Scott Grows an Avocado Tree

Will my avocado tree grow fruit?

This is a question I get asked all the time. So much so that I made a video about it! Will your avocado tree bear fruit? And if so, when will your avocado tree grow fruit? And how can you make your avocado tree grow fruit?

The answer to whether your home grown avocado tree will bear fruit is… maybe! Let me explain. 

Avocado trees, like many fruit trees, take years to mature. Some folks say avocado trees take at least 7 years to bear fruit, others says 10 years, and I’ve seen people say over 12 years. Regardless, it takes time to grow, and it’s certainly not a way to save money in the short (or even long) term. Avocado trees require mature wood in order to grow flowers and bear fruit. Which brings us to our next consideration; the flowers. 

Avocado flowers are weird. For pollination to occur in a plant, pollen needs to find its way into the ovary to fertilise the egg and begin the growing of the seed, and around it, the fruit. Pollen originated in the stamen, the male organs of a plant, and the egg is in the ovary, the female organ. Some plants have flowers that have both male and female organs, they can self pollinate, or get fruit by being pollinated from itself. Some plants have flowers with either male or female organs – two plants are needed to produce fruit, one male and one female, and only the female will produce fruit. Kiwi fruit are an example of this. Avocados do neither of these things, but also both. Avocados have what is called sequential hermaphroditism. “A” varieties are female in the morning, with the female organ accessible, and transition to being male in the afternoon, opening the male organs and closing the female. The reverse is true for “B” varieties. This means you need one of each complimentary varieties in order to get fruit. 

So how do you get good fruit faster? In the industry, farmers graft scions (branches) from mature trees onto young saplings, essentially creating a clone. The scion continues to grow, and has the same genetic makeup as the tree it came from, meaning the fruit will also be the same. Plus, grafting takes years off the time it takes to bear fruit. 

So, will your home grown tree bear fruit? Yes… maybe. IF you wait upwards of a decade and IF you have multiple tree and IF you don’t mind if the fruit isn’t great… then it’s possible. But you’re better off growing a tree from a nursery. 

Good luck out there, avocado enthusiasts! Be sure to check out my YouTube videos for more information.