How to grow Avocados

How to grow avocado in a garden

Choose a sunny spot with well drained soil. Enrich the soil with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. If the soil is clay based, add gypsum and fork in well. Mound the soil to improve drainage, if necessary.

Dig the planting hole twice as wide and to the same depth as the root-ball. Remove the shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.

Position in hole and backfill, gently firming down. Form a raised ring around the plant, creating a well so that water will go where it’s needed most. Water in well.

Mulch around the base with organic mulch like sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.

Feed with a complete fertiliser, such as Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser in spring and autumn. TIP: For an added nutrient boost, feed with Yates Thrive Citrus Liquid Plant Food weekly during the flowering season.

As the tree grows, increase the amount of fertiliser each year to cater for its needs. Ensure the tree receives plenty of water during the hottest months of the year. Give a deep watering once a week in preference to shallow watering every other day.

To harvest, look for slightly shrivelled fruit with a dull appearance. If unsure, pick a couple and allow to ripen indoors. If it ripens within 7-12 days, they’re ready to pick!

How to grow avocado in a pot

Choose a pot at least 600mm wide and deep (a half wine barrel is ideal). Position in full sun and protect from strong winds.

Fill pot with quality mix, such as Yates Potting Mix with Dynamic Lifter. Remove shrub from the container, gently tease the roots and cut away any circled or tangled roots.

Position in hole and backfill, gently firming down. Water well.

Mulch around the base with organic mulch like sugarcane or pea straw, keeping it away from the trunk.

To harvest, look for slightly shrivelled fruit with a dull appearance. If unsure, pick a couple and allow to ripen indoors. If it ripens within 7-12 days, they’re ready to pick!

Growing tips

Avocados can be grown from seed, but they can take up to 10 years to produce fruit, if you’re lucky. Also, it’s not guaranteed they will produce fruit well and the quality of the fruit may be poor. So, it’s best to plant grafted varieties as they will produce fruit in a shorter amount of time.

Check the planting label and choose the right avo for your location – ‘Bacon’ is cold tolerant, while ‘Wurtz’ performs better in warmer areas.

Avocado varieties have different flowering habits, so they’re catergorised into two groups, A and B. Type A: ‘Hass’, ‘Pinkerton’, ‘Reed’, ‘Rincon’ and ‘Wurtz’. Type B: Bacon, ‘Edranol’ and ‘Fuerte’.

While avocados can be self-pollinating, they will fruit better if cross-pollinated with a different type. For example, Hass (Type A) and Bacon (Type B).

If your avocado flowers well, but doesn’t form any fruit, it could be due to a lack of pollinators or cool temperatures during flowering.

Prune lightly after harvesting, removing dead or wayward branches to help maintain an open vase shape. If needed, major prune can be carried out in late winter.