Aravaipa Avocado how's the taste from growers with older trees ???

[Avoman]

Now that Aravaipa been avail for several years who can report on fruit taste and good and bad of tree habits.cold and heat alternate bearing etc ?

[Avoman]

Found this picture in internet the fruit seems on the small side with seed taking up flesh space.

[Avoman]

A fairly recent you tube video the grower said he liked the taste, I'm trying to get a few more opinions.Ive got some small trees but a long time before I will know first hand.

[spaugh]

That fruit looks pretty pathetic. 

[sc4001992]

Here's a better picture of the fruit from Marta's website.

https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2020/03/cold-hardy-avocados-for-sacramento.html

[Avoman]

Thanks Kaz yes that's a better picture but a little hard to understand in picture which is mexicola and which is Aravaipa unless you can see the black skin of mexicola seems very similar amount of flesh on each, this seems to be the preferred avo planted in Phoenix area I'm thinking since it takes heat so well and could be a great seed to grow rootstock on so it does have some good points, I personally would grow it over mexicola.

[Fygee]

An Arizona grower messaged me on FB and said it was awful. Stringy. Tasteless. Big seed.

Tree is about 5 years old. Could just be early fruit behavior, but that's not a good sign.

The fact that there's so few testimonials for it, considering there's a huge 100-year-old tree that it derives from, isn't a good sign.

That said, it seems like it would make for rock star rootstock for hot, dry, clay soil environments. I'd love to get some seeds to prove that out.

[Avoman]

Interestesting that's the worse taste report I've heard yet, odd they felt so different than video on YouTube saying fruit was great, as you said it might end up being a tree to use to grow avo rootstock I would like seeds also to try them and see if they are any better than the zutano or bacon seeds I use now.

[Avoman]

I don't know what Shamus has said the fruit taste like as he sells trees in AZ, maybe it's one of few avo trees that can handle extreme temps and that's the main reason it's sold,  in other words a so-so avocado is better than no avocado.

[Fygee]

Shamus has stated multiple times that he hates avocados and thusly has provided no taste test for it.

[Victoria Ave]

Shamus has got to be my least favorite personality in the tropical fruit YouTube game. I watched a lot of his videos thinking it would be more applicable to my climate than the Florida videos, but it turns out Chris and Har vids hold a lot more valuable info, based on lots of research and acknowledgement of opinions and tastes.

Shamus comes with things he states as absolute facts, not backing it up, contradictory info over the span of his vids. Just seeing Aravaipa reminded me of his vids where he always shows and brags about these trees growing in phoenix, but I never heard or saw a taste report.

I’m sure if it were noteworthy his vids would not be the only place I’ve heard of them. Sorry for coming off as a hater haha I just actually watched a few vids last night while icing my ankle and was reminded of why I tuned out

[CeeJey]

Old talk by UC avocado curator Julie Frink where she mentions the aravaipa at the 1-hour mark: https://youtu.be/c7OAmGRQ8OE?t=3605

An old interview with Doug Jones (who I *think* is still the head of the Arizona chapter of the CRFG) about the aravaipa where he starts talking about the taste at 8:30-8:40ish mark: https://youtu.be/SfOxf3CZ6bY?t=497 , Doug might have had a financial interest here (he was the one who found the original Aravaipa tree and initially propagated it) but he's also a local expert.

Both of them echo the same thing, that it's not the best tasting avocado (Julie mentions there are better options if you don't have to deal with the cold). Matches my experience, I honestly didn't see a major difference between the one that I had and the average store-bought avocado (which some people might think is god-awful but we don't have the right climate, soil or water for the good stuff).

What's weird here is that locally and online I've heard/seen reviews all over the place, to the point that I've privately wondered if more than one strain of these running around (seedling maybe) or something else otherwise being sold as an aravaipa.

[Avoman]

I wasn't aware shamus doesn't like avo seems odd he won't even taste his own avo trees he sells just to let customers know first hand his own opinion, good point ceejey on if there are different strains or not out there, it's just like other avos, Ardith deemed junk by Brad's post in which it won a taste test that epicenter put on,,, I'm coming to the conclusion only judge the taste grown off your own trees by your own taste buds picked the time and growing methods that person is using in their own orchards.

[sc4001992]

You can buy a box of fruits (aravaipa) from Marta now on her website.

https://reallygoodplants.com/?fbclid=IwAR070AOR-uTdDP5uv9yJBnp0EdKxcv8ur3OwB3y9BAblPM089Ott1phCalo

[JCorte]

I wonder if the growers who are getting poor quality fruit are feeding their trees and making sure they get good irrigation, plenty of mulch, as well as proper nutrition during fruit fill.  Avocados require plenty of calcium besides other nutrients. 

