Overhyped avocados

[Avoman]

 Brad what are qualities of Fujikawa tree both the good and bad, is fruit like a Hass or what's it like ?Are you top working your stumps in the spring turning them all into Hass ?

[spaugh]

Fujika is full guatemalan like nabal.  The tree grows well and sets fruit well and thry are earlier than nabal and reed.  Fruit tastes nice but has a bad spot at the tip of the seed that has to be removed.  Thats the main flaw.  Has a small bad spot in the top of the seed cavity.  Otherwise I think its pretty nice.  The fruit are a bit on the big side.  More than you need for one sitting.  It makes good guacamole.  Its not quite as nice as nabal or reed but close and the tree grows well.  I think its pretty good.  Im not going to plant a bunch of them but Im not chopping the 2 or 3 I have down either.

Yeah I top work the stumps in january with whatever I need more of.  Probably some more gwens and carmens this time. 

[Bush2Beach]

Maybe Ardith likes growing 1 mile from the coast in 60 degree fog year round and that makes the fruit taste better , or perhaps a geriatric panel of Avocado noobs  . Bonny Doon is most likely a Hass seedling and nothing special. Why is Bonny Doon cold hardy ? It’s not, not exposed to freezing or cold temperatures ever. Few people have them because it was selected by an Avo nursery that doesn’t keep stock  on it and/or just takes custom orders for it. i have it in a good spot and it grows like crap and is finally fruiting , badly, on year 10 . The mother tree fruits are okay.
Brad’a un biased observations can save folks alot of learning experiences and just plant the goods.
 

I can't speak first hand as I've never had a Ardith so not sure why panel thought it was number 1 in the taste test, maybe the Hass they were comparing it too was a early picked Hass out of a gorcery store who knows hard to say, I do want to grow a few Hass and Gwen down the road to compare for myself, on that same taste test Boony Doon was rated as number 2 but few people even have Boony Doon trees, I heard they are cold hardy trees but small fruit and large seed. I like Bacon and Zutano for taste so I must be werd, they would fire me if I was on a taste rating panel.

[ScottR]

I have a Ardith and Bonny Doon tree actually many Bonny Doon trees they just aren't happy here in Arroyo Grande close to coast. Ardith has been a very slow grower for me has been set back my hard freezes so don't know yet if it will come around or not. green gold is another one along with Kona Sharwil they just refuse to ever fruit. A big part of problem is tempertures at flowering times can be to cool for avocados to flower expressing both sexes during day and stay male too long. At least that is the thoughts of  Freddy Menge at Epicenter Nursery who gave a talk one year at CRFG-conference.
And I seem to br noticing that happening here close distance from coast maybe 3-4 miles as crow flys.

[CA Hockey]

My green gold is a beast. Got it from epicenter.

My nishikawa was a dud. Grows great but never flowered. I pruned it heavily last September and surprise it flowered and is holding fruit. Not as many as a tree of its size can hold, but it's better than nothing. I'll hard prune again this year and see if I can continue the trend.

[spaugh]

My green gold is a beast. Got it from epicenter.

My nishikawa was a dud. Grows great but never flowered. I pruned it heavily last September and surprise it flowered and is holding fruit. Not as many as a tree of its size can hold, but it's better than nothing. I'll hard prune again this year and see if I can continue the trend.

Post a pic of the green gold fruits and tree.  It seems like its not the same tree Atkins is selling.

I put a photo of a fruit off my atkins tree back on page 3 or 4 of this thread.  Does it look the same?

The fruit are really high oil and are over ripe here by May.  Tree sags from the fruit load and gets sun burns here.  I like the fruit but the way the tree performs is keeping me from grafting more. 

If yours is something different, I would like to try and grow one.  Still have 50 trees or more that need top working. 

Nishikawa grows OK not great and flowers very little and sets not much fruit here.  Its looking like a waste of time.  The tree is big enough to hold a good load but it only set a couole fruit this year.  Its kind of a lanky grower too.  Not that great of a shape or growth habit.

[Avoman]

Good feedback for Nishikawa, I'm on the fence if I should plant some or not, for sure planting Reed and some others, a guy in Gilroy area has a round one a little bigger fruit than a reed I'll try that also as I like the big round ones.Brad are you cutting out your lamb hass also, I'm not sure I will plant any more lamb I only have 2 in ground now.

[Avoman]

Brad so does that mean the group you got from HI never did that great? nothing ever stood out for you ?

[spaugh]

Lamb, yeah I think its got to go.  Gwen or GEM are better I think.  Its a nice tree but the fruit is pretty mediocre.  No one in my house will eat them since we have reeds at the same time.  Ive eaten a ton of lambs over the years and just never really thought much of them. 

[spaugh]

Brad so does that mean the group you got from HI never did that great? nothing ever stood out for you ?

Theres a few decent ones.  A bunch of losers too.  I think its mostly the west indian hybrids just dont grow that well here but who knows.  Yamagata and fujikawa are doing well.   The rest seem pretty worthless. 

[Bush2Beach]

I agree with your assessment on GG and Sharwil, I doubt other Kona Avo’s would want to flower or fruit either.
What stumps me a bit is why the grafted Bonny Doon tree’s are doing poorly when they are in the same conditions as the mother tree.
Could it be root stock?
I know they used A batch of Duke that some of my tree’s were on and also Bacon for rootstock.
I bought like 6 Avocado tree’s from them 10 years ago and they have all either died or do not fruit.
I have grafted some like Jan Boyce onto mature tree’s and they grow normally.

I have a Ardith and Bonny Doon tree actually many Bonny Doon trees they just aren't happy here in Arroyo Grande close to coast. Ardith has been a very slow grower for me has been set back my hard freezes so don't know yet if it will come around or not. green gold is another one along with Kona Sharwil they just refuse to ever fruit. A big part of problem is tempertures at flowering times can be to cool for avocados to flower expressing both sexes during day and stay male too long. At least that is the thoughts of  Freddy Menge at Epicenter Nursery who gave a talk one year at CRFG-conference.
And I seem to br noticing that happening here close distance from coast maybe 3-4 miles as crow flys.

[Avoman]

Brad any fruit yet on your Yamagata is it a fast grower ? Large, healthy ,full, tight leaves ? Besides the other version of green gold are you going to try any more diiferant kinds or just focus on your stumps, do you sell your excess fruit on internet or farmers markets ? How many Nabal fruit do you get;a year and what price can they sell for at a farmers market ? Do you graft directly on your stumps or is grafting on a sucker on the stump as good ?