Does anybody reading this group have experience grafting avocados?

I ask because I'm about to embark on the journey and it seems wise
to solicit whatever experience can be accumulated.

About twelve years ago I sprouted a couple tens of avocado pits,
ending up with eight trees worth planting in the yard. I'm down
to five, two of which are doing quite well, apart from declining
to bloom. They're ~2" diameter at the base and over ten feet tall.

It looks like I've found some budstock from a grower I met at the
California Rare Fruit Grower's scion exchange this past Sunday.

The tactics of the grafting aren't obvious to me: graft to branches,
or graft to trunks? The former look easier to do, if only to make
more scion wood. Grafting to trunks looks harder, but it's ultimately
what I want: producing fruit bearing trees using the well-established
roots developed over the past decade.

I'd like to capitalize on the root systems already established, so
buying new trees seems wasteful and risky, since there's no assurance
edible varieties will survive here, in the southern Sacramento Valley.

Thanks for reading and any related experiences.

bob prohaska

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On Tue, 28 Feb 2023 03:07:20 -0000 (UTC)
bob prohaska <bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:

<snip>

The tactics of the grafting aren't obvious to me: graft to branches,
or graft to trunks? The former look easier to do, if only to make
more scion wood. Grafting to trunks looks harder, but it's ultimately
what I want: producing fruit bearing trees using the well-established
roots developed over the past decade.

I'd like to capitalize on the root systems already established, so
buying new trees seems wasteful and risky, since there's no assurance
edible varieties will survive here, in the southern Sacramento Valley.

Thanks for reading and any related experiences.

The old Bailey's Horticulture Cyclopedia has some info on Avocados. I
have this set and will peruse it when researching subjects like
this...

https://archive.org/details/standardcycloped01bail/page/438/mode/2up

--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI

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On Tue, 28 Feb 2023 03:07:20 -0000 (UTC), bob prohaska
<bp@www.zefox.net> wrote:

Does anybody reading this group have experience grafting avocados?

I ask because I'm about to embark on the journey and it seems wise
to solicit whatever experience can be accumulated.

About twelve years ago I sprouted a couple tens of avocado pits,
ending up with eight trees worth planting in the yard. I'm down
to five, two of which are doing quite well, apart from declining
to bloom. They're ~2" diameter at the base and over ten feet tall.

It looks like I've found some budstock from a grower I met at the
California Rare Fruit Grower's scion exchange this past Sunday.

The tactics of the grafting aren't obvious to me: graft to branches,
or graft to trunks? The former look easier to do, if only to make
more scion wood. Grafting to trunks looks harder, but it's ultimately
what I want: producing fruit bearing trees using the well-established
roots developed over the past decade.

I'd like to capitalize on the root systems already established, so
buying new trees seems wasteful and risky, since there's no assurance
edible varieties will survive here, in the southern Sacramento Valley.

Thanks for reading and any related experiences.

bob prohaska

The grafting procedure isn't much different front other fruit bearers
(with some exceptions, natch). There is a lot of info here and it is
pretty straightforward.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/avocado/avocado-tree-grafting.htm

Often, though, an ungrafted avocado would have fruited by this age.
You might want to check into appropriate soil and sun conditions and
determine is there is anything else preventing fruiting.

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Boron Elgar <boron_elgar@hotmail.com> wrote:

Often, though, an ungrafted avocado would have fruited by this age.
You might want to check into appropriate soil and sun conditions and determine is there is anything else preventing fruiting.

The plants aren't suffering in any obvious way, though I have
found suggestions that fruiting can take up to fifteen years.
Somewhat curiously, the only tree to have bloomed at all, two
years ago and only once at that, isn't the largest.

I have reports of successful avocado trees in my area, so the
climate, while certainly not ideal, isn't a showstopper. And,
by most accounts, it's getting better. The soil and sun being
"what they are", grafting seems a worthwhile gamble and somewhat
entertaining.

Thanks for writing,

bob prohaska

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Leon Fisk <lfiskgr@gmail.invalid> wrote:

The old Bailey's Horticulture Cyclopedia has some info on Avocados. I
have this set and will peruse it when researching subjects like
this...

https://archive.org/details/standardcycloped01bail/page/438/mode/2up

Interesting link, thank you!

bob prohaska

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