How to plant an avocado in the garden

The avocado is a plant that can be very useful in gardens: it provides excellent shade , its leaves are very decorative (especially the newer ones as they are coppery in color), and its fruits are also edible .

However, before making the decision to have one in our home, its characteristics must be taken into account so that problems do not arise either now or in the future. For this reason, I am going to explain how to plant an avocado in the garden so that, in less than what you expect, you can taste it.

Index

How is the avocado tree?

avocado tree

The avocado, known as Persea americana , is an evergreen tree native to Mexico that can reach a height of 30 meters. Its crown is very dense and wide, up to 10 meters . It has a robust trunk, about 4-5 meters in diameter, but this should not lead us to confusion: although it is a vigorous plant, its roots are superficial and do not cause any damage.

But (there is always a but 🙂 ), due to its size it is highly recommended to plant it at a distance of about 5-6 meters from walls and tall plants , and placing another specimen nearby so that its flowers can be pollinated, or choose to buy one grafted.  Thus, you can develop without problems from the first day.

Cold-resistant avocado varieties

If you live in an area where frost usually occurs, we recommend these varieties:

  • Stewart – Produces black-skinned fruit, which ripens from August to October. Withstands frost down to -7ºC.
  • Mexicola : the skin of the fruits is black and the pulp tastes like nuts. They ripen from August to November. Withstands frost down to -7ºC.
  • Zutano : the skin of the fruit is light green, and it finishes ripening in December-January. It supports frosts from -3ºC to -4ºC as long as they are of short duration.
  • Fuerte – is a hybrid that produces fruit with green skin and pale green flesh that ripens from December to May. It supports very weak and punctual frosts of up to -2ºC.

How to plant it in the garden?

New leaves of Persea americana or avocado

Once you have decided which variety you are going to buy, it will be time to move it to the garden following this step by step:

  1. The first thing you have to do is a 1m x 1m hole in the spring.
  2. Then, mix the soil that you have removed from it with a growing medium for plants.
  3. Then fill it in a bit so the tree isn’t too far below ground level.
  4. Next, remove the avocado from the pot and insert it into the hole.
  5. Now add or remove soil if necessary. The plant should be about 2cm below the ground.
  6. Finally, finish filling and give it a generous watering.

You will know that the transplant has been a success as soon as you see it put out new leaves, which will surely happen in a couple of weeks. 

How to plant an avocado in the garden

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