Avocado Q & A
Avocado Varieties > Avocado Q & A
Q: I am in zone 6. Can I grow an avocado tree?
A: Avocados can safely be grown outdoors in zones 8 – 11. There are a few varieties that seem to be quite cold hardy, even handling temperatures as low as 15° F for a short time with no damage to the tree, but the short answer is no. Zone 6 has temperatures that stay too cold for too long for an avocado tree to survive. See the next question for options.
Q: Can I grow an avocado tree in a greenhouse?
A: Most avocado trees grow quite large and would not easily fit in a greenhouse; however, they would be right at home in a larger tropical conservatory. Even one of the larger varieties could be kept to a manageable height there. For your greenhouse you may consider one of the dwarf varieties. Both Utuado and Wurtz are dwarf trees that have a slower growing habit and can be kept in a greenhouse or grown in large pots outside during warm weather and brought inside during the winter.
Q: Can I just plant a seed from a store bought avocado and expect it to bear fruit?
A: Avocados grown from seed do not always come true, meaning being the same as the avocado that produced the seed being planted. Also, avocados grown from seed will take upwards of 8 years to flower and bear fruit unless grown by Ed Jones and his witchcraft. I don’t know how he does it. He grows the most beautiful trees from seed and they all seem to flower within two years! We recommend a grafted variety, where a scion, or branch tip, of a known cultivar is grafted to good rootstock. These trees will usually flower and bear fruit within a couple of years of being planted in the ground.
Q: Will an avocado tree that is grown indoors produce fruit without bees or some other pollinator being present?
A: That is a great question. While pollinators definitely increase the chances of success, avocado trees are classified as self pollinating and can pollinate with just some air flow.
Q: Do I need to have more than one avocado tree in order to produce fruit?
A: While a single avocado tree will normally produce enough fruit for most people, it never hurts to have more than one tree and even more than one variety to increase the chances for good pollination. Be sure to look at our catalog for the many different varieties available from TopTropicals.com
