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where to buy cold hardy avocado trees in northern Ca?
Enkis:
I've read it's possible to use cold sensitive rootstock if you graft low and then plant the tree deeper, so that the joint is below ground. As anyone tried this? Any idea how much deep it should be planted?
Lyn38:
--- Quote from: Enkis on March 26, 2023, 02:36:37 PM ---I've read it's possible to use cold sensitive rootstock if you graft low and then plant the tree deeper, so that the joint is below ground. As anyone tried this? Any idea how much deep it should be planted?
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Enkis, I've never grown out avocado but I would guess to plant the rootstock below the level of soil temperature that the rootstock is hardy to, and then mulch it thickly. Mulch can keep the soil warmer by several degrees. Keep the soil at that level well drained - like a mound. Seems like it would work well in other than very marginal climates. If you only get very low temps for short periods of time - like several hours or once in a while overnight, with temps increasing during the day then it should work. IDK about longer low temps - like days on end. That tends to cool the soil down more.
EDIT you would probably get a few degrees more cold hardiness from a cold hardy root stock though, is my guess, as there would less chance of stressing the root system.
Lyn38:
--- Quote from: drymifolia on March 26, 2023, 12:21:53 PM ---I haven't visited the Oroville Duke tree in season, but my understanding is it starts to ripen in early fall, Sept/Oct, the same time Duke grafts ripen in other parts of northern CA. I don't think I'll need any more Duke seeds this fall, but thank you for the offer.
Aravaipa and Duke both make good rootstocks. I thought Aravaipa tasted OK when I got a box from Marta, but bland, and when counter ripening they quickly go from underripe to overripe, with only a day or two to eat them at peak ripeness. I assume the people who thought they were gross let them get overripe or picked them too soon or too late.
My Mexicola graft is very recent, the fruit I've eaten were from Marta and Mexican markets in the SF bay area. Fruitwood Nursery has Mexicola scions, that's where mine came from. I recommend signing up on their website to be notified when scions you're interested in are in stock. Their avocado scionwood usually is only in stock for a week or two in late fall or early winter.
As far as seeds from last fall still being viable, any that haven't molded or dried out might still sprout if they've been kept in a fridge drawer or something, but most seed sellers on places like Etsy and eBay are not trustworthy and mostly sell mislabeled seeds.
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Thanks Drymifolia! I now have a whole section of notes with info from you. Have copied and saved the info. Much appreciated.
Lyn38:
--- Quote from: Reedo on March 26, 2023, 02:18:21 PM ---Marta has done some work trialing and evaluating some cold hardy varieties. She's growing in Davis, CA. She doesn't sell plants, but occasionally sells scions on her reallygoodplants site. I've tasted Mexicola (not to be confused with Mexicola Grande), and it's quite good. It takes more work to process due to its thin, non-peeling skin, but it's a small price to pay for fresh homegrown avocados. I believe you can find this trees at nurseries, but you'd probably benefit from grafting it onto a more cold-hardy rootstock than what Brokaw uses.
https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2020/03/cold-hardy-avocados-for-sacramento.html
https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2020/03/cold-hardy-avocados-for-sacramento.html
https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2023/01/john-herd-and-sir-prize-avocados.html
https://reallygoodplants.com/
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Thanks Reedo! Appreciate the feedback and info. It looks like Marta is a great person to try and get material from. I'll bet she runs out, so maybe I'll try and get just 3-5 Aravaipa seeds/fruit and maybe some Mexicola or Mexicola Grande fruit from her this fall if she has it. Those varieties might make good rootstock as well and are more common so I can leave them out on my deck after growing a bit and see which do the best.
drymifolia:
--- Quote from: Enkis on March 26, 2023, 02:36:37 PM ---I've read it's possible to use cold sensitive rootstock if you graft low and then plant the tree deeper, so that the joint is below ground. As anyone tried this? Any idea how much deep it should be planted?
--- End quote ---
I've tried this and it has not worked, but the soil temperatures can be pretty cold here in Seattle by end of winter. 4 year old West Indies rootstocks (Lula seedlings) have completely died even when the graft union is buried, even where the grafted variety on top survived initially (until it realized its roots were dead weeks later). But I assume something like Bacon or Zutano might work fine as long as you cover the graft union with soil or mounded wood chips.
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