Janet

[JCorte]

I watched several Shamus and Jake Mace videos and I enjoyed them.  I thought it was inspiring that they showed other possibilities for a garden in desert climates and encouraged people to try and grow fruit trees as well as making hard to find plants available for purchase. 

Janet

[Fygee]

It's also possible that first or second-year fruit will be considerably poorer than in later years.

I'm not sure how avos behave as far as that goes, but that could be a major factor.

[sc4001992]

Avoman, ok, I did a taste test for you. You got me curious so I bought the box of Aravaipa fruits from Marta. I figured if it didn't taste good, I could always use the seeds to grow some rootstock.

The box I ordered a week ago had 11 fruits, similar to the picture I posted above. The fruits are not that large, maybe the size of Jan Boyce, I weighed them and can post info later. I cut one open and tasted it when it was not fully ripe/soft yet and it was watery and not that good. The other 10 fruits I waited until they got slightly soft to the touch, and they were much better. It is not bad, no off taste, not watery, but just a mild taste. No fibers so it is not a bad avocado to eat. What I noticed was that once the fruit get slightly soft, you need to eat them right away since they do not have much shelf life on my counter, they all ripened at once, if you wait, they will start to go bad. I will post some photos I took later tonight.

To sum it up, the fruit taste is ok, not much flavor, no off taste, but it will go bad as soon as it is ready to eat (within a day) and needs to be used asap.

[Bush2Beach]

Sounds like an improved Bacon

[sc4001992]

Bush2Beach, no to me the Bacon has more flavor than the Aravaipa fruits.
Here's the photos, i ate one fruit early, then the rest 4 days later when they were all ripe/soft.

[ScottR]

Kaz, thanks for photo's and description of Aravaipa avocado, I have one growing but has only fruited once so, was not impressed with flavor but decided to wait until fruits more before I decide if a keeper or not.

[Bush2Beach]

Thanks for the photos and write up Kaz

[sc4001992]

sure, no problem. I have a few grafted branches, so I hope to get fruits in a few years.

[spaugh]

Looks a lot like bacon

[sc4001992]

It does look like bacon, but it is much smaller. Also, when it starts to get soft, it goes bad quickly if you don't eat it within a day or two. Three fruits went bad (mold) out of 11 fruits, so I just saved the seeds for planting. I forgot to mention the skin is very thin, cannot be peeled.

[drymifolia]

I also got a box of fruit from Marta, and a bunch of seeds last year. Aravaipa grow the fastest of almost any varieties I've tried, most of them are easily twice the size of similar age Duke or Mexicola seedlings after a year now. But Marta did mention to me once that she has Aravaipa grafted on her Mexicola tree, and I've noticed occasionally the Aravaipa seedlings are smaller and look more like Mexicola, so some of them are probably crosses. Something to keep in mind for anyone else growing out her seeds.

As far as flavor, I agree they were only ok once ripened and also that they rot quickly. I ate the skin rather than scooping or trying to peel it. The skin has only a mild taste, unlike Bacon which is bitter.

My own graft is big enough it can probably hold a few fruit next year, but maybe not for a couple years. Fingers crossed!

[sc4001992]

I also purchased some scionwood of the Aravaipa from Marta. I have it grafted on my large tree and it grows about the same as my other varieties that are grafted on the same tree.

[drymifolia]

I also purchased some scionwood of the Aravaipa from Marta. I have it grafted on my large tree and it grows about the same as my other varieties that are grafted on the same tree.

I meant the seedlings, not the grafted variety. I agree the graft grows at a normal rate, but the seedlings are unusually large and vigorous compared to other Mexican race avocados I've grown from seed.

[sc4001992]

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I'm glad to hear the seeds grow fast, I planted my Aravaipa seeds so next year I hope they grow well. I have seeds from a very large Hybrid Bacon tree (30 ft x 30 ft) that I grow, and it seems to grow pretty fast so I can compare the Aravaipa seedling in one year and see if it grows faster than the Hybrid Bacon seedlings.

[Avoman]

Kaz and others have been very helpful in tasting fruit and giving their thoughts about it , so my own conclusion is aravaipa is great for growing seeds up for rootstock and the cold hardyness of tree,as far as taste it doesn't sound that bad but no one says it's the best they have ever had or right up there with favorites, I don't like the short shelf life at 1 to 2 days must be eaten before it starts going bad, I have a grafted tree myself in the ground all I can say so far is it handles cold very well better than a bacon or zutano

[drymifolia]

Kaz and others have been very helpful in tasting fruit and giving their thoughts about it , so my own conclusion is aravaipa is great for growing seeds up for rootstock and the cold hardyness of tree,as far as taste it doesn't sound that bad but no one says it's the best they have ever had or right up there with favorites, I don't like the short shelf life at 1 to 2 days must be eaten before it starts going bad, I have a grafted tree myself in the ground all I can say so far is it handles cold very well better than a bacon or zutano

I have no doubt that it's more cold hardy than Zutano and Bacon, but I believe its cold hardiness may have been overstated by Shamus when he was promoting the variety. I planted an own-root clone of Aravaipa out last summer, and it suffered moderate damage to leaves and stem tip dieback after multiple nights around 28°F, when my grafts of Northrup and Poncho (and most seedlings of Duke) showed zero damage.

