Despite the challenges this region's climate presents, when I had a seed from a store-bought avocado (presumably Haas variety) volunteer in my kitchen sink some months back, I figured I might as well plant it in a pot, keep it watered, and see what happened.
And it grew.
Now I have this cute little avocado seedling. It's getting so big, I think I'll need to find a larger pot for it soon. The good news is, it's small enough that I'll be able to keep it indoors during the winter. Haas avocados (especially when young and tender) do not appear to have a reputation for doing well around here.
So, just in case something happens to this one (or I feel like getting a second Avocado tree), I've been looking around for infomation on growing Avocados around here.
Being in Zone 8b, I would probably have an easier time with a more cold hardy variety, ideally one that can handle temperatures as low as 15 degrees F.
Urban Harvest recommends the following varieties of avocados for our region:
Opal Avocado Originated in Uvalde, Texas. The medium size pear-shaped fruit is very rich tasting. The skin is green in color.
Wilma Avocado Originated near Pearsall, Texas. The fruit is large in shape and has a good flavor. The skin is black in color.
Fantastic Avocado Green, paper thin skin, most cold hardy of all the Mexican avocados. The fruit has a creamy texture with fantastic flavors. Eat skin and all. It is a vigorous growing beautiful tree.
Their website also has tips for caring for your tree. Apparently the little ones can get sunburn! Rumor also has it that Wilma and Opal avocado trees have been known to survive temperatures as low as 14 degrees Farenheit!
Harris County Cooperative Extension has a fact sheet available online which recommends these varieties (in addition to those suggested by Urban Harvest:
Joey. Found in Uvalde County where it has been producing for more than 25 years; medium
size black fruit; ripens in late September.
Pryor. Original tree is in Uvalde and is very old; smaller size green fruit; good flavor.
Pancho. Cold tolerant; may be difficult to find, but worth having if available.
The Pine Island Nursery website (Which I found using Google) lists the following cold-hardy varieties, with temperatures they tolerate:
Monroe (24-26 F)The links will take you to profiles of each of these avocados on the Pine Island Nursery website. This nursery appears to be located in the Miami area.
Here is another website that profiles several avocado varieties, the most cold hardy of which (Bacon) is supposed to survive temperatures as low as -5 degrees! Climate information for the others is vague at best, however, so it's worth doing research before selecting any of those.
Fuerte avocados are not recommended for regions with wet summers (I guess that's us!) because the summer moisture will cause the fruit to rot.
If you are interested in growing avocados from seed, but don't feel like leaving the seeds in the bottom of your sink for several days, here is a Google Search page, with several results that will help you.
2 comments:
Houston is not in zone 8b. Much of the metro is in zone 9, with 9A in the northern parts, 9B in the southern areas, and even 10a around the bay towards the coast.
Avocados can definitely survive in the Houston area, especially towards the coast.
As you are probably aware, the Houston metro area is very large and sprawling. It includes multiple communities and actually covers multiple climate zones. Galveston near the coast is actually in Zone 10, for example, which allows residents there to cultivate tender tropicals that would be more difficult to maintain further north in, say, The Woodlands. While the city itself is in zone 9, my home is in Zone 8b. There are local gardening books that cover the various subclimates in the Houston area. I recommend Habitat Gardening for Houston and Southeast Texas by Mark and Mary Bowen.
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