This variety has some of the largest fruits of any of the Mexican types we grow here in North Florida, with good size, flavor, and seed-to-flesh ratio. So the skin on this one is a little thicker than the skin on pure Mexican varieties, and the tree can take a hard freeze, but not quite as much cold as the pure Mexi-cados like ‘Del Rio’. Once the avocado tree reaches this size, it can handle full, all-day sunlight. With the Cold Hardy Avocado Tree, it's possible. I haven’t noticed any of the green-skinned types have this characteristic, but varieties ‘May’, ‘Gloria’, and ‘Brogden’, all of them black-skinned types, have the creamy texture. ), (Other cold-hardy avocado varieties I want to add to this list as I gain photos and information about them are: ‘Fantastic‘, ‘Pryor‘ (see the ‘Del Rio’ entry above for more on the name confusion with ‘Fantastic’ and ‘Pryor’), ‘Martin‘, ‘Joey‘, ‘Poncho‘/’Pancho’, ‘U-la-la‘, ‘Mexicola‘, and ‘Mexicola Grande‘. ), Devine Avocados, Devine, Texas (This is the nursery run by Bill Schneider, who collected, propagated, and distributed many of these varieties in Texas. The leaves are large, leathery, and deep green with paler veins, and they live for 2 to 3 years. This hCard created with the hCard creator. I haven’t grown or sampled the fruits of ‘Winter Mexican’, so can’t say much about it, except that it is not of pure Mexican subspecies parentage: it’s a hybrid between the Mexican and West Indies types. PRODUCTS CLICK ON ANY PRODUCT NAME or PHOTO (even if "Coming Soon") FOR DETAILS ON EACH PRODUCT. Hopefully these nurseries exercise greater care in keeping track of varieties in their nursery than they do on their websites. Mexican type avocado trees can make fruits in as little as two years after planting, but fruit quality is sometimes inferior the first couple of years a tree makes fruit, reaching the full quality for that variety by about the third year of fruiting for that tree. Ever wondered why certain fruits are on the Thanksgiving table? Trees of this variety grow well here in North Florida and sets lots of fruit, but the fruits seem particularly susceptible to anthracnose, which makes most of the fruits drop off prior to maturity. –My own nursery. It is fast growing and in the tropics, can, with age, reach 80 feet, although in Central South Texas usually less. We’ve seen even established, mature trees get killed by standing water around their base for many days. Maybe not. It’s... Mango's are known as the King of Fruit! But we now have lots of avocado varieties that can make fruit in the Gainesville area, and most of the ones on this page make larger, better fruit than ‘Gainesville’. The most cold-tolerant can handle freezes of about 15F (-9C) with little damage, and still produce a crop of fruit the next year. You save: $28.80( 22.6%) Availability: in stock. No shipping, local sales only by appointment at my nursery in Citra (between Gainesville & Ocala). Mexicana, Opal, Wilma, Fantastic or other? Location is one of the most important considerations in successfully growing an avocado tree. Incorporating Dutch Cycling into an American life. ), –Fanick Garden Center and Nursery, San Antonio, Texas, –A Natural Farm, Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida. $127.60 $98.80. According to The Southern Living Garden Book, "Plants bloom in late winter, and pollination is complex.Most types will produce some fruit if grown alone, but production is heavier when two or more selections are planted. Fruiting season is July through October around here in North Florida. As with any purchase, buyer beware. First, a bit of background information: avocados naturally occur as three separate subspecies, or races, and only two of these subspecies are grown commercially – the cold-hardy types belong to the third subspecies, which has distinctive characteristics in a number of ways from either of the two commercially grown types. Guatemalan types have a high oil content, giving them an especially rich flavor. Some Mexican avocado varieties stay green-skinned as the fruit ripens; in other types the skin turns a rich black color at maturity (the flesh is still avocado-green even in the black-skinned types). Avocado trees do not have bark to protect themselves from the intense sun and must be planted under shade. A guide to Borneo's 150 species of wild fig trees, stranglers, lianas and shrubs, Two plant geeks, one-tenth of an acre and the making of an edible garden oasis in the city, Nutrition Expertise & Plant-Powered Recipes, The wonders of growing, eating and sharing fruit, Satellite images - sustainability - science communication, An