Where to find Sharwil Avocados? Hey Greg, Ive got two Hass and one Fuerte. But at least it was grown in Southern California. Holiday likes to drop its fruit before it is mature. Thank you for your wonderful blog! But yes, Lamb, Reed, and Fuerte all have higher salt tolerance than Hass. Your area is definitely on the cool side, but actually not too much cooler than ideal for avocados in terms of high temperatures. However, they often dont have any in stock, which means your only choice is to put in a request and wait for delivery as you noted. Thanks so much for all the info and experience you provide! I like that place, he even recommended going down to Maddocks a bit further if he didnt have what I wanted. More reliably available than Sharwil, GreyStar avocados have the same wonderful texture and delicious flavour, and a long season from December to June. Averages are higher in the winter, when I would be at a shortage if I were to get a Reed. Terrific! Hi Martins, This question is unanswerable in an objective sense. For anyone counting net carbs, avocados are simply amazing. I have a Hass that is a few years old from Durling Nursery. In my (very limited) gardening experience, I noticed that choosing the right variety is not everything, one has to be sure it will function well in the conditions ones got. That sounds like an excellent setup and arrangement of varieties. Really, grafted avocado trees can kill themselves by fruiting too much too soon. I have been watching this tree for years since I work in the area, had some fruit once they turned black and they taste exactly like Fuerte! Type A flowers. (Compare that to many peaches, which cant hold their mature fruit for more than a couple weeks!). Recently I moved to the cusp of Zones 9a and 9b. I have two questions, if I may All the wood from the Gwen is going to the beach soon as possible for a bonfire. I dont know the nursery it is originally from. Out of those choices, I would go with Fuerte just because it has the most potential for cross-pollination with Pinkerton. I am curious what your recommendation and thoughts are for year around great tasting avocados from my backyard in Tustin. But the important thing is that Reeds taste great a couple months after Hass are at their best. Due to the protracted nature of avocado flowering in this region, all varieties had some degree of cross-over. Greg, Sometimes the selection and quality is terrible, but sometimes its excellent. Once you have tried a GreyStar avocado, you will quickly conclude that GreyStar is several rungs up the ladder from Hass in flavour, quality and value. Hi Thomas, A couple of practices to consider from the UC IPM page: Excess fertilization, especially with quick-release formulations, may increase persea mite numbers and damage during late spring and summer due to increased foliar nitrogen. Should be interesting to see how it works out. I have a spreadsheet of many varieties and their seasons and how they all align based on flower type. Sharwil avocados from . GEM with a friend is a great idea. My experience with Sharwil in my own yard and my observations of other Sharwils confirm that its not the most predictable bearer, unfortunately. You could try one of those. Do remember how heavy the fruit is, and that it will cause branches to bend down significantly. You could eat Sir Prize fruits starting pretty early in winter, and then you could let the GEMs hang late and eat them even through summer maybe into fall except that Covina gets hot, so maybe not. Plus, Ive seen in my own yard that Fuerte pollenizes Pinkerton very well: https://youtu.be/xGNTxYU-X50, Greg love your article and all the discussions. Avocado oils are considered heart-healthy and good for your skin. Would appreciate any information that you might wish to share! I didnt protect my Reed with shade cloth when I first planted it, and my paint protection was not enough to prevent the top being seriously burned so I lost about 18-24 inches on the top. 96 9GreenBox - Pineapple Guava - 2 Pack 1,083 Its me from up North again. The tree is around 12 ft. No matter your choice, Im excited for you to get a tree or a couple going in your yard. Im considered to be in zone 9, and yet my Reed does well. Over the past 2 weeks sheltering in place, Im noticing lots of small fruit starting. Youre very welcome. Thanks Greg! Those three trees would be my choice too, another benefit of the fuerte in the mix is that its a b type and you will get good pollination and more fruit set. Hi David, We had a hass 4 years back that sun burned to death. I appreciate all the documentation! fireduck. A lesser-known variety but one still popping up in supermarkets is the mighty Florida avocado, also sometimes called the Dominican avocado. Such great information for gardening in San Diego! Great and very informative information for us who are interested in Avocado farming.However I need more information on how I could distinguish different Avocado trees, for instance I understand that Hass avocado trees are ever green. You might try to ask someone nearby about the water they use, especially on a young tree (older trees are tougher). Trees are medium growing and yield nearly year round. But Im guessing. Very happy with my Zutano. Your message is very fun for me to read. I recently bought a Hass and Reed on salt tolerant root stock. I grew up against the same mountains, but