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Cold Hardy Avocado Tree for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide
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Who doesn't love a fresh bowl of homemade guacamole or a salad infused with the presence of smooth, creamy avocado slices? You may think that only those in tropical climes can experience this, but you'd be wrong: cold hardy avocado trees (Persea americana) can be grown anywhere that doesn't drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Better still, these trees adapt easily to being grown in containers, so in northern regions you can bring your avocado tree inside when snowy weather threatens. Cold hardy avocado trees are easy to grow, and they need little extra attention. They are self-fertile, too, so you can harvest their fruit even if you only have one tree. Here are a few more reasons to consider one for your own home today:
- Avocado trees require little to no pruning or extra care.
- Avocado trees are grafted on hardy, disease-resistant rootstock, making them more durable.
- You may be able to pick a light harvest in your first year after planting.
Plant Care
Sunlight
Although cold hardy avocados can tolerate some shade, they like full sun — six or more hours of direct light a day.
Watering
Water your tree weekly, allowing the soil to dry out between waterings. Taper back during the winter months.
Fertilizing
Fertilize your avocado tree after the first year with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer throughout the growing season.
Planting and Care
Planting instructions
Site your tree in full sun, if possible, in soil that drains well. Unpot your sapling and tease out any encircling roots, which can girdle the tree and kill it. Dig a hole that’s a little deeper and twice as wide as the root ball. Throw several shovelfuls of well-rotted compost or manure into the hole and dig it in. Place the tree on top and, while holding it steady and upright, fill in around it with topsoil mixed with compost or manure. Tamp down soil as you go to eliminate air pockets. Water thoroughly. Apply a 2- to 3-inch layer of an organic mulch, such as bark chips, around the tree’s root zone to help conserve moisture and hinder weed growth.
Watering and nutrients
During its first year, water your young tree every few days. Taper off when you start to see robust growth. A mature tree is relatively drought-resistant; it will only need water in very dry conditions. Container-grown avocados may need more water than those grown in the garden. Fertilize your tree regularly throughout the growing season with a balanced product designed for landscape plants, or, if available, one designed for tropical plants and avocados.
Pollination
Cold hardy avocado trees are monoecious, meaning they are self-fertile, having male and female reproduction parts on a single tree. So you will be able to harvest avocados even if you only have one tree — although you may have a larger harvest if you have more than one. Bees are the primary pollinators of avocado trees, although you can help them along by using a small paintbrush to transfer pollen from flower to flower.
Pruning
Cold hardy avocado trees don’t need regular pruning. Your main task is to monitor your trees for broken, diseased, or damaged limbs and trim these out when you see them. You can also remove branches that are too close to the ground if you wish. Other than that, the tree should assume a roughly pyramidal shape on its own.
Pests and diseases
Several types of borers prey on avocado trees, burrowing under the bark and laying eggs there; caterpillars may also be attracted to your tree, where they will eat the leaves but may not do lasting damage. Keep your tree healthy and well-fed and watered so that it can fight off infestations. Diseases of the avocado include armillaria root rot, verticillium wilt, and several types of canker. For any of these diseases, your first call should be to an arborist experienced in dealing with tropical tree diseases.
Harvesting
Cold hardy avocado trees flower in late winter, and the fruit should be ready to pick in early summer. The color of your avocados will change from green to a dark purple-black color when they are ready to be picked. Avocados will stay fresh on the tree and continue to ripen after they are picked, so it’s easy to pick just what you need at one time and ripen it in a warm spot while leaving the rest on the tree.
Achieving maximum results
Growing a cold hardy avocado tree in a container may be the best bet for you if you live in the North, where the temperatures are likely to go below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Choose a container for your tree that is about twice the size of the root ball, with good drainage holes in the bottom. Plant your tree in good-quality potting soil and water it regularly. During the warmer months, leave it outside on a patio or in a backyard, preferably in a spot that gets full sun. Once the temperatures start to drop, place it in a sunny window inside. Mist the leaves regularly, and wipe them down when inside to keep them from getting dusty, which keeps the sun from reaching the leaves.
FAQs
Where can I grow a cold hardy avocado tree outside?
Cold hardy avocado trees can be grown outside in USDA hardiness zones 8 to 11. That includes Florida, much of Texas, coastal California, and areas as far north as Washington and Oregon in the west and parts of North Carolina in the East. You can, however, grow them in containers throughout most of the rest of the continental U.S., as far north as hardiness zone 4.
When will I get my first harvest?
If your tree is on the larger side, you may get a small harvest after the first year, if the tree is happy in its location. Smaller trees may not fruit for two or three years. Keeping your tree well-fertilized and watering regularly will help make it more likely that you'll see a harvest early on.
How big will my cold hardy avocado tree get?
When grown outside, your tree may reach a height of 15 to 20 feet, with a width of 5 to 8 feet. A tree grown in a container, however, can be controlled through judicious pruning to stay at a more manageable size, so that it can be easily moved indoors or outside as the weather dictates.
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Mature height |
15-20 ft. |
Mature width |
5-8 ft. |
Sunlight requirement |
Full-Partial |
Growth rate |
Fast |
Botanical name |
Persea americana |
Shipping exclusions |
AZ |
Grows Well In Zones |
4-11 patio / 8-11 outdoors |
Growing Zones: 4-11 patio / 8-11 outdoors i Growing zones help determine if a particular plant is likely to grow well in a location. It identifies the average annual minimum winter temperatures across the U.S. provided as a map by the USDA.
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