AVOCADO TREES-“Joey” cold hardy Zone 8a
·
Avocados should be planted on high
ground.
·
They need adequate water but need
good drainage. Tropical broadleaf but
will not tolerate wet soggy soil.
- They need adequate water but need good drainage. Tropical broadleaf but will not tolerate wet soggy soil.
- Trees need to be in a raised bed or mounded. Over time mound the ground around the trees so it covers the graft so that if a bad freeze occurs the plant can come back from "Varietal Wood" instead of from the rootstock.
·
The trees “will” need to be
protected from the cold for two to three years. As the tree matures, the
green bark on the trunk will begin to turn brown.
·
Start fertilizing young trees after
one year of growth, using a balanced fertilizer such as 8-8-8 twice
yearly.
·
It is also recommended to protect
young avocado trees from direct sun for the first year.
·
One option is to paint the green
trunk and main branches with a whitewash.
·
You can also drape them with a shade
cloth or light burlap sack over a wooden or PVC frame a foot or two above the
tree.
·
The trees should begin to bear fruit
within 2 – 3 years. 3-5 Gal trees bear some
fruit now in the pot
·
Joey, Lila, Lula, Fantastic, and Arizona are
just some of the cold hardy examples now 14-18 degrees
·
All avocados are self-fertile but
produce larger and more fruit if cross-pollinated, can grow to 30 feet at maturity in several years or 10-15 feet in a large pot, but can be cut back. Remember fruit comes on new growth.
·
Zone 8b
ALL AVOCADOS come only in 5
gallon pots, but we designate 5 gal and 7 gal sizes so that the 7gal size
designates older larger trees with calipers of the trunk over 3/8 inch or
larger and the smaller trees as only 1/4 inch caliper and smaller. The 7 gal
trees are not much taller, but are bushier and as mentioned a larger in caliper
in trunk size.