out in Glendora, and Bacons do great there. Just so you and other readers know, my yard is in inland San Diego County near the town of Ramona. Yes, Atkins is a great source of uncommon avocado varieties. Theres likely to be at least a little variation in your yard. As your commenter mentioned above, this list might not be optimal for those of us in slightly cooler areas. Im about to head to subtropica nursery to buy three trees. The Nabal is really dropping a lot of yellowing leaves daily and making me nervous about over or under watering or something else I might be causing. Hi Robert, Which town or area are you in? Oops! The last tree has very little green although it does look like new green. https://gregalder.com/yardposts/protecting-avocado-trees-from-heat/. And one concern would be pairing a vigorous upright variety with a slow spreading variety. Would you recommend Carmen Hass and GEM? Awesome, Rachael! Lambs are also highly productive, taste very good, and mature in summer into fall. Thanks for the feedback. The Nabal trees I know are not so wide spreading like a Fuerte, and neither are they more upright like a Bacon can be. You must love seeing snow on Baldy right now. And please let me know how your adventure in avocado growing proceeds. Great article, and I agree with your choices of Hass, Reed, and Fuerte, but only if you live in a true mild avocado climate. The foliage just doesnt look very pretty close up. In that case, the tree needs to be kept cool and hydrated as far as possible. We anticipate that Sharwil avocado consignments from Hawaii to the mainland will total about 180 metric tons per year, equivalent to about one-half of 1 percent of the U.S. supply of non-Hass avocados and to less than one-twentieth of 1 percent of the U.S. supply of all avocado varieties. Also, what are your thoughts on a multi-variety grafted tree? Results and timelines of grafted avocados. 1) which two varieties would you recommend as being good pairing for quite heavy clay-y soil?! This way youre likely to rarely get bad damage. That was very encouraging. Old mexicana only a few a year, sometimes none. Its green-skinned fruits weigh 8 to 20 oz and mature in winter and spring. As for growing a Sharwil tree in your yard, youll probably find that it wont be quite as productive as a Hass or Reed, but possibly more productive than a Fuerte. Its single disadvantage is its black color, which has been associated in the minds of the public with poor quality fruits, wrote, Then why isnt Fuerte my top choice? Fuerte would work here since its bloom season is long and overlaps well with these two varieties. Shot hole borers being involved didnt even occur to me, but now that you mention it that seems like a definite possibility. It is medium in size with rough green skin and yellowish-green flesh. We do have a small green house, but its not really large enough for an avocado tree of any size unless we leave it in a pot, which would limit its productivity. Like Lamb, it will drop some fruit about now in spring before its mature, but you still always end up with a good crop. This is an interesting set of parameters. Youve got a great combination of avocado trees there. The avocados have smaller seeds inside and therefore produces a significantly larger amount of flesh to eat than other avocado types. The variety has been grown in Southern California for about a hundred years, having been brought up from Guatemala by Wilson Popenoe. Both ornamental and fruit trees are being affected, Its only about 8 miles to the Tijuana River valley from here which Im told is having a serious problem with shot hole borers, hope Im wrong but that may be the problem. Theyre similar to Reed in both taste and appearance (round and green skin), except that the Nabals I know have a thicker, shell-like skin. I live in southern CA zone 10b near Los Angeles. This is important information indeed. I decided to follow your advice and plant one Reed and one Hass. Great article, Im planting a reed, hass and fuerte. . I just planted a Sharwill which I found at Atkins, hoping that our Global Warming trend leans my way. Ive been binge-reading your site after finding it yesterday. Hawaii Sharwil avocado. Im leaning towards Bacon and Lamb Hass. They are on the bigger side, green-skinned, pear-shaped, and tasty. You are going to be in avocado heaven soon. They should do well for you. And if you dont care about getting lots of fruit, then Holiday is a fine choice; it also naturally grows more like a shrub, which might look appropriate in a pot. If you want it to grow both up and wide, Id plant a Hass. Thanks for these comments. I also checked on a huge old Nabal in OB that I used to eat from, and I was pleased to find that the tree is now doing better than last year. Especially since I have a big interest in Hawaiian varieties it is difficult to know what the season will be in OC. The other two are not doing well. It makes me feel geriatric. What do you think? Guaranteed meaning: We have grown trees in areas away from tall trees, so not to be pollinated by them. And then theres your commitment to pruning. Would you still recommend a Hass and Reed for us? Hass beats almost everyone at the length of its harvest season. BTW Thank you for the great info youve published. I live on the southern hemisphere so can you please take this into account. I dont have a lot of firsthand experience