Best time for avocados
Good time for planting new trees says Gareth Carter
ONE OF THE MOST popular fruit trees at the moment is the avocado. They have been recognised for their health benefits as well as a wide range of meal and snack options.
Planting now gives the maximum time to get established before next winter. Correct site selection is the biggest influencer of the success or failure when growing avocado trees.
They grow best in a warm situation with fertile, well-drained soil in full sun and need protection from both strong winds and frost while the plants are young. Once they are established the trees can withstand frost to -2C or -3C.
Avocado trees need a good sized area to grow. If left to their own devices they will eventually grow to about 10-12 metres high and 4-6 metres wide. For those who are keen, avocado trees grow easily from seed but the downfall is they will take up to 10 years to fruit. Trees that are grafted will produce fruit after about four years and after seven years should be producing 200 or more avocados annually. Pruning each year a much smaller tree can be maintained. The varieties:
Hass: New Zealand’s favourite avocado, crocodile-skinned tasty fruit, heavy cropper. Fruit mature from September to March, A type flowering pattern. Cross pollinated by Fuerte or Bacon.
Reed: Large cannonball fruit, heavy cropper and very nutty flesh. Fruit mature from February to June, A type flowering pattern. Cross pollinated by Hashimoto, Fuerte and Bacon.
Fuerte: Very vigorous green skin avocado with some cold tolerance. Fruit mature from September to December, B type flowering pattern. Cross pollinated by Hass or Reed.
Bacon: A smooth skinned green avocado, with fruit maturing July to September, B type flowering pattern. Cross pollinated by Hass or Reed. Hashimoto: Very vigorous green skin avocado with some cold tolerance. Fruit mature June and July, B type flowering pattern. Cross pollinated by Hass or Reed.
Zutano: More cold hardy than Hass and the earliest to fruit, ripening in July and August. Fruit has a fibrous texture with a higher water content and a lower fat/ oil content. Yields well with thin skinned pear shaped fruit resembling Fuerte. B type flowering pattern.
Ettinger: Plentiful crops of smooth skin, pear shaped fruit. Lime green flesh has a buttery texture and a nutty taste. Fruit matures from August to October. B type flowering pattern.
Sharwil: Creamy with a mild rich flavour, not as nutty as Hass. Oval shaped fruit similar to Fuerte, the skin is hard. A major commercial variety in Hawaii due to its high quality and exceptional flavour and a smaller stone than other varieties. It fruits for a long time starting before Hass about August and overlaps with Reed into February. B type flowering pattern.
Avocado trees have been classified into A type and B type tree varieties. The trees have both male and female flowers on the tree.
A type flowering pattern: The female opens in the morning the first day for two to three hours and then closes. The male flower opens in the afternoon of the second day for two to three hours then closes. Hence cross pollination of two varieties helps in the warmer climates. In the cooler climates opening and closing of the flower tends to overlap, therefore making them more self-fertile. Cross pollination should be from a B type flowering variety.
B type flowering pattern: The female part opens in the afternoon on the first day for two to three hours then closes. The male part opens the morning of the second day. Hence cross pollination of two varieties helps in the warmer climates. In the cooler climates opening and closing of the flower tends to overlap, therefore making them more self-fertile. Cross pollination using A type flowering variety.
During cooler weather the flowering can be delayed and quite erratic.
This can mean the opening and closing of the male and female flowering can overlap, increasing rates of self pollination.
When the temperatures are warm and reach 21C or above the flowering becomes much more regular.