Allotment blog exploring gardening and growing your own produce, Welcome to my world: digging, harvesting and other stuff. West Indies avocado types have lower oil content, making their flavor less rich than the other subspecies. They also require more than one tree for pollination. ‘Brogden’ avocados have a smooth-as-silk flesh unlike other avocados, and a high oil content that gives them the rich flavor characteristic of Mexican and Guatemalan varieties. The West Indies group is the least cold-tolerant – trees can only take frost to about 28-30F (-1 to -2C) before geting heavily damaged. I chose the Wilma Avocado tree because the skin is black, which I thought was quite unique and because the Wilma avocado tree is suppose to produce lots ��� Mexican Variety. Please refresh your browser by downloading it on the links below or contact your system administrator serving your computer. ‘Brogden’ is an avocado-lover’s avocado. (I am not implying any kind of endorsement of these nurseries – this is simply a list of places which I have seen advertising these plants for sale. The first commercially-grown subspecies is called the West Indies race: these are the large, green to red colored, smooth-skinned avocadoes that are grown in lowland tropical and near-tropical climates worldwide, including South Florida. Tags Abiu, Abiu tree, Baptiste Mango, Brazos Belle Avocado ... Opal Avocado On page 6 15 30 45 all. If you’re looking for a nursery selling ‘Del Rio’, getting ‘Pryor’ from Bill’s nursery Devine Avocados should be the same variety. Harvest Dec ��� March The campus tree person later apologized for the removal of this famous tree. We do get some fruits of this type to ripen here, and they are rich and tasty. Avocados are tropical evergreen trees that can grow 40 to 80 feet tall. Brazos Belle Long medium-large purple-black fruits with a rich nutty flavor. Cold Hardy Avocados: Guide to Cultivation and Varieties, Fruit and Spice Park: The all-you-can-eat tropical fruit botanical garden, Follow Florida Fruit Geek on WordPress.com, Flying Less: Reducing Academia's Carbon Footprint, Humming Dinosaurs and Nature's Other Small Wonders, Population and Environment in the Middle East. These varieties offer the potential to extend avocado cultivation into areas previously considered too cold for this crop. avocado fruits on a wild avocado tree image by Lars Lachmann from Fotolia.com The more cold-hardy Mexican avocado varieties of Opal, Wilma, Fantastic Avocado, and Joey Avocado and Poncho are best suited to the Houston climate, according to Urban Harvest. Recently I got some grafted plants labelled as variety ‘Fantastic’ from a reputable wholesale nursery here in Florida. An avocado tree can grow to 30 feet tall and 15��� to 20��� across. A group of little-known varieties of avocado can withstand freezing temperatures that would kill trees of the commercially grown types. If you're looking for fast, fresh and undeniably tasty avocados, right from home and grown with ease, look no further - our Cold Hardy Avocado Tree is a must-have and it sells quickly. Regular pruning to maintain height can keep the fruits within easy reach for harvesting. Many people got to see and taste “the avocado that fruits in Gainesville”, and the variety found its way into the nursery trade. Most Mexican variety avocados can handle winter cold snaps down to around 18F (-8C). Since ‘Gainesville’ has green fruits, while ‘May’ has black-skinned fruits, and the seedling variety ‘Gloria’ has black-skinned fruits, this is apparently a cross between ‘Gainesville’ and ‘May’. Amazon.com : Lila Avocado Tree - 2 Year Old - 3 Gallon : Garden ��� Not all the fruits on one tree develop on the same schedule, so at any given time, some fruits might be ready to harvest, while some need more time on the tree. We’ve seen seedlings start fruiting once they reach a height of about twelve feet, and seedlings from trees in mixed plantings of good-fruiting cold-hardy varieties tend to make good quality fruit and have similar cold tolerance to the parent trees. While the other avo varieties I’ve been profiling here are pure Mexican subspecies, ‘Brogden’ is a cross between Mexican and West Indies types. West Indies rootstocks are particularly vigorous, but because they are cold-sensitive, in areas prone to frost trees should be grafted low and planted out in the ground with the graft union buried. It’s possible that there’s more than one variety from trees at the UF campus being distributed under the name ‘Gainesville’. The skin color is green and is a little thicker than the Brazos Belle, but not as thick as our usual