with avocados in your area so I try to be keep quiet about what will grow well there and how to do it. Wish Maddocks was open on the weekend so i could check it out. The fruit has the same thick, pebbly skin as the Hass but has a little rounder shape. The only varieties that I would avoid for the use of shade are Holiday, Wertz, Stewart, Gwen, and Lamb. Then why isnt Fuerte my top choice? This cultivar is responsible for almost 60 percent of commercial avocado acreage in Hawaii. The Hass is a tough act to follow, but Backyard. After watching your wonderful Fuerte tree video I was inspired and replaced my young Ettinger for the real thing besides Fuerte might be my personal favorite flavor probably because I remember the taste of Fuerte guacamole as a kid. Hello Greg from Cyprus in Europe! High oil content - Sharwil and Hass both >25% oil. Taste Ive read is great. I have records of the bloom seasons of all of my trees, and Id be happy to share about specific varieties. I have to plant them in a line of north to south. I dont think it is possible to attach files to the commentaries ongregalder.com, so I will send you pictures by email. The only published information about the bloom seasons of avocado varieties that I know of is about common commercial varieties. I am in the hills of Montecito, south facing slope. I feel really enthusiastic about it, and grateful for your advice. Hi Greg, This autumn, I decided to order more avocado trees from Brokaw. You might have to wait a bit before one is available. Thanks You might find this answer boring, in which case Id be willing to bet that you dont already have a Hass tree in your yard. My guess is that you can grow just about any variety that does well in Southern California since your greenhouse probably stays warm enough in spring to make B-type varieties set fruit well. Jan Boyce is an A-type avocado variety, but Sir-Prize, Bacon, Sharwil, and Nabal are Bs. And a friend showed me an old tree of an unknown variety that hed found growing without irrigation near Shelter Island. This is a tough call. The Hass has a lot on it and both the other trees have some as well. Thank you for your reply, After doing some research and asking question in my neighborhood the last couple of days, I found out that Im not the only one with this problem. I counted 51 fruits in this picture. You ought to add either Lamb or Reed for avocados to be eaten in summer into fall, yes; your grafting idea there is a good one. I sprayed today and will keep it up. I have two Hass and a sir prize, and my next door neighbor has a Big Florida type avocado and a friend down the street has a seed grown reed type with round fruit. I did a Sharwill, Sirprize and Gemthats a B B and an A, planted them 42 inches apart. Many thanks in advance for your help and advice! After some pool renovations which sent torrents of pool water into the avo area two of the trees are completely dead. I am jealous you are growing all those Hawaiian varieties and am interested in what you have to say about taste once that time comes and how the trees are doing. We have a central coast house with three citrus trees and was looking for one Avocado tree, I was leaning towards the Sir Prize, with your discussion should I lean towards the Haas as a single tree, or is either a good choice. If I eat some Fuerte fruit blindfolded, its so easy to identify it as Fuerte. I have tried a bunch of places with no luck, its even hard finding a Fuerte. I dont usually talk about high density because its a term that commercial growers use whereas my website is oriented toward home gardeners. It stops a month earlier than a Reed but the Fuerte starts up the next month. Yes, there is nothing like finding those 100 year old avocado trees. Its great for grapes and pomegranates, harsh for avocados. ), If I had to choose a pair for your location, I think Id try the combination of Pinkerton and Gwen or Reed. 1. So, right now, at the churchs garden we already have a beautiful avocado collection Hass, Lamb, Bacon and Reed. The texture and taste were very very good, top notch, with only a couple of very minor fibers. Pollinators for the Avocado - Sharwill (B) Cross pollinate with one of these varieties for fruit set Avocado - Hass (A) $ 54.00 ($54.00-$79.00 choose a size) Most popular variety due to both its superior taste and excellent keeping qualities. The Different Types According To Region Of Origin Horticulturally, avocados are classified into three categories, based on the regions of their origin. I have downscaled a bit.and now I have just 20 trees and 16 varieties. Thanks again! So, in a sense, you dont want to disturb them. I am going to try to graft new ones and see if the results are the same as well as see if it fruits every year or every two. Avocado varieties are of two flower types A or B and it has been observed in California since almost the beginning that A-type varieties fruit more reliably overall. As I learnt that planting an A-type and a B-type only encreased crops by 20%, I thought it would be smarter to plant a second tree that would be fruiting when Hass does not, allowing me to have avocados almost all year long, as ou describe in your article. Its nearly impossible, unfortunately. Thanks for the input, and its really along the lines that I was looking down. The variety was developed in Australia during the mid-1950s and it became the main