Since I have it grafted in my greenhouse, I also decided to sacrifice my Aravaipa clone to the January freeze, and it appears to be dead (at least above ground) after a low of 14.7°F. I would expect even the hardiest avocados to die from that level of cold at this size, though, so it doesn't say much. You can see photos and updates from throughout the winter on the tree profile page here:

https://www.drymifolia.org/profile.php?a=218

[spaugh]

Does anyone have a photo of an aravaipa tree?  Like one that is large enough to make fruit in decent health? 

Kaz, your pics from october 2022 look lije a box of bacon fruit.  The thin skin, the stringy at the bottom of the seed.  The slant on the bottom of the fruit, the shape of those seeds.  It looks just like bacon. 

[drymifolia]

Does anyone have a photo of an aravaipa tree?  Like one that is large enough to make fruit in decent health? 

Kaz, your pics from october 2022 look lije a box of bacon fruit.  The thin skin, the stringy at the bottom of the seed.  The slant on the bottom of the fruit, the shape of those seeds.  It looks just like bacon.

It is absolutely 100% not Bacon. The flush is deep green with no hint of the red that Bacon leaves have in their flush. The skin is also basically flavorless and easy to eat, while Bacon skin is bitter and unpleasant even though it's a similar thickness.

Now it could be a Bacon **seedling** I guess, but all of those that I've grown also had a red flush. Aravaipa has one of the greenest flushes I've seen. Here's what it looks like as the flush expands:

[Fygee]

If anyone has some seeds they're willing to sell, I'd like to buy some from you so I can experiment with in-ground seedling growth here.

[sc4001992]

Brad, the shape of the fruit may look similar to Bacon, but it is maybe half to two-thirds the size of the Bacon fruit.

[sc4001992]

Fygee, just watch Marta's website for fruits she sells, I doubt there are many people who have larger trees which are fruiting.

[sc4001992]

drymifolia, I doubt it is a seedling of Bacon snice the Bacon was not registered until 1950s.

Also the Hamada tree fruit tree is almost 100 yrs old, so much earlier than the Bacon discovery. I did get feedback from Greg A. who I sent fruits and cuttings of the Hamada tree and he said he doesn't believe it is a Bacon. So, it is an unique cultivar.

[drymifolia]

Here are what hardened Aravaipa leaves look like, they have a fairly distinctive wavy leaf margin. Joey does too, but none of my other cultivars have it to this extent.

[drymifolia]

If anyone has some seeds they're willing to sell, I'd like to buy some from you so I can experiment with in-ground seedling growth here.

Marta usually lists them (fruit boxes, at least) in the fall on her Really Good Plants website, but you could also reach out to her directly this summer to ask about fruit set. Hers ripens around October/November in the Sacramento Valley area. Last year she had very low, nearly zero fruit set, so didn't offer them, but she said she was hoping it would set a normal amount this year again. I assume it's only barely started flowering now, so she probably won't know yet if they'll be offered.

[Benoit30]

Hello,
I'd like to ask you a few questions about the Aravaipa avocado tree. An Off Grid Athlete video mentions two possible origins for the avocado tree: Arizona 1 and Arizona 2. Is this possible? I do not find this video anymore...
The age of the mother avocado tree differs according to the sources, some talking about the end of the 19th century and others the beginning of the 20th. I think it's important to know whether it withstood the historic cold snap of 1913 in Arizona.
Here in France, we're just beginning to observe its behavior. Winter has been mild, so it hasn't yet shown its qualities against the other avocado trees in the garden (several seedlings of Mexican, Bacon...).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOxf3CZ6bY

[sc4001992]

Benoit30,

Here's the video with Jake, same person who made the first video with other people who didn't really know the true history.

Look at time 8:30 on tihs video and the owner of the land describes in detail that the tree was planted or growing on this land in the early 1910s and it has documentation of the age.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDAy2-Y9g58&t=649s

[Avofan]

I got a 6” long maybe 1/2” diameter Aravaipa scion from Marta last year and it has grown faster than anything else for me. Around 42” tall little tree now in one year. Really impressive. Avocado rootstock is so unpredictable that it doesn’t mean much but I could see how it might fruit on the second year after grafting