Avocado Blog

Question: I live in Florida and want to graft two avocado trees. When is the best time to so.

8/28/2016

Two types of grafting: One is canopy change, top work a tree to graft a know or preferred variety on a seedling or change a variety. The other is grafting on to a small seedling.
For top working, depending on the size of the tree it needs to be decapitated (like I show on my videos) in order to get water shoots to grow to graft on. The best months to do that are later July to early September so the trees will be ready to graft in December to February
For grafting on to seedlings you can plant the seeds from July to August to have good size seedling to graft in December to February. Remember good healty seedlings and strong water shoots plus scion ready to flower is the best conbination. . I prefer bud wood in the 511 to 512 category see pictures here: http://www.myavocadotrees.com/stages-of-avocado-flowering-using-the-bbch-scale.html

7 Comments

What avocados grow well in a tropical climate. Wurst, Hass others

1/15/2016

1 Comment

I RECEIVED THIS QUESTION FROM A PERSON IN SINGAPORE
I live in Singapore, where the temperature stays at about 30 to 32 degrees Celsius through the the year. The climate is ultra tropical and there is no seasonal variation in temperature.

Can avocados bloom in such a climate. I know local West Indian varieties do well, however I have a grafted Wurtz that has never fruited. When I bought it other avocados were flowering but mine had no flowers. Was it a fluke graft. The graft Union is clearly visible.
Also the wurtz is in a pot and still very small, should I plant it in the ground and let it grow larger to get fruits. It is temperature or the small size of the tree making the tree not bloom.

Also can other varieties like hass bloom. I heard that avocadoes need cool temperatures to bloom, but shouldn't has and other non West Indian avocado varieties be able to bloom in my climate eventually

How can I also force my West Indian avocado to bloom, it is grafted and about 1.5 meters tall.

MY REPLY

Dear friend, first your last point: Do not force such a small tree to bear fruit, will set the tree back. I know is hard not to let fruit set but I remove fruit for the first two years on any tree. You will get a better tree.

You are in a tropical area. Only West Indies race should be worth your while. They don't grow well, I have tried for years and I'm in a subtropical area. The grafted Wurtz you have probably will do worst because is a Guatemalan X Mexican hybrid.

As far as trees growing and blooming, you have to give them time. Small pots are never good for avocados for a long time.

We do have some West Indies X Guatemalan hybrids that should do well like Monroe, Beta and others.

1 Comment

Another Oro Negro Avocado question

4/7/2015

3 Comments

Hello! I came across your very informative blog regarding avocado trees for South Florida. I am considering planting an avocado here in Sarasota County and thought 'Oro Negro' might be the best variety for beauty and winter fruit (we are not here in the summer months). However, I noticed on your blog that you do not recommend 'Oro Negro' for home planting though I could not determine why that might be. Can you elaborate? Also, if 'Oro Negro' is not recommended, can you suggest another variety to produce fruit in Sarasota County between Nov 1st and May 1st? Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks again for sharing your information with novices like myself!
Reply:
Some times I may have given mixed signal about Oro Negro Avocado. Yes it is true.
In my grove Oro Negro has about the same maturity period as a Monroe. The issue becomes: If I were a homeowner with limited space which of the two I would grow?
Oro Negro VS Monroe:
1. The production is not even ½ of Monroe
2. I think is a bit more susceptible to late diseases. May not be relevant in an area there are not a lot of avocados
3. In my particular case I do not favor a certain taste some creamy avocados have. To me is like an egg salad, canistel flavor. That is me, a lot, lot of people like it. Catalina avocado has it. I prefer the taste of a properly matured Monroe, it has just the right flavor for me. I have seen Monroe trees holding fruit to February, especially if they are not given extra nitrogen.
4. I think Oro Negro will take more cold temperatures than Monroe

If you like the taste it will make a decent tree at home but a lot of people buy trees that have not tasted, only to get disappointed down the road.

3 Comments

Oro Negro Avocado question

6/8/2014

3 Comments

Hello, I want to start by thanking you for all the info you provide. I recently planted a grafted Oro Negro and Fl Hass next to each other. I was wondering why you said the ON may be the first comm produced Fl avocado but then say you don't recommend planting them? I'm in palm beach county and will have my fingers crossed the next few years..but excited. Thanks in advance

Matt, good question. If you see my web pages, they are a chronicle of the discoveries I make on each variety. They are arranged by dates so to read the latest you need to go to the most current entry. Now regarding Oro Negro it is a beautiful, tasty fruit. It has a lot of good qualities but it has a lot of other not so good qualities like alternate bearer, long juvenile period before a grated trees bears fruit, scab susceptibility and low production. It may have a place in a collection or a home patio but It has no commercial qualities. The point is that what I thought with the available information I had in 2011 now after doing my own research I find that there was a lot of unfounded expectations that were given as facts by well intended people without the proper research. On the other hand that has been my experience you can do different in Palm Beach and I do hope so for the better.
Good luck and let me know how you do with the Florida Hass there. I'm ready to cut my 3 trees at the end of the summer.