commercial avocado grown in . Avocado strains include Nishikawa, Sharwil, and Lamb Hass. But I still hesitate about the rootstock variety. We recommend storing your avocado at room temperature in the fruit bowl until it reaches the preferred ripeness for eating. I figured there had to be one. About the winter/spring varieties that you mentioned: I dont know how much heat Wurtz can handle. Sounds like a good plan. Same for my Sharwil and the Sharwils I know nearby, except that Im not sure theyll produce quite as much as Reed. I sure am no botanist)))). I know Sunland, and I can empathize with how you and your avocados feel. Yet Pinkerton, Mexicola, Bacon, Jim Lamb, Wurtz and Reed do well here. In fact, Hass also produces more reliably than Fuerte in most places. In my yard, Reeds start to taste good as early as May, and can go through September. Sharwil is not as 'nutty' as Hass, but has a mild but rich fullness of flavor and lingering creamy after-taste that transcends Hass. Theyre both great varieties, and good complementary trees for a Reed. Our climate is supposed to be similar to South California (I have never been to California though))), we have no frosts, summers are a little more humid than in California. B types might not open many flowers as female in your cool spring conditions. Reed is basically a summer-into-fall variety. that is why I decided to find out by growing two trees and to report on them. I confess I began gardening only very recently, and I am super interested in all the different varieties and the scientific details. By the way, I have a few other Hawaiian varieties growing that Ive never tasted and am wondering if youd recommend giving any of them more or less attention and space: Murashige, Malama, Nishikawa, Kahaluu? dont know how to grow in your region, The Sir Prize avocado is defined primarily by a distinctive ridge along one side which becomes less noticeable when the fruit ripens. Yet the tree is smaller in that it is an upright instead of a large spreading type, the fruit are small but turn black when ripe (about the size of tiny hass found 8 in a bag), and the tree is a heavy producer (at least it was this time). Hass has done very well on Duke 7 for decades in many locations. Perhaps if youre willing to protect your tree during occasional cold spells in winter, especially during the first couple winters, youll have success. Riverside to My second choice would be Hass and Fuerte. I have many thoughts on this topic, but dont have the experience so I am curious to get your thoughts on this! D'Arturo Avocado. Greg, what rootstocks would you recommend for GEM, Lamb and Bacon? We just planted our fifth haas (never say die) but when we popped it out of the pot it had white minerals all on the roots and already has a black ominous patch on the trunk- just from being watered on our deck from the hose for several months. I know avocados love full sun but Im my area the sun really is strong. I fertilized more, watered less, and now its in perfect shape. Do you have any experience or exposure to Nabal Avos? So I have got as close as I can while understanding that the season is going to be affected by many other things anyway. We will sell trees at various ages and transport to other islands. You live in a fantastic neighborhood for growing avocados, as you obviously know. This is finally my update. In the wild this means a range of flying and crawling insects, but in Western Australia this is . Aside from their physical differences, the main difference between Hass and Fuerte avocados is their textures. I have not been able to get a clear answer as to why this is not grown in South Florida. Because Ive become more and more concerned about getting production from my trees since I cant afford the water otherwise, Ive been moving toward A types in general since they produce better in my yard. Were trying to get avocados all year round with varieties weve tried and like. Because of your lack of frost, I dont see why you couldnt grow avocados well. . I thought you could know more about avocado rootstocks, reading articles is one thing, but having an avocado tree orchard is another))))), Also, Duke 7 and Dusa are highly tolerant to Phytophthora (Duke 7 is tolerant to Phytophthora citricola and Dusa to Phytophthora cinnamomi). Two main varieties on offer. Oh!, and do I ever miss a good fuerte which I used to sell off a fruit truck next to Golden Gate Park in SF in the 70s. Thats a good question. Holiday doesnt produce much down here either, from the trees Ive seen and grown, compared to other varieties. Im in Yucaipa (barely north of the center of the city.) Still, taste is subjective and theres no accuracy in saying any one variety is the best tasting to anyone but yourself. Would you say these are still your top 3? All of this is very complicated, but very inspiring!!!! It has excellent flavor with two distinct crops a year. North-south orientation works well since morning and afternoon sun will hit all trees almost equally. As Adrian alluded to above, Hass and Reed are A types while Fuerte is a B type, which makes cross-pollination all the more likely, enhancing fruit set. [About our soil: it is not acid at all, for sure. So since youre buying from Subtropica, Id get any clonals they have, if available, and then plan to wrap the trunk next winter to protect the rootstock and graft union area from cold.