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Avocado Scions
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jenohn
2 Posts
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1
March 21, 2007 - 11:29 am

I am a hobby orchardist looking for avocado scions to top graft on an 8' seedling that I've grown. Preferred scion varieties are: Bacon, Zutano & Mexicola Grande, but will accept others.
Any help/referrals greatly appreciated.
John

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Viron
1400 Posts
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March 25, 2007 - 10:43 am

John; Avocados, are they deciduous? Do they go dormant? Have you collected scion wood and / or grafted them before..? Will they grow year-round outdoors in Coos Bay? -- OK - those were my initial questions, here's some of what I found at: http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/avocado.html

Avocados do well in the mild-winter areas of California, Florida and Hawaii. Some hardier varieties can be grown in the cooler parts of northern and inland California and along the Gulf Coast. The northern limits in California is approximately Cape Mendocino and Red Bluff. Avocados do best some distance from ocean influence but are not adapted to the desert interior. West Indian varieties thrive in humid, tropical climates and freeze at or near 32° F. Guatemalan types are native to cool, high-altitude tropics and are hardy 30 - 26° F. Mexican types are native to dry subtropical plateaus and thrive in a Mediterranean climate. They are hardy 24 - 19° F. Avocados need some protection from high winds which may break the branches. There are dwarf forms of avocados suitable for growing in containers. Avocados have been grown in California (Santa Barbara) since 1871.

Bacon Origin James Bacon, Buena Park, 1954. Hybrid. Tree broad, productive. Fruit small to medium, to 12 oz., round-ovoid, smooth green. Flesh only fair, almost colorless, seed cavity molds rapidly. Hardy for Bay Area, Central Valley. To 25° F. Season December.

Zutano Origin R.L. Ruitt, Fallbrook, 1926. Hybrid. Tree columnar. Fruit small to medium, to 10 oz. elongated smooth green, resembles Fuerte but inferior, has fibers. Hardy for Bay Area, Central Valley. To 25° F. Season November.

Mexicola Grande Seedling selection of Mexicola. Mexican. Tree tall and spreading similar to Mexicola. Fruit 15% - 25% larger than Mexicola and somewhat rounder in shape with better seed/flesh ratio. Skin paper-thin, purple-black. High quality flesh with high oil content. Hardy to about 18° F.

So, you're looking for "Hybrid" cultivars..? Those sound great! And being a crazy Orchardists -- if I could - I would! Here are some more interesting facts from that site:

Grafted plants normally produce fruit within one to two years compared to 8 - 20 years for seedlings.

Mexican types are the best choice for colder regions.

Established trees are much hardier than young ones.

Budding is done in January, when suitable buds are available.

Larger stocks are worked by bark grafts in the spring. Scions are collected Dec - Jan after the buds are well-formed.

We're more Willamette Valley folks in the HOS; you're definitely pushing our southern limits with Avocados. But let's hope you get a valid response and an offer of scion wood. And I hope you've contacted the California Rare Fruit Growers (CRFG) http://www.crfg.org/

Please keep us informed of your efforts
:D

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jenohn
2 Posts
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3
March 25, 2007 - 5:56 pm

The one I've been growing in my greenhouse doesn't appear to be deciduous, has leaves all year round. Don't believe they will grow outdoors because of the frosts in Jan/Feb/Mar, but haven't tried that either. I haven't collected scion wood from avocados before, but have done a fair amount of grafting of other fruit trees so figured I'd give it a try on the avocado. I called a friend of my wife who lives in Los Angeles area & she is going to try to collect some scions & ship to me. Will try to let you know what happens.
John

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