Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Avocado Trees, 1 by DaleTheGardener

DaleTheGardener wrote:
Jon,
Are your trees large or are they grafted onto dwarfing rootstock?

Since you only have the one sub-species you could consider grafting a Type B on to that tree? Any experienced grafters in your area?

Saving pollen from the morning and using a small paint brush to hand pollinate in the afternoon sounds labor intensive, but, I have talked with folks who have done it - usually with flowering bulbs. I have seen on TV a show about an area in China where they hand pollinate pear trees that were espaliered on to wire fences.

When I plant avocado here I always recommend that we plant the two types. I have even planted them together in the same hole, very close together, then the trunks will eventually grow to form a single trunk.

I am lucky because I have a hive of bees in my oak in the back. They visit every flower in the yard to collect every scrap of nectar that they can get their little proboscis into.

eye candy>