Growing Avocados
Avocado are attractive evergreen trees that produce delicious highly valued crops.
They love free draining soil, full sun and to be sheltered from strong winds.
Read all our tips for selecting and planting your new Avocados below.
Avocado varieties are sometime referred to as being either ‘A’ type flowerers or ‘B’ type flowerers.
The avocado flower has a period when it opens as a female, and a period when the same flower opens as a male. The ‘A’ type flowerer opens as a female on the first morning, closes and opens as a male the next afternoon.
The ‘B’ type flowerer has the opposite pattern.
In a cooler Spring this pattern is followed. In a warm Spring there may be female and male flowers open at the same time on the same tree.
This is why Avocados can be described as self-fertile. In cooler climates such as ours there are advantages in having cross pollinating varieties available nearby.
We have available 4 main varieties of Avocado from our specialist nursery supplier and being a cooler climate we do recommend the planting of two trees - an ‘A’ and a ‘B’. (If you have a warm situation or another tree in the neighbourhood then one may be all you need).
Whatever you decide we suggest placing an order with us as soon as possible. Every year demand increases’ and our Avocado trees are often 90% pre allocated prior to arrival at the garden centre.
Hass
New Zealand and the world’s most common variety. The Hass avocado is a crocodile skinned, large fruit weighing 200-300 grams. It is high yielding, and ripe from September through until March. It turns purplish/black when ripe. Hass is an ‘A’ type flowerer.
Bacon
Bacon is a medium sized fruit weighing 150-250 grams. It is high yielding and is ripe from July through until September. It remains green when ripe. Bacon is a ‘B’ type flowerer. This variety has good cold tolerance.
Fuerte
Fuerte is the original, high quality Californian avocado. It is a medium sized fruit weighing 150-250 grams. It is medium yielding and ripe from October through until March. It remains green when ripe. Fuerte is a ‘B’ type flowerer. This variety has good cold tolerance.
Reed
Reed is a large fruit, the size of a softball and often weighing over 400 grams. It is high yielding and is ripe from December through until April. It remains green when ripe. Reed is an ‘A’ type flowerer.
Planting:
Dig a hole slightly deeper and wider than the bag. DO NOT include any soluable fertiliser in the hole as this can very easily burn the roots. The only safe fertiliser to use at planting time is a controlled release fertiliser such as ican Slow Food (which will provide 24 months of base feeding).
When planting the tree please take every care to minimise root damage.
- Cut the base of the bag and remove the base. Then cut a slit half way up the bag.
- Place the tree in the hole, fold up the cut bag and cover the exposed root ball with soil.
- Slit the remainder of the bag, remove, and cover the remaining roots with soil, gently pressing from the sides towards the centre. Care must be taken at this stage as the roots of avocado trees are very brittle and break easily.
- NEVER TEASE OUT THE ROOTS!
- Do not tamp the soil down with your feet
Soon after planting, the young trees should be supported with a strong wooden stake. Do not push the stake through the nursery growing media as this will damage the roots. Tie the tree firmly to the stake attaching above the side branches. Regularly check that the ties are still effective (every four to six weeks) and note that it may be necessary to loosen the ties to prevent them from strangling the tree.
Irrigate well after planting as this helps to bring the soil into close contact with the root ball.
