I’ve drunk the avocado-aid here in Napa, CA, 9b. In years past, I’ve played around with avocados but didn’t think they were very viable here to make much of an effort. But 2 years ago a friend convinced me it was totally doable so I’ve gotten a small collection of about 15 varieties going, hoping to find a handful that will grow and produce well here. And if I can get enough diversity to harvest avocados practically year round, I’m going to be over the moon.
My yard is pretty short on full sun, but the shade trees provide pretty good frost protection. The yard also slopes, so when it does freeze, frost accumulates downhill, off my property.
This year there is no significant winter damage to my young trees. And I’m excitedly watching this years blooms open and the first fruit mature on a Pinkerton.
Congrats Yes this has been a very mild winter here as well. Hoping next year is too. I’m also in 9b and just planted a Pinkerton and Gem in raised beds.
Are you familiar with the Duke trees in Oroville, about 130 miles north of your location? They were planted there in 1903 and have lived through many hard freezes. I collected some scions the last time I passed through Oroville and have those on zutano rootstock. There are also many large, fruiting avocado trees in Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties. There’s a fairly active Facebook group someone told me about as a resource for trading scions and sharing growing tips amongst zone pushing avocado enthusiasts. I’ve even heard of a few trees around the Red Bluff and Redding area. On this website there’s a guy who does the Seattle Cold Hardy avocado trial. He posts a lot of his data, and is a great resource for those looking to grow avocados outside of the traditional areas.
Very cool. I’m torn on winter temps. I hope my tropical / subtropical plants can get by pretty easy but I also want pests killed by winter cold and chill hours achieved for stone fruits. Winter’s probably never going to make me truly happy, lol
I’ve heard of the Duke but I’m not growing it. I’m not sure what my ultimate plan with avocados will be. Still trying to see what’s possible. I’m very happy that all the Guatemalan types I’m growing are doing so well, including stuff like Nabal and Reed. My current thinking is to try to grow the four varieties that Epicenter Avocados have been most pleased with for flavor and production: Reed, Lamb, Carmen, and Palo d’Oro. I’m growing in large pots for a couple years to establish strong roots while I can protect them from cold. Then planting those 4 if they seem hardy enough. But I’ve got a few of these known cold hardy varieties: Aravaipa, Royal Wright, Mexicola, Mexicola Grande, Bacon, etc. I definitely have the openness to change plans several more times if needed. But man! how cool would year round avocado harvests be?!?
In Napa, like around Santa Rosa, there are many cultivars you can grow very well. As you say, getting them through the first few winters is key. When I first started growing avocados in Santa Rosa I killed several from neglect when they were still too young to leave unprotected during winter. I now have land a couple hours north of Santa Rosa with colder winter lows. Those early losses helped me become a much more conscientious grower. I’m also experimenting with greenhouse culture to see if it’s possible to get nice fruit yields on greenhouse trees. There are a couple growers in southern British Columbia that are doing that already.
Some people love the taste of Duke. It has to be eaten during a very narrow window or else it is not as good. I think the people who have not liked Duke probably didn’t eat it when it was perfectly ripe. That aspect makes it a poor commercial avocado. Though the skin is completely edible which is pretty cool.
My daughter planted a Home Depot Haas 5 gallon tree while living in Yountville. In 3-1/2 years it grew to 15 ft tall and is producing fruit. They now live in Napa but haven’t tried to plant another one. Weather should be similar.
I’ve heard that Mexican varieties can sometimes share that narrow harvest window like I think you’re saying about Duke. I’ve particularly heard this about Mexicola. I’d prefer varieties that can hang a good long time but that’s not a deal breaker.
Are you familiar with Royal Wright and 2nd Red? I believe those are from old, established, fruiting trees in the Santa Rosa area.
That’s awesome! I hope the new tenant / owner is enjoying that harvest.
Yountville is pretty similar. I grew up just outside Yountville, so I feel like I should be able to say something intelligent about weather differences, but I don’t know that I’m paying enough attention really. My family has some property in the hills out there which gets frost more frequently than my property in Napa on the other side of the valley. But I think it also gets hotter, despite having the sun go down sooner due to its position on the hill. So maybe more extremes, which I would think would be harder on an avocado.
