Grow Your Own Edible Landscape 

Avocado Trees!

Avocados, people all over the world love them, and here in the Southwest, the Hass avocado is one of the most common and also one of the tastiest! Developed on a hybrid tree farm in California, when compared to their natural cousins, the Hass avocado has much softer flesh when ripe and is the avocado that most of us eat today.

Grow Your Own
The demand for avocados has been rising dramatically. According to the U.S. government, American per capita consumption was 6.9 pounds in 2015, compared to 3.5 pounds in 2006. This demand can’t keep up with the reduced harvest caused by drought and heatwaves, where California’s avocado production is expected to fall by 44% and where much of the Hass avocados we love come from. When there’s a shortage of these tasty, healthy fruits, prices soar and it’s a bummer, that is, unless you’re growing your own!

Grow your own avocado grove and never pay high grocery store prices again or miss out on making your own guacamole – plus, you get to pick it straight from the source and take in all of the healthy oils and fat avocados provide. Avocado trees do more than just produce fruit with amazingly tasty health benefits, they can also be an attractive shade tree with dark green foliage that beautifies any landscape. With the right planning, you can even turn a profit selling avocados grown from your very own grove.

Planting Tips
The best way to get started is buying bigger avocado trees that are already at their fruit producing age, such as those grown at Moon Valley Nurseries. These trees like the ground to be warm but not too hot, so ideally, they should be planted into the ground from March through June. Avocado trees should be planted in sunny locations and in a spot where they are protected from the wind. You’re going to want the most fruit possible, so to get the most fruit production, we recommend planting a few avocado trees nearby or go big and do a whole grove. Don’t worry, other than the occasional regular maintenance that any tree would require, they are pretty easy to grow and care for.

Watering Tips
Proper watering is critical to the tree producing the best quality fruit and allows the tree to preserve its natural resistance to fungal diseases. It’s important to not overwater avocado trees, in fact, overwatering in certain soils is often the number one factor in causing root rot. When watering, soak the soil well then allow it to dry before watering again. Of course, they still need water, so keep in mind that under-watering trees may produce small fruit that might tend to sunburn. We recommend using a drip system.

Avocado Tree Facts

• Avocado trees are sub-tropical /tropical fruit trees that never go dormant – they are always growing and developing
• They are shallow rooted trees that need good aeration
• Broad-spreading trees – can provide shade
• A tree can range from 15 to 30 feet tall
• Begin bearing fruit in three to five years and can thrive for decades
• The most productive leaves grow on the outside of the tree
• You will get more fruit if you have more than one avocado tree nearby
• Only pollinated blooms will produce fruit – let the pollinators do their thing!
• A Hass tree may have from 150 to 500 pollinated blooms and take about a year to grow into a ready-to-pick avocado
• Hass fruit ripening period from February to August - they do not get soft on the tree, once picked, it takes about 7 to 10 days for it to soften when left at room temperature

Enjoy the fruits of your labor! Growing your own edible landscape is a fun and easy way to enjoy nutritious fruit the entire family will love. Start your avocado grove with trees already at their fruit producing age and get ready to dig into your homemade avocado sandwich spread. Moon Valley Nurseries has what you need to eat healthy fruits! We have fruit producing age citrus trees and avocado trees available right now!