At current cafe prices, a mature avocado tree is one of the highest yielding investments in Australian horticulture. A single established tree can produce two hundred or more fruit a year, and grafted trees start bearing within three to four years of planting. Avocados are also genuinely good looking trees, dense and evergreen with deep green foliage, so they double as shade and screening while you wait for the guacamole to arrive.
One rule towers over everything else in avocado growing: drainage. Avocados have sensitive roots and will not tolerate waterlogged soil, which kills more backyard trees than frost, possums and neglect combined. Plant on a mound in free-draining soil and most of the battle is already won.
Quick facts
| Botanical name | Persea americana |
| Type | Evergreen fruiting tree |
| Height | 4 to 8m grafted, prunable to 3m |
| Position | Full sun, sheltered when young |
| Soil | Deep and free draining, pH 5.5 to 6.5 |
| Growth rate | Fast in warm climates |
| Climate | Subtropical to warm temperate; Bacon suits cooler areas |
Choosing an avocado tree
Start here
The Hass Avocado Tree, from $104.95, is the pebbly-skinned supermarket standard for good reason: outstanding rich flavour, a long hanging season and reliable cropping. Its natural partner is the Shepard Avocado Tree, from $136.95, the smooth-skinned early variety that ripens from late summer, months before Hass, so the pair stretches your harvest across most of the year.
For cooler gardens
The Bacon Avocado Tree is the most cold tolerant of the common varieties, handling light frosts that would burn Hass, which makes it the pick for Melbourne, Adelaide and inland gardens. Ours are advanced trees, so you start years ahead.
For flavour hunters and instant orchards
The Reed Avocado Tree produces big, round, buttery summer fruit that devotees rate above Hass, on a relatively upright tree that suits tighter spaces. The Fuerte Avocado Tree, available as a large advanced specimen, is the classic smooth-skinned winter avocado and a strong pollination partner for Hass and Reed.
A note on pollination: Avocados come in A types (Hass, Reed) and B types (Shepard, Fuerte, Bacon). A lone tree will still set fruit in a home garden, but planting one of each type measurably improves the crop, and it is the best excuse you will ever have for buying two trees.
Planting
Plant in spring in full sun. Unless your soil is deep and sandy, build a mound 30cm to 50cm high and 1.5m wide and plant into that; on clay this is not optional. Dig through compost beforehand but keep fertiliser out of the planting hole, because young avocado roots burn easily.
Plant at the same depth as the pot, taking care not to disturb the root ball, as avocado roots resent handling. Space trees 5m to 7m apart, or 4m if you will prune to hold size. Water in well, stake loosely for the first year and mulch with 7cm to 10cm of coarse mulch out to the drip line, kept clear of the trunk. Young trees sunburn easily; paint exposed trunks with diluted white acrylic paint in hot districts.
Ongoing care
Watering: Shallow feeder roots make avocados sensitive to both drought and waterlogging. Water deeply once or twice a week in dry weather, letting the surface dry between drinks. Consistency matters most from flowering through fruit set, when moisture stress causes heavy fruit drop.
Feeding: Feed lightly and often through the warm months with a balanced fruit tree fertiliser, starting six months after planting. Avocados are hungry for nitrogen and boron; a soil test every couple of years pays for itself in fruit.
Pruning: Tip young trees to build a bushy frame, then prune annually after harvest to hold the tree at 3m to 4m. Avocados fruit on the outside of the canopy, so an open, sunlit tree crops better than a dense one.
Common problems
Root rot (Phytophthora): The avocado killer. Leaves yellow, wilt and drop while soil stays wet. Prevention is the mound and restrained watering; treatment is phosphorous acid injections or drenches, best started early.
Fruit drop: Avocados naturally shed most of what they set, so a carpet of pea-sized fruit is normal. Heavy drop of larger fruit points to moisture stress or a hot dry wind event; steady deep watering is the fix.
Leaf tip burn: Brown, scorched tips usually mean salt or chloride buildup, common on bore water, or wind burn. Deep occasional soakings flush salts through the profile.
Sunburnt bark: Blistered, cracked bark on the north-west side follows hard pruning or a young open frame. Whitewash exposed limbs and keep some leafy cover over main branches.
Where avocados grow in Australia
Australia grows avocados commercially from far north Queensland to southwest Western Australia, and the same range works in home gardens. The limits are frost at one end and a lack of drainage at the other.
| Location | How it performs |
|---|---|
| Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, northern NSW | Excellent. Major commercial growing country |
| Tropical Queensland | Very good, with careful attention to drainage in the wet |
| Sydney and coastal NSW | Good in a warm sheltered spot |
| Perth and southwest WA | Excellent - a significant commercial region |
| Melbourne and Adelaide | Workable in the warmest frost-free position available |
| Canberra and cold inland | Difficult. Young trees are frost tender |
Root rot is the main killer
Phytophthora cinnamomi root rot destroys more Australian backyard avocados than anything else. The tree yellows, drops leaves from the top down, and declines over a season or two with no obvious cause. Once established in the soil it is effectively impossible to remove.
Prevention is everything. Plant on a raised mound, never in a low spot, particularly on Brisbane or Melbourne clay. Improve drainage heavily before planting rather than afterwards. Do not overwater - avocados want deep infrequent watering, not constantly damp soil. Mulch generously with coarse organic mulch, which suppresses the pathogen, but keep it clear of the trunk.
Grafted trees and pollination
Always buy a grafted tree. Seedlings grown from a supermarket stone take eight to fifteen years to fruit if they ever do, and the fruit will not resemble the parent. Grafted trees bear in three to four years.
Avocado flowers are classified as type A or type B, opening as female and male at different times of day. In commercial orchards the two types are interplanted to improve pollination. In a home garden a single tree will usually still set fruit, since neighbouring gardens and the weather blur the timing, but planting one of each type noticeably improves the crop if you have room.
Size, and how to manage it
A grafted avocado will reach eight to ten metres in a warm Australian garden, which is considerably larger than most people expect. Keep it well clear of the house, and prune to hold it at three to four metres from the first year - it is far easier to maintain a low tree than to reduce a tall one. Dwarf varieties such as Wurtz suit smaller blocks and large pots.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need two avocado trees to get fruit?
No, a single tree will set fruit, especially in warm coastal areas. Adding a second tree of the opposite flower type, an A with a B, gives noticeably heavier crops.
How long until an avocado tree fruits?
Grafted trees generally bear in three to four years. Seedling trees can take ten years or more and may disappoint, so grafted stock is worth every dollar.
Are avocado trees frost tolerant?
Young trees are damaged below about minus 1 degree. Bacon and Fuerte tolerate light frost once established; protect all varieties with frost cloth for their first two winters in cold districts.
When do I pick avocados?
Avocados never ripen on the tree, only after picking. Pick when full sized and dull skinned, then ripen indoors; if a test fruit shrivels instead of softening, wait a few more weeks.
Ready to plant?
See the full lineup in our fruit trees collection, or jump straight to advanced trees for fruit years sooner. Our pot and bag size guide shows exactly what each size means, and delivery covers most of the country.
