🥑 Avocado
Persea americana
Millennial toast's favorite tree, and it knows it.
Sun
Full sun, 6–8 hrs
Days to harvest
3–4 years for grafted trees; seedlings can take a decade
Spacing
20–30 ft
Soil pH
6.0–6.5
How to grow
Buy a grafted tree of a known variety — growing from a pit is a fun science project, not a fruit strategy. Plant on a slight mound in well-drained soil; avocados hate wet feet more than almost anything. In Florida, West Indian and Guatemalan types handle the heat; Mexican types handle more cold. Protect young trees from frost with covers.
Water & feeding
Deep, infrequent watering — let the top few inches dry between drinks. Mulch heavily to keep roots cool, but keep mulch away from the trunk.
Common problems
- Root rot (Phytophthora) in poorly drained soil — the number one avocado killer
- Frost damage on young trees (cover below freezing)
- Lace bugs stippling the leaves
- Fruit drop in the first years — the tree is just practicing
Harvest
Fruit doesn't ripen on the tree — pick when it reaches full size and let it soften on the counter. In Florida, harvest season runs summer through winter depending on variety. A gentle squeeze tells you when it's ready, not the color.
Nerdy fact: Avocados have 'protogynous' flowers — each bloom opens as female in the morning and male in the afternoon (or vice versa, depending on the type). That's why orchards plant A-type and B-type trees together: it's a botanical scheduling system for cross-pollination.