3 Comments

Where to get Parafilm and also, how long will the scion last. I have a whole branch sitting in a bucket of water now. I plan on cutting the scions soon and trying to graft them. Will the branch last in the water? Any help I would appreciate it

8/20/2013

2 Comments

Mike, a roll of Parafilm M last a long time. I usually get it on line. I have seen some called Parafilm that Is not what I use, The one I use is 2 inches wide and is a continuous roll and has a backing that you need to peel off. I usually cut it in one inch strips any length I need. I think my last roll was from Ebay.
The issue of the bud wood. Quick answer I don't know. I have never done it that way.
When I get bud wood or send bud wood is usually the 3-4 inches piece, with buds.
When I get them, I have stored them in the refrigerator vegetable drawer in a moist paper towel in a zip lock bag. I had grafted bud wood that has been stored in refrigerator for 6 weeks with success. Please let us know what success do you have with the branch in water method.

2 Comments

Grafting and phases of the moon

8/11/2013

1 Comment

A question...Several times in your videos, you mention the phase of the moon...Do you believe there is a connection between grafting success and the phase of the moon?...and exactly what phase of the moon is best?

George, I do believe there is a connection. At least with avocados.. There is a period of about 4-7 days just after the new moon that seems to be best for me. When ever I can plan ahead I graft on that period. That is not to say that other periods are not successful. But the period after the new moon seems to work best.

1 Comment

I have a two and a half year old oro negro. It is a good 13-14 ft tall and set TONS of fruit this year. I was really excited but over the past 2 months it has dropped all fruits except for three. Have you had this problem?

6/25/2013

1 Comment

I just visited my tree about 20' tall and 15' wide, last year it held 4-5 fruit to maturity it dropped a lot of fruit. This year like yours mine set a lot of fruit and now is dropping a lot as well. Still have 20-30 left. This is why homeowners should abstain from new varieties until they are proven reliable It may be a juvenile thing with some trees but Oro Negro needs to be widely cultivated to see it it is worth while to grow. So far I like the fruit but the productions aspect of it is not too reliable. Check on the Oro Negro page in a couple of months

1 Comment

Razor style blade for bark grafting

5/4/2013

4 Comments

Recently I got this question, I'm posting it in the blog because is a frecuente question and then it takes me a while to locate the information,
"A few months ago you posted a Video on YouTube about Bark Grafting. You used a knife for spliting the bark that you described as a razor for shaving. It seems to be the perfect grafting tool. Can you please e-mail me the name of this knife/razor. I have been trying to find it on-line, but no luck."

This is the link where you can get it.: http://stores.desertwholesalers.com/Categories.bok

Wholesale Pocket Knives M2470
Razor Linerlock with Micarta Handle. 5" closed. 440 stainless razor blade with extended tang for easy opening. Micarta handles with brushed stainless bolster. Linerlock. Boxed. Design by Tom Anderson. [1 in stock]
PRICE: $6.75 $5.50

4 Comments

¿Cuando un injerto en un pote empieza a crecer estando a la sombra , cuando se puede poner al sol?

10/21/2012

3 Comments

Todo depende de la variedad, lo susceptible que son las hojas nuevas al sol, la condición del porta injertos, la temperatura existente y muchas cosas más.
Lo que yo hago es que tan pronto veo que el injerto esta creciendo, si ha estado a la sombra lo pongo en un lugar donde esté al sol de la mañana por media hora y así le voy aumentando el tiempo a medida que va creciendo Otra alternativa es ponerlo bajo un árbol o palma donde reciba el sol filtrado. Lo importante es ir viendo como va reaccionando y aumentarle el sol poco a poco.

3 Comments

Hi, I live in Hawaii and was wondering if there are any downsides to grafting a cocktail avocado tree, with about three different varieties. Would the yields be affected? Ideally, I would like to graft varieties that would produce fruit all year round.

9/4/2012

1 Comment

Look, it is done. You just have to be careful and keep the 3 varieties in the tree balanced. One variety will always try to grow more than the other. Get more sun etc. I don't particularly like it but if you have limited space you do what you can. I think is like having a woman pregnant with a child that is 7 month, another 3 month and another 10 months all at the same time. She does not have time to recover. I would see more having a tree with two early varieties, the tree would have time to recover. I do know people that do it, my suggestion is to start with a large seedling 3 years old or plant the seedling and after 3-4 years top work it like I do in my video. so good luck to you.

1 Comment

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Question: I live in Florida and want to graft two avocado trees. When is the best time to so.

What avocados grow well in a tropical climate. Wurst, Hass others

MY REPLY

Another Oro Negro Avocado question

Oro Negro Avocado question

Where to get Parafilm and also, how long will the scion last. I have a whole branch sitting in a bucket of water now. I plan on cutting the scions soon and trying to graft them. Will the branch last in the water? Any help I would appreciate it

Grafting and phases of the moon

I have a two and a half year old oro negro. It is a good 13-14 ft tall and set TONS of fruit this year. I was really excited but over the past 2 months it has dropped all fruits except for three. Have you had this problem?

Razor style blade for bark grafting

¿Cuando un injerto en un pote empieza a crecer estando a la sombra , cuando se puede poner al sol?

Hi, I live in Hawaii and was wondering if there are any downsides to grafting a cocktail avocado tree, with about three different varieties. Would the yields be affected? Ideally, I would like to graft varieties that would produce fruit all year round.

If you are interested on Laurel Wilt disease management visit
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If you are interested on Laurel Wilt disease management visit﻿My blog on the subject﻿

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If you are interested on Laurel Wilt disease management visit
My blog on the subject