Is this true even for ones that you buy that have a plethora of fruit already on them? I’ve seen ones at the big drive-in nursery in Oceanside that are teaming with fruit and if I buy again, I was going to go that route!
The 1st one I had was a baby from a neighbor who has a good producing tree. I gave up on it after 4 years (I had a friend’s dad who had a mini avocado grove in Fallbrook look at it and he said it was a “donkey”). The 2nd one I bought and it died. This 3rd one I think I’ve had 3 years. It’s never looked great but now it has a grape sized avocado on it. I know I’m not in an ideal place to grow avocados but my neighbor’s does well so I’m still hoping. :)[/quote]
Most of those are really greenhouse steriod kings that will prob crap out on you the next year. It takes a year or so to grow an avacado fruit, but it can be kept on the tree for 6 months or more without rotting. Watch out for the ones with fruit AND flowers on it. You think “WOW look how productive”, when in reality all it means is that they didnt pick last years fruit and ‘roided’ it up in a greenhouse before you see it. It is very common for trees to have alternating years, so if you buy a ‘roided’ tree, it could easily take 2 years before you really see much more fruit than what you bought.
Also, a mature tree you see out in fallbrook or something with perfect care will only produce 500-700 fruit. Some people claim more, but I grew up on a avacado orchard for a while, and we NEVER did better than 700 or so. And that is in Santa Barbara where we get alot more rain.
Plant a Hass, it is the tree for California. You can get alot of other kinds, but dont bother. THey want more water and warmer nights than CA has to offer.
One other thing. Avacados dont make good parents. It is common for seedlings to produce nothing, or to produce weird fruit. Your ‘donkey’ is along the same lines. The trees you buy from the nursery have been grafted with another high quality tree’s branches to produce the fruit you recognize. If you are growing a tree from the pits of an avacado you bought from the store, you are running REALLY high odds of getting a beautiful tree that doesnt produce anything.
As to where you are cbad, there is nothing wrong with NCC coastal for avacados. Just be sure they get enough water, deep waterings too (not just a bucket or two, and keep them out of the wind. Avacados hate wind. It drys them out and destroys their flowers/early fruit. Dig in some tree fertilizer in the early winter too.
