Grow Avocado, Guava & Passionfruit

Avocado

Few people in the Great White North have tried to grow avocado. Information is scarce so growing your own avocado should be thought of as a fun experiment that will give you a cool and unique plant for your summer patio that becomes a beautiful and easy houseplant or greenhouse plant in winter. But you might even get some fruit for your avocado toast!

In general, avocados reach a sustainable fruiting size when they are about 6-8 feet tall with a caliper of 1.5-2 inches. We have heard from a few customers who have greenhouses (so that means good growing conditions) that they are getting flowering and some fruit after growing our plants for about 2-3 years. This spring we are getting good flowering on overwintered plants from last year that are just three feet tall! So growing your own avocado definitely seems possible!

Plant in a large 20-24 inch pot with a volume of about 15-25 gallons. It will take plants a few years to reach fruiting size, so fertilize them well. Depending on the cultivars you choose and where you live, you’ll need to provide adequate protection during the winter.

We offer a selection of popular cultivars, compact forms, and “cold tolerant” avocados, some of which can take temperatures down to -7 degrees C (20 degrees F). They are unlikely to be hardy outdoors anywhere in Canada but these cold tolerant varieties will be easier to care for. They can take some frost in the shoulder seasons of spring and fall and require less heat in the winter if you’re growing them in a greenhouse. Additionally, some of our cultivars are compact and easier to keep as smaller trees that might better fit in the house or greenhouse.Additionally, ‘Pinkerton’ is known to begin fruiting on relatively young plants.

Avocados (Persea americana) have perfect flowers with both male and female parts. All plants can produce fruit. However, they are divided into types A and B based on the timing of fertility of each flower. In California, avocados are considered self-fruitful since you can get pollination and fruit on a single tree. However, even in California, you will get more fruit if you have both a type A and a type B to pollinate each other. In colder climates, it is recommended to have both types, if you would like to get fruit, so make sure to choose at least one A type and one B type.

We carry the following cultivars in most years:

