Avocados

[kdsexton]

I have a question about avocados.

Being from CA, I love them. I want to grow a tree, which I started to in CA, from a pit, and it took off quite nicely.

Since then, I've been told that bearing fruit is not simply a matter of planting two together to cross-pollinate; you must graft them, and one has to be male and another female. You can guess what my question is- "How on earth do you tell the difference?"

Curious in SC (Karen)

[tuckermor]

It's not as simple as male and female; it's A and B types, and sometimes people will say that doesn't matter. Here are a couple of places to look for info to get you started. Lots more if you look on Google.

is what the CRFG (California Rare Fruit Growers) Fact Sheet about Avocadoes says: "Flowers: Avocado flowers appear in January - March before the first seasonal growth, in terminal panicles of 200 - 300 small yellow-green blooms. Each panicle will produce only one to three fruits. The flowers are perfect, but are either receptive to pollen in the morning and shed pollen the following afternoon (type A), or are receptive to pollen in the afternoon, and shed pollen the following morning (type B). About 5% of flowers are defective in form and sterile. Production is best with cross-pollination between types A and B. The flowers attract bees and hoverflies and pollination usually good except during cool weather. Off-season blooms may appear during the year and often set fruit. Some cultivars bloom and set fruit in alternate years."

[len garden]

g'day karen,

having 'a' & 'b' trees not totally necessary as all trees will bare male and female flowers at some stage of their fruiting cycle, having the 2 of certain varities extends your fruiting season ie.,. when the 'a' tree has its female flowers the 'b' tree has its male flowers and visa verca.

some varieties don't need 'a' or 'b' ever.

the only thing with a seedling tree is how long before it fruits could take up to 14 years maybe? but the other side and i avhe heard both stories you have no guarantee that the tree will fruit to form or even fruit at all, or at best it may give very poor quality fruit.

if yo realy like avacado's and most of us do the best advice is go buy a grafted tree and if you are short snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[kdsexton]

Thank you- that is fascinating- you'd think being from CA and eating alot of guacamole, I would know more about this stuff! I have been in huge avocado groves near the town of Fallbrook CA, and there are two main types- the Haas (bumpy skin) and the Fuerte (smooth).

Karen

[kdsexton]

Hmm- sort of a unisex thing? ;-)

Wow.

I've been to all our local nurseries- I couldn't even find a cherry tree. All they had was peach (which I bought), plum, apple, fig, and I saw one lemon. I should have bought that, come to think of it- the flowers smell so good. I went online to look for cherry trees- found one, but I didn't check for avocados.

Ok- thanks!

Karen

[Pan Ohco]

If your finding lemons and figs, you may be too warm for cherries. Check to see what your local chilling hours are, at the state ag department. The lowest chilling hours for cherries is about 700 to 800 hours.

[len garden]

g'day karen,

yes that is about it.

you might do better seek snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[kdsexton]

KS

[kdsexton]

Ok- thanks.

KS

[kdsexton]

I spent a fair amount of time at these links you all gave me. I never dreamed the courting and mating rituals of avocadoes could be so complicated:-) And then when you get into scions and all that....

KS

[kdsexton]

I've also been meaning to ask- my grandfather did a lot of grafting, and I would watch him. He used to dip the end of the part he was grafting into some white powdery stuff he got at the nursery. This was in the early 1960's. He told me what it was, but of course, I can't remember. He used this white powder to graft roses, also, and made beautiful varigated carnations with the same method. Anyone have any idea what the substance was?

Thanks,

Karen

[whiteMemphis]

Would the Reed be one of those?

[Pan Ohco]

That could have been Rootone, or one of the other brands of root stimulators.

[kdsexton]

Is that the same as root growth hormone? It may be it.

Karen

[kdsexton]

I'm not sure- I'm just learning this stuff myself.

KS

>

[whiteMemphis]

me too, fascinating stuff, I've taken my info from a book for Melbourne conditions & it makes no mention of a or b varieties at all, stating that in the Melbourne climate different varieties for x-pollination are not necessary, mine is about 3 years old and had its first 'baby' this season, it got to be about the size of a walnut & fell off, I was in mourning for the day :(

[len garden]

sorry missed the thread for a bit whitememphis,

it ususally says on the label if the stock is 'A' or 'B' plants, some are neither.

snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[len garden]

again whitememphis,

it is not necessary to plant both types of trees, and a reed may down there may be one variety that does not get classified as 'A' or 'B'.

then in melbourne where the climate is such that extending the growing season won't factor, but up here in the sub tropics that could be the difference, but up here the 'reed' is sold as an 'A' plant.

they like full snipped With peace and brightest of blessings,

len & bev

-- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand."

[kdsexton]

Oh- ok- I didn't know that, thanks.

Karen