First, a flowering update… it’s as expected, but still a little sad that so far no clear fruit set on any varieties. Next year!
Looks like zero fruit set on Duke and Joey, both of which have finished flowering. Aravaipa is still holding one last closed-up flower, but that probably will fall soon. Walter Hole is just past peak so could still set a surprise fruit or two. Rincón Valley is in a small pot and not big enough to hold fruit, but has been flowering continuously for a long time now with no fruit setting.
Next up, some photos of the outdoor trees waking up. I haven’t updated the “winter survivors” list yet on the website, but I’ll try to get to that this week and post that link again then.
The most impressive grafted variety is Poncho (aka Pancho), which suffered basically zero damage despite only minimal protection (unheated upside-down flower pot) for the few worst freezes, and no protection for most of the winter. It’s pushing what looks to be a very strong flush:
The most impressive seedlings are #51 (unprotected other than growing next to the house) and #149 (only protected with an unheated upside-down flower pot for the worst couple freezes).
Here’s #51, which is a seedling of Mexicola Grande:
And #149, seedling of Duke:
I’ll post some of the others in a week or two when it’s more clear which ones aren’t going to wake up this year.
In other avocado-related news (not really relevant to this project), I got a box of avocados from Brad Spaugh in southern CA today, looking forward to trying a few of these varieties for the first time when they ripen up:
I may plant their seeds on Death Row, but I assume they aren’t gonna make it if I do.