I think hass will be fine.
Re epicenter avocados, I’ had an email chat with Ellen last month. My green gold, queen, and my original sharwil and Jan Boyce we’re from there some years back.
She’s really nice and does good work, but I would agree communication isn’t great (but I’m not great with emails either. I usually just read but don’t always respond).
From my previous experience, you have to order around the new year when the list unofficially first opens up. That was her advice to me when I had my successful order. I tried to order some trees again about 2 months ago and she told me that they were already all spoken for.
If you’re looking for a tree for next year, then I would plan on contacting her in the fall sometime .
I was interested in palo d’oro which I can’t find anywhere and koala, but luckily found a source for koala (really grateful for that). The phoenix is Carmen Hass now that patent is gone but can’t use the name Carmen Hass.
Did you not like Bonita creek? Their prices are higher than the box stores but you get varieties you wouldn’t otherwise get and it’s a little tropical paradise over there. Atkins will give you best price as a wholesale retailer. If you’re persistent, you can wheedle them into selling you one of the smaller trees. You can also call Atkins and ask them which other nurseries they sell to and go from there. Wish I could help you out.
I’ve been there before, so I feel for you. Good luck with hunting down the cultivars you want. By the time you settle on what you ultimately get, you’ll have a story for each acquisition along the way. I’ve now labeled my plants according to their sources to remind me of the ordeal - it keeps things fun and interesting and adds color to each tree. Makes me appreciate it that much more.
K