The thing to keep in mind for those north of Sonoma County is that we don’t have the luxury of being as discerning with what cultivars we grow. There are some pockets along the coast like Shelter Cove and up near Brookings where you can grow fuerte, haas and gem, but move slightly inland and you are pretty much limited to the real hardy Mexican cultivars. There are some good ones. People like Lila, some claiming it’s comparable to really good commercial avocados. From what I’ve heard the opinion on Mexicola is split. Some really like it and some don’t. I think if you compare Mexicola to haas, Gwen or Fuerte you’ll be disappointed. Better to compare it to not being able to grow any avocado at all. Same with Duke.
Yes, I know all those big old trees in Santa Rosa. I owned a home there for many years. I have a Royal seedling currently growing.
I think you’re probably right about that. I just don’t know if I’m the “can grow” or “can’t grow” type yet. I’m sure I’ll be happy with Mexicolas if that’s all that comes through
Don’t you have some Guatemalan hybrids producing fruit already? Honestly, in Napa you should be able to grow almost any cultivar that grows in Santa Rosa. If you are willing to really baby them for a few winters you can grow amazing avocado trees down there. There might be some significant leaf burn every 10 years or so, but nothing that would kill a mature tree. The coldest it got during my 23 years living in Sonoma County was 17 in Rincon Valley. That happened around 2008 or 2009, perhaps even 2010. It’s been a while and I can’t remember the exact year. Nevertheless, it dropped down to 17 one morning for several hours, and 20 for several hours the next two days. The avocado trees around Rincón Valley got lots of leaf burn. Like the entire canopy was crispy on several trees. But they recovered fast and had set fruit by the end of February. Just a few miles west, around downtown Santa Rosa, the avocado trees showed no damage at all. I suppose it was just a couple of degrees warmer and that made a huge difference. Napa and Sonoma County really are the northern periphery of the ‘true’ avocado growing zone in California. The pockets north of there are very much anomalies, and most places north or Coverdale and Yountville would be very difficult to grow any of the highly desirable commercial avocado cultivars. Be sure to pinch yourself for being so fortunate. Often times in life people don’t appreciate what they’ve got till it’s gone. Man, have I been that person more times than I wish to admit.
Yup! But waiting for 1 fruit to mature isn’t going to be as charming in the future. I don’t yet know that I’ll get dozens (or hundreds!) of avocados
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I think I’ve got one of the best growing zones! I was in my 20s before I had any idea that it was special to be able to grow both citrus and cherries. It might be a pretty rude awakening to leave here, no doubt, I’m still naive about my good fortune.
I moved to Napa from Davis, where it’s either too cold or not enough chill hours (consistently) in winter or too hot in summer for a lot of plants. The climate here really is quite ideal, but more shocking for me was the good quality water and mildly acidic, well-draining soil. Having grown up in southern California then living in Davis, I was used to sticky alkaline clay and hard water that would burn the leaves on avocados and magnolias.
The famous botanist Luther Burbank once wrote that he’d rather have 5 acres in Sonoma County than 5000 acres almost anywhere else. Napa is essentially in the same category as Sonoma County. It doesn’t have the coast like Sonoma does, but obviously that’s not what Luther Burbank was talking about.
I briefly lived in Davis and I am not surprised that you find the water in Napa to be an improvement! Also, there were a couple wicked strong wind storms.
Glad to see another Napa grower here!
Are you serious about that? I’m up in Anderson Valley, and while not many smaller lots come on the market very often, an impending listing will travel along the grapevine before officially going up for sale. My family was pretty fortunate to get 3 acres, because the parcels surrounding us are all larger than 80 acres. Some are thousands. That’s because they are commercial vineyards. Roederer is on one side and Husch on the other. While the lack of smaller lots is sometimes frustrating at least we know it won’t be developed for at least a few generations.
Yes this has been a very mild winter here as well. Hoping next year is too. I’m also in 9b and just planted a Pinkerton and Gem in raised beds.