existing sandy soil, organic matter, rock dust and clay to hold water as well as nutrient in around the root zone. These soil amendments are important as the biological activity associated with them helps to control these pathogenic microbes.  Mulch is essential to keep moisture in. Chose large, irregular shaped mulch material – which helps to keep water in the soil.  Avoid the finer, sawdusty type mulch. It actually tends to wick moisture out of the soil.

 Fun Fact Ahuacatl is how the Aztecs pronounced Avocado. It translates to testicles - from how the fruit hangs from the tree.

Planting Your Avocado

The Avocados we produce are grafted onto a seedling rootstock.  They’ll need a bit of attention and care. We recommend waiting until the weather warms up to plant out into the garden. Mid to Late Spring is good. We have a long period of warm weather to get them growing before our short winters. Until then, you can repot it if you like, being very careful not to disturb the roots and keep it in a warm spot, maybe in your patio area, where it receives shaded light and is protected from the wind.

Another Fun Fact  The Tree has origins from the time of Megafauna - who ate the large fruits as a tasty snack - and went on their way, dispersing the seed as they went! Which worked to the advantage of the Avocado - until these Mega fauna disappeared. Seems Avocados have had a lot of human intervention, since then to get them to this point in cultivation.

Food and Water

You’ll get good growth if your tree is consistently watered – work on getting a good planting mix as above so that the tree doesn’t dry out.  Especially on hot, windy days. To the planting mix suggested above, we use a controlled release fertliliser, given in the warmer months when the tree is actively growing.

Pollination – will you need two?

Avocados can be self pollinating – but – you’ll  always increase your yield if you have both an A and B variety. Here’s the rundown on Avo flowers – which seems to be kind of complicated at first glance, but hang in there.

When an avocado tree blooms, it produces a flower that is both male and female. That is, the flower has male bits that produce pollen, and female bits that receive the pollen – which then goes onto to become an avocado for you to eat.

Each flower lasts for about 2 days. When the flower opens, it opens as a female for a few hours, waiting to accept pollen from a male flower. It then closes….then opens again later as a male flower.

*Type As open as a female in the morning and male in the arvo of the second day.

*Type Bs open as female in the arvo on the first day and male in the morning of the second day

In cooler temps this pattern can vary, with flowers staying open for longer, allowing for greater chances of pollination, or not opening at all. There are many variables in temps in our Southwest region. Also consider that the Avocado tree produces lots of flowers at one time, their 2 day cycle can start at varying times, which can allow for overlap of open male and female flowers. It may be a good idea to increase your chances of pollen transfer by growing plants that attract insects like bees as well as flies and other insects .

So, yes your avocado can be self-pollinating and you can try growing one, and you’ll most likely get a good amount of fruit. You will though, like all other fruit, always increase your avocado yield if you have a pollinizer.

Good luck with your avos!

For info on how we planted out our Avocado Trees, have a read here

avocado orchard tree

 

4 thoughts on “Avocado Trees For Your Backyard

  1. Kathryn Johnson says:

    HELP!! I have a Dwarf Wurtz avocado that only grew to about a metre or so in a pot, so i planted in the ground about 3yrs ago, its now appx 6m. my neighbour has felt a lump under his fake lawn next door on the side where my avocado tree is, is it the roots? I was under the impression their roots are non invasive? Do i have to kill my tree?Ive rang a few fruit tree places, they dont seem to think its the tree? I dont want any damage done to my neighbours foundation..any help appreciated :)

    • Annette Tickenoff says:

      Hard to say Kathryn without seeing your situation. Avocado trees do have shallow, spreading roots that need a lot of oxygen so grow horizontally in the upper surface of the soil seeking out nutrient and water. Sometimes fake lawn can be laid over a surface of blue metal fines as a base, which is highly nutritious volcanic basalt rock (or rockdust) for all plants or tree roots to seek out. Your tree is 6 m, so it may very well be your tree. But look around, are there other trees nearby? Our plumber neighbour has always told us that underground tree roots in the suburbs are what kept him in business! And they came from all over the neighbourhood block. Maybe call in a local arborist to check it out and get it pruned back properly.

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