Hass Avocado Tree

Avocados are an ideal fruit to grow at home, as the tree is easy to grow and an attractive addition to your landscape. It begins to ripen fruit in April and that fruit will hold on the tree into the fall, so a tree in your garden will give fruit for about 8 months of the year. That makes the Hass Avocado one of the best trees for the garden, since there is no short harvest period as is so often true with other kinds of fruits. The tree is an attractive evergreen that makes a good screening tree or background planting in a larger garden and for smaller gardens, the good news is that the Hass Avocado does not need another variety to pollinate its flowers. Just one tree will give you fresh avocados almost all year long.

If you live in zone 10 or the warmest parts of zone 9, you can grow the Hass Avocado right in your garden. It will tolerate just a little frost, perhaps down to 28⁰F, so in the southern parts of California, Florida and Texas it will grow well planted outdoors. If you live in zone 9, choose the Cold Hardy Avocado, which will grow well down to almost 20⁰F. In colder regions the Hass Avocado can be grown in a container and kept outside as long as the temperature is above freezing.

The Hass Avocado is a fast-growing fruit tree that will soon reach 30 feet in height, but with pruning it can be kept smaller, making picking easier. The large evergreen leaves are about 8 inches long. In winter or early spring, small greenish flowers will appear and the green fruits that follow are 3 to 6 inches long, or often larger. The green skin turns almost black when the fruit is mature, but avocados are unusual because the fruit will not ripen on the tree. So fruit can be left on the tree all summer to stay fresh, and then picked and ripened as needed. Ripening takes several days after picking and it can be speeded up by placing the fruit in a paper bag with a ripe banana or an apple. The fruit is ready to eat when it feels a little soft when gently pressed.

The Hass Avocado is a special variety that must be grown correctly by taking stem cuttings from properly-named trees and grafting them to the roots of seedling trees. This is the method used for our trees and they will begin to bear fruit within 2 or 3 years of planting. Trees grown from seed take 10 years to bear fruit and it will be of a very inferior quality, so avoid cheap seedling trees which will never match the quality of the true Hass Avocado.

Plant your Hass Avocado tree in a sunny location and dig plenty of rich organic material like manure or garden compost into the soil in your chosen location. Dig a hole three times the width of the pot and water your tree well while planting. Each week for the first season or two, until your tree is well established, water it well by running water over the root area until the whole area is soaked. Established trees are quite drought-tolerant but it is best to water deeply occasionally during dry periods. Keep the area under your tree free of grass and weeds by putting a thick layer of compost or other organic mulch over the soil. This will also feed your tree and retain moisture. Additional fertilizer applied in winter will help to keep your tree strong and productive.

To grow your Hass Avocado tree in a container, choose a large container such as a half-barrel or large clay pot and make sure your container has drainage holes. Use a standard tropical-plant potting soil. Water your potted tree the night before you plant it into the container and keep your tree well-watered. Always water thoroughly, allowing the soil to dry a little between each watering. Use a liquid fertilizer every two weeks during the growing season. Keep your tree outdoors in a sunny and sheltered location as much as possible and only bring it into a sheltered well-lit place if the temperature is going below 30⁰F. While your tree is indoors, keep the soil a little on the dry side as much as possible. Trees that have been indoors for some time should not be exposed to temperatures near freezing when they are first put outside again, so put it outdoors during the day and bring it inside at night for the first week or two of its return to outdoor life.

The Hass Avocado tree is a special form of Persea americana, which grew wild originally in Mexico and Central America. This variety was discovered by a mail-carrier called Rudolph Hass in 1924. He patented his tree and it went on to become the best and most popular avocado in the world.

Pruning your tree is simple. Keep a central growing stem and trim back the side branches in early winter to keep the tree more compact and to prevent branches breaking.

Our Hass Avocado trees are true to the original and correct form and are ideal for growing outdoors or in a container. However we are constantly renewing our stock so our customers get fresh, healthy plants, so supplies of this popular tree may be limited. To avoid disappointment order now.