For anyone that loves the taste of avocado, planting an avocado tree in your backyard might just be the passion project you need. Sadly, the tree that gives a fruit that most Millennials put on toast doesn’t grow on every continent. This is probably the biggest challenge you’ll face doing your research.
The avocado tree is native to most subtropical regions. Namely, Australia, Africa, and South America are prime continents for that. But it’s not uncommon to find this tree in subtropical regions of North America.
The tasty flavor of the avocado is enough to encourage people to plant it. So, here is how long it takes for an avocado tree to bear fruit.
How Long Does It Take For An Avocado To Bear Fruit?
There is a short story to this article. If you’re interested in that, here is the part to pay attention to. For any tree to bear fruit, it first has to grow fully. In the case of the avocado tree, that can be anywhere between ten and fifteen years. But there’s a catch.
There are two ways to plant an avocado tree. The first and most logical one is to do it from a seed. If you do it this way, then expect the before-mentioned time frame before it can bear fruit. But if you want to greatly hasten the process, you can graft it onto a different tree.
There is another catch to our short story. If you graft the tree from a different plant, then you’ll get a different variety of avocados. We won’t get into that, but what you should know is that this method takes three to four years to bear fruit.
So it might be more fruitful (pun intended) to graft the tree onto a different tree.
Now that we’re done with the short story, let’s look at the longer picture.
Planting An Avocado Tree – A 2024 Guide
If you want to get into a gardening hobby, then do know planting trees is probably the most difficult thing to do. While you might think that a tree requires nothing but water, in the case of avocado, the case is much different.
So if you are indeed interested in that, here is what you need to do to successfully get fruit when planting an avocado tree.
Step 1: Preparing the Soil
The soil requires a few things when looking to plant this tree. Many would think that pH is an important factor, but it’s actually not. What you need to look for is sandy and coarse soil. Another thing to make sure of is that the soil has plenty of iron. Iron is something that every tree requires when growing, but the case is even more important with this particular seed.
Step 2: Watering
No plant survives without water; apart from cactuses. But since we’re not growing cactuses, you’ll need to do a good job of watering the soil.
There are a few things to look out for in this step. If you’ve grown anything before, then you know how important it is not to overwater, not to flood, or to implement a poor draining system. Any one of these can kill the tree within days – even before it sprouts. And this is the most difficult and challenging part. Whenever watering the soil, you have to make sure the soil isn’t too wet. As a general rule of thumb, water the soil until the point of crumbling.
Simply place your hand on the soil and make sure it’s wet enough. Avocado trees require plenty of water, but not too much. Hitting the right balance is difficult, but it can be done.
Step 3: Pruning
Every tree requires pruning. It’s something that we’re taught in biology class and something that you should do as well when growing an avocado tree.
But unlike other trees, you won’t have to prune as much. All you need to do is trim off the terminal buds so that new branches can grow upwards.
For a detailed guide on how to prune an avocado tree, here is a guide that can help you out https://rewriteyourstory.com.au/how-and-when-to-prune-an-avocado-tree-in-australia/
Step 4: Growing Requirements
Now that you’ve figured out the right watering amount and know how to prune, the next step is all about the many growing requirements.
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Temperature
An avocado tree will be most effective if grown in plenty of sunlight. So that means you should remove any shady that might be affecting it. Although it can grow in shade, it will make life that much difficult – meaning it will take more time to fully grow.
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Fertilizing
As with any plant, it’s good to fertilize an avocado tree. Depending on the age of the tree, you will need to fertilize more or less often. Trees under the age of four require fertilizer every two months. That means you should fertilize six times per year. As for trees older than four, they require fertilizer every three months. You do this as fertilizing is an excellent way to bear more fruit. As for the amount of fertilizer you should add, that one also depends on the age of the tree.
Generally speaking, the older the tree, the more you should add. If a one-year-old tree required 1.5 pounds of fertilizer every two months, a five-year-old tree will require 10 to 15 pounds.
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Spraying
Much like adding fertilizer, the avocado tree will benefit if you spray it with all the nutrients required to bear healthy fruit. Some of the minerals that benefit its growth include zinc, boron, manganese, molybdenum, and magnesium. Unlike fertilizing, you should spray the tree with these minerals more often and between seasons.
But you shouldn’t do it all year long. Only spray between mid-spring and late summer. The reason you should spray is that you’re giving the tree all the nutrients and minerals it requires. It can also make up for certain deficiencies in the soil itself. So if you’re growing the tree is in iron-deficient soil, make sure to add iron as well.