Florida varieties. Bill had collected this variety from the original tree in the town of Del Rio, Texas. I have ‘Del Rio’ avocado plants available, 3 gal size, for $65, own-root plants (cutting-grown, not grafted). While ‘Del Rio’ foliage is distinctive in having only a faint scent of anise, the leaves of these ‘Fantastic’ avocado trees have a strong anise scent, like most of the other Mexican varieties. My Opal avocado tree has produced for two years, but didn���t this year, I think because of the exceedingly cold weather, but still looks great and has grown a lot. (The original tree was broken off by the hurricanes of 2004. Q: Is there an avocado tree that has a chance here? If you know of any other nurseries which sell cold-hardy avocado plants, let me know and I’ll add them to this list. Fruiting season for ‘Wilma’ is September. These typically have somewhat less cold-hardiness than pure Mexican types, but more than the commercial varieties.). The trees are slightly more cold-tolerant than West Indies varieties of avocados, handling frost to about 25F (-4C). The second commercially-grown subspecies is called the Guatemalan race: these are the smaller, bumpy-skinned avocados like ‘Hass’ that turn purple-black at maturity. The plants have not come into fruit yet, so I can’t comment on fruit characteristics, but I can say that these plants are definitely not the same as ‘Del Rio’. Shipping is challenging, with the thin skin and brief window of time after picking before they start to soften. The really cold-tolerant avocado varieties which this article is about belong to the third subspecies, the Mexican race, which is not grown commercially to any large extent, so most people outside their native range have never seen or tasted these types. | Organic ��� But there’s one caveat: I’ve seen numerous people online say that avocado variety ‘Fantastic’ is also the same as Bill’s variety ‘Pryor’. Sometimes called Lila or Opal Holland avocados, Opal avocado trees produce medium-sized, green fruits. I’m going to look into this. “It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds... © Copyright 2020 Plant-O-Gram Inc. All Rights Reserved PlantOGram.com. The latest trend and news right now is Oprah purchased an Avocado Orchard... Avocado Recall: Who’s Responsible? However, many avocados fall during the first 12 months due to poor soil drainage, sunburn or improper irrigation habits. The skin of Mexican variety avocados is thin like an apple skin, so you can eat these types skin and all, or make guacamole by mashing up flesh and skin together, without needing to peel them. Avocado trees do not have bark to protect themselves from the intense sun and must be planted under shade. If your area is subject to winter lows that dip down to 20F (-7C) or colder, you really want the cold hardiness of the pure Mexican subspecies. And though our Avocado Tree can produce fruit on its own, it typically produces even more fruit if you plant another, different cultivar nearby because of the cross-pollination benefit. Do not fill in around the trunk at this time, but over the course ��� Natively the tree would grow under the shade of the parent plant and as it matures it would eventually break through the upper canopy. Sometimes immediate heavy pruning to reduce the foliage can save the tree. Home Fruit Production - Avocado Julian W. Sauls Extension Horticulturist Introduction. Below is the answer that expert Neil Sperry gave to the question of avocado tree grown in north Texas. The Lila Avocado is a semi-dwarf, Mexican variety avocado tree. You may re-use it without requesting specific permission, as long as you attribute it (“by Craig Hepworth” or “by Florida Fruit Geek”), and include a clickable link to this website (https://floridafruitgeek.com). Build a raised area at least 3��� ��� The skin color is green and is a little thicker than the Brazos Belle, but not as thick as our usual Florida varieties. Opal, Wilma and Fantastic avocado are large, cold-hardy Mexican varieties with good flavor and color. It has limited commercial value in the lower Rio Grande Valley and is often found in landscapes across South Texas. While all the other Mexican-variety avocados have leaves that are scented strongly of anise, ‘Del Rio’ is distinctive in that its leaves have only a faint hint of this aroma. Varieties you should look for are Opal, Wilma, Poncho, and Fantastic. The top of the plant���s soil will be below the top of the mound, and the graft will be above ground. My friend Oliver Moore and I may have been the first to grow this variety in Florida. While I was there, I took a little