I bought a hybrid dwarf avocado tree from Lowe's about a year ago and it gives the scientific name as Persea americana. Does anyone know what the common name of this avocado is? It flowered a few months ago but all the flowers dried up and fell off. What can I expect from this tree?

I also grafted Mexicola Grande and Hass to it about 2-3 weeks ago. I wrapped the scions in Saran Wrap and covered them with foil. They are still green and appear to be doing well.

It could be any of a number of varieties. All commonly grown avocados are Persea americana.

As for fruit set -- you know about the weird pollination of avocado -- with A and B type trees? (A's are functionally female in the morning and male in the afternoon; B's are male in the morning and female in the afternoon). So if your newly grafted types are the opposite type from your original, that should help. Also, some varieties will set fruit on their own, without cross pollination, if the night time temperature is cool during the bloom period. But not all will do it.

Does anyone have a best guess as to what variety it might be? Its from Lowe's and was sold as a Hybrid Dwarf Avocado.

What about the flowers that formed and dropped off? Is there something I can do differently next year so that they come to fruition?

If you only have one Avocado tree, it is going to be very difficult to get fruit.

Millet (1,287-) Susan B Anthony List - Washington DC

Also, as far as I know, there are no "hybrid" avocados. They're all the pure species. I suppose they could mean a "hybrid" between two different horticultural races, e.g., 'Hass' is Guatemalan x Mexican, but who knows? Once it bears some fruit, there is hope of identifying it.

One thing you can do now is crush a piece of a leaf and see if you get any licorice scent out of it. If so, the variety is either Mexican race, or at least has some Mexican race blood in it. But once you know that, you still have many cultivars to choose from. The fact that it's dwarf is also helpful -- not many dwarf cultivars. But then the question is, is it really a genetic dwarf, or did the same nursery that didn't label it by variety name, simply decide to call it dwarf since it's in a pot? I don't think there's any way of knowing at this point.

I grafted a Mexicola Grande to this tree about a month ago. I remember reading here to keep avocado covered for several months before you can expect anything so I wrapped it in Saran wrap and covered it with foil to protect it from the high temperatures we are now experiencing. Since I wasn't expecting it to do anything, I did not check up on it very often. Well, yesterday, after seeing the sprout on my guava tree, I decided to check on my avocado. I was both surprised and disappointed with what I saw. There was a sprout at the very tip! Unfortunately, the plastic restricted its growth and it was all scrunched up. I carefully unwrapped it and a new leaf fell off. The other new leaves look a little pale. I left the plastic off and folded some foil over it to keep it safe from the sun. I'll check it everyday and hope it will survive.

I would think in Long Beach, California, your Avocado should do fine. They hate wind, so I can't grow them, and I even thought about purchasing a home with acreage in Fallbrook (the home of Avocado) and having a farm. That idea left fast when I researched how much water and fertilizer they need, and I decided the price at the store for the main ingredient of my guacamole is really cheap!! I grow the limes and the jalapenos, however.

How about buying a couple Haas at the store, and starting the seeds, and using those to pollinate yours?

You might just come up with a fantastic new variety!

Good luck!

Suzi Q

The Grande Mexicola graft has recovered and is doing fine. It has about 4 large leaves but hasn't branched yet.

In my excitement I grafted a Fuerte on a couple of weeks ago. Its starting to turn black and looks like it won't make it. Could it be too hot?

I don't exactly recall, but I think I read somewhere that it is a Little Cado. I may or may not have posted it here somewhere.

BTW, none of the grafts took and the tree suffered a lot of die-back last year. It grew back but is all lopsided now. How beneficial is it to prune avocados to bring back some symmetry?

It's probably a Holiday avocado (if the leaves are curled in a little then definitely). DO NOT PRUNE if you don't have to. Avocado trunks are extremely sensitive to sunburn. In fact, you should probably paint the trunk with diluted 50/50 latex based and water white paint to protect the trunk/ exposed limbs.

Fruit gardening is all about patience. It will grow more leaves this summer, be sure to feed it sometime around March.

Also, avos are tough to graft, just let it grow and find out what kind it is.

I guess I'll just wait it out. What was once a tree about 4-5 feet tall is now about 2 feet tall with a large side branch. No central leader.

I just saw this thread, the "Hybrid Dwarf" from Lowes is from LaVerne. I contacted LaVerne a while back and was told their "Hybrid Dwarf" is also known as Littlecado or Wertz.

Thanks. I was considering buying a Littlecado. I guess now I won't have to.

I'm still thinking about pruning it though. That side branch has gotten bigger, probably can't support itself and is propped up by a short wall. Very asymmetrical. It has tons of flowers right now so I'll see if it produces any fruit.

What do you think if I pruned it down to a two foot trunk next year and let it start over again? And maybe T-bud a few varieties on top?