• ‘Bacon’
  ‘Bacon’ has tasty green fruit with medium-thin skin and fruit up to 10-12 oz ripening in December-January. The trees are medium-sized and upright and cold tolerant to -3 to -5 degrees C (23-26 degrees F). It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Fuerte’
  ‘Fuerte’ offers green fruit with a medium thin skin and flesh of excellent quality. The fruit is 10-12 oz with a medium pebbly skin and great flavour ripening from November to June. The trees are large and spreading. Cold tolerant to -2 degrees C (28 degrees F). It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Gem’
  ‘Gem’ offers one of the richest and creamiest avocado experiences with delicious flavour and texture. It has black skin with golden lenticels. Trees have good production and bear consistently every year. They are semi-compact and vase shaped perfect for small gardens and containers. The fruit is 7-11 oz ripening from spring to fall. Hardy to about 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Gwen’
  ‘Gwen’ naturally grows to about 10-15 feet in height but can be kept smaller as it lends itself easily to pruning with its smaller limbs. It is a Hass type avocado but with slightly larger fruit that are plump and oval with thick green skins that have a pebbled surface turning dull green as they age. The creamy gold-green flesh has a nutty, buttery flavour. It surrounds a small to medium sized seed. Keep above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Hass’
  ‘Hass’ is the largest of the commercially grown avocados with a delicious flavour and a high oil content. The large oval fruit can weigh 10-12 oz with a green, pebbly skin that turns black when ripe. The tasty, creamy, golden green flesh surrounds a small to medium seed. Trees are vigorous and will need some space. Keep above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Holiday’
  ‘Holiday’ is a Guatemalan avocado that offers large, green, tasty, pear-shaped fruit that weigh 18-24 oz. It is highly productive ripening from fall to winter. Trees are relatively short with a weeping habit great for small spaces and containers. Cold tolerant to -1 degrees C (30 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Jim Bacon’
  ‘Jim Bacon’ is similar to ‘Bacon’ with tasty green fruit and medium-thin skin with fruit up to 10-12 oz ripening in December-January. The trees are medium-sized and upright and cold tolerant to -3 degrees C (26 degrees F). It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Kona Sharwil’
  ‘Kona Sharwil’ are green avocados prized for their rich, nutty flavour, their small seed, and their ample buttery flesh all contained by a medium-thin skin. The fruit is 8-16 oz with a medium pebbly skin and great flavour ripening from November to January. The trees are upright growing. Cold tolerant to 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Lamb Hass’
  ‘Lamb Hass’ is a cross between ‘Hass’ and the dwarf ‘Gwen’ cultivar offering plants with an upright, compact habit. It produces high yields of good quality Hass-like fruit with black skin ripening over a longer period than ‘Hass’. The fruit can be up to 10-16 oz. Keep above -1 degrees C (30 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Little Cado’
  ‘Little Cado’, also known as ‘Wurtz’/’Wertz’ and ‘Minicado’, has a compact habit to just 10 feet high making it easier than some to grow in pots and protect in winter. It produces tasty, green-skinned fruit with a medium-thin skin. The fruit can be 8-14 oz. Keep above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Mexicola Grande’
  ‘Mexicola Grande’ is easy to peel with paper-thin black skin and creamy flavour. It ripens from late summer through mid-winter and is one of the most cold tolerant avocados to -7 degrees C (20 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Pinkerton’
  ‘Pinkerton’ is a heavy producer even on young plants with green fruit to 14-16 oz having a medium pebbly skin and great flavour ripening from November to April. The trees are medium sized and spreading. Cold tolerant to -2 degrees C (28 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Reed’
  ‘Reed’ produces excellent large, green, round fruit with great flavour. The fruit can be up to 12-18 oz, some of the largest fruit of any avocado. The trees are medium-sized and upright. Keep above 0 degrees C (32 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Sir-Prize’
  ‘Sir-Prize’ is a ‘Hass’ type avocado with larger fruit on more productive, upright trees. The fruit is tasty and rich green with black skin weighing 10-20 oz. It ripens in winter 4-6 weeks earlier than ‘Hass’. The fruit does not oxidize when cut or refrigerated and it has some of the largest fruit of any avocado. Keep above -1 degrees C (30 degrees F). More cold tolerant than ‘Hass’. It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

• ‘Stewart’
  ‘Stewart’ is one of the most cold hardy avocado. It is a Mexican type with pear shaped, 6-10 oz. fruit with smooth, thick, dark skin and a nutty flavour. The trees are strong and spreading. Cold tolerant to -7 degrees C (20 degrees F). It is an A Type and requires a B Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.
  

• ‘Zutano’
  ‘Zutano’ is a good variety that performs well even in cooler climates. Its green fruit has a medium thick skin and weighs 10-12 oz ripening in November-January on upright trees. It is used as a pollenizer for ‘Hass’ in orchard settings. Cold tolerant to -3 to -4 degrees C (25-26 degrees F). It is a B Type and requires an A Type for cross pollination and to get fruit on both trees.

Guava

Guava trees grow quickly and can begin fruiting on young plants. Hardy to -5.5 degrees Celsius or zone 9b, it’s a worthwhile container specimen for fans of tropical fruits and bold foliage that won’t need tons of heat to protect over the winter, though it is best to protect indoors keeping plants above freezing.

Passionfruit

Passiflora edulis is one of the tastiest species commonly grown in the tropics for fruit production. Grow in full sun. Plants may be hardy in coastal BC in protected microclimates such as up against the sunny wall of a house where the stem is planted/buried six inches deeper than the soil surface in the original pot. Plants are said to withstand -4 degrees Celsius. Or safer: grow in containers that can be protected in winter in a sunroom or as a houseplant.

Give Your Perennial Garden a Phoenix Perennials Touch.

At Phoenix Perennials, our offerings span over 5000 different plants available for in-person shopping at our garden centre and plant nursery in Richmond, British Columbia. Additionally, we annually offer more than 2500 different plants for mail-order shipping across Canada. Stay connected with our diverse offerings by signing up for our E-Newsletter and Alerts – your key to staying informed about our mail order and pre-order launches. Happy gardening!