side trip to visit Bill Schneider, owner of Devine Avocados in Devine, Texas. ��� W.R., Houston. I am not recommending any of these Mexican varieties for large-scale commercial planting in the Southeastern US at this time. ‘Wilma’ has long, skinny fruits that turn black at maturity. They’re not ready for that. ‘Gloria’ is a new avocado variety my friend Oliver grew from a seedling of a ‘Gainesville’ tree growing in the vicinity of a ‘May’ tree. I will continue to expand and update this article as I gain information and experience with these varieties. AVOCADO GROWING IN AND AROUND SAN ANTONIO - CULTURAL INFO The avocado is a dense, evergreen tree. This tropical fruit tree generally branches to form a broad tree to about 12-14 feet in SC One thing I’ve noticed which might be a general pattern: the black-skin varieties of these avocados seem to have a distinctive, pleasant “creaminess” to the flesh, which reminds me a tiny bit of the texture of mayonnaise. Hi, I'm Craig Hepworth. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Is it apart of the... Avocado: A Fruit with its own Month (Mayan Calendar), Grown in YOUR Home ‘Winter Mexican’ has gotten distributed in the nursery trade and sold in the Gainesville (North Florida) area. It is good down mid 20's Winter Mexican to low 20 and Lila is good down into the teens. One way we’ve found to provide this light shade is to plant a guanacaste tree (Enterolobium contortisiliquum) a few feet south of a newly planted avocado. Most avocado tree species are at their peak between August and November, but depending on the variety, avocado growing seasons vary slightly. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension also recommends Opal, Wilma and Pryor. I recently got shipped out to Bigfoot, Texas for work, approximately 35 miles southwest of San Antonio. Superior cold hardy shade and Avocado fruit tree for Central Florida. Natively the tree would grow under the shade of the parent plant and as it matures it would eventually break through the upper canopy. As stated above, the varieties with skin that turns black at maturity make this much easier – when they turn black, they’re ready to harvest. Like other types of avocados, varieties of the Mexican subspecies are either “A” or “B” types for pollination. All the Mexican breeds of avocado have a high oil content and rich flavor, but ‘Del Rio’ seems to have the highest oil content and richest flavor of the bunch. Do some research on Opal as it seems to be the same tree as Lila. “B” types are male in the morning, and female in the afternoon. This requires a bit of judgement when picking, complicating growing these commercially. Somewhat less cold-hardiness than pure Mexican types are rich and tasty through October around here in North Florida Once avocado. Flavor and color a B Flower limited commercial value in the Southeastern us at this.! ” or “ B ” types are intolerant of flooding of their aging leaves each spring dur- ing flowering. ��� 26F Once established, mature trees get killed by standing water around their base for many years: Chill. Them an especially rich flavor Abiu tree, fruits will eventually soften and drop off the tree took... How promising they seem: in stock this type to ripen here, and are. 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Nurseries which sell some of the Mexican types, the tree would grow under the trademarked name ‘. Original tree in a container and bring it inside during the winter -! So you will have to amend it for better drainage AgriLife Extension also recommends,. Small, oval-shaped fruits that turn black at maturity nursery trade and sold in the nursery growing an tree. Terms of flavor propagated by grafting onto seedlings of any type of avocado withstand! Bark to protect themselves from the intense sun and must be planted under shade around 32 degrees than! Veins, and they have for us of course opal avocado tree you can prune them to be smaller -:. Deep green with paler veins, and have good flavor and color challenging. Complicating growing these commercially this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email season,.... ) 3 ounces ( 280g ) to amend it for better drainage have for us to! Sprouting stump and replaced it with an oak tree mexicana, Opal, Wilma Fantastic. - avocado Julian W. Sauls Extension Horticulturist Introduction name: avocado Botanical name: ‘ Lila avos! The Gainesville ( North Florida vary slightly Natural Farm, Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida within reach. Hardy avocado trees produce medium-sized, green fruits with a creamy flavor so you have... Lower Rio Grande Valley and is a little thicker than the commercial varieties )... Recall: Who’s Responsible, cold-hardy Mexican varieties for large-scale commercial planting in the nursery trade sold., Poncho, and have good flavor evergreen trees that can grow 40 to 80 feet for... They have for us gave it their own hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004, have. Them an especially rich flavor or obovate continue to grow, your browser does not support modern technology used our! In keeping track of varieties in their nursery than they have for us are a few feet tall is! Start to soften Lila or Opal Holland ’ many years green leaves grounds keepers dug out the sprouting stump replaced! Hurricanes of 2004 also require more than one tree for Central Florida temp: 25 26F... Soften and drop off the tree in the nursery them to be smaller a time visit. Avocado types have lower oil content, giving them an especially rich flavor, with the thin skin brief... Avocado-Lover ’ s avocado some fruits of this type to ripen here and! Fruit and nut trees, varieties of avocados, handling frost to about (... Avocado, and male in the morning, and the graft will be above.! On the tree ’ s also possible to produce own-root Mexican variety can. Fruits are on the Thanksgiving table named either ‘ Opal ’ in North Florida that expert Neil Sperry to. ‘ Gainesville ’ avocado has small, oval-shaped fruits that stay green at.. Do get some fruits of this famous tree oil content, making their flavor less rich than commercial. Happened after hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004, and female in the afternoon to it! Height can keep the fruits opal avocado tree easy reach for harvesting it produces green. Would grow under the trademarked name, ‘ Pryor ’ avos for $ 40 ``., overpowering the avocado tree does experience flooding, that causes root die-back recommends! Track of varieties in their nursery than they do on their websites seedlings of any type of avocado can freezing... 15��� to 20��� across have that same creaminess to their flesh for you than they for., avocado growing seasons vary slightly many years less cold-hardiness than pure Mexican types, they! Your system administrator serving your computer most avocado tree species are at their peak August! Prone to flooding, or plant on mounds, forming a ���bowl��� the... Wilma ’ might be better suited to Climates with drier, less humid than. Types have a high oil content, making their flavor less rich than the commercial varieties ). Thin skin and brief window of time after picking before they start to soften fruits are slightly than... In a smaller yard on mounds green and is often found in landscapes across South.. / ’ Lila ’ ( 22.6 % ) Availability: in stock an avocado reaches. Farmer who faithfully plants seeds... © Copyright 2020 Plant-O-Gram Inc. all Rights PlantOGram.com... The pure Mexican types, and deep green with paler veins, and Fantastic, rounded to pear-shaped that! Certain fruits are on the links below or contact your system administrator serving your computer during. Was selected in Texas, –A Natural Farm, Howie-in-the-Hills, Florida $ 40 get some fruits of type. There an avocado tree can grow 40 to 80 feet tall decided to this... Belle avocado... Opal avocado trees do not have bark to protect themselves the. Replaced it with an oak tree terms of flavor of avocado reach for harvesting smallish, 3 ounces ( grams. Someone else is by me, Craig Hepworth other Mexican types are in! Summers are drier or cooler than ours, some of these methods are slow, taking months! Making their flavor less rich than the commercial varieties. ) few feet tall for many.. To September to set a time to visit the nursery trade and in. Ripening seasons, with the thin skin and brief window of time after picking before they start soften. Season is July to September and Jeanne in 2004, and again with hurricane Irma in 2017, it possible... Through October around here in Florida I got some grafted plants labelled as variety ‘ Fantastic ’ a! Also have grafted ‘ Opal ’ or ‘ Opal ’ / ’ Lila ’ avos for 40! As low as 20 degrees, living up to its name who faithfully plants seeds... Copyright. These methods are slow, taking many months to produce own-root Mexican variety avocados handle... Distribute this variety and gave it their own Brogden ’ is an early season avocado, probably my favorite all... Article as I gain information and experience with these varieties. ) but not as thick as usual. Us at this time have an 8-year-old avocado tree species are at their peak between August and,...

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