Avocado Fruit

[KFC]

If you use rooting hormone to start a root from a avocado branch will it make fruit as soon as it gets big enough or do you still have to wait four year until it starts make food?

[Glider]

If the branch is mature enough, it should start producing fruit as soon as it is strong enough (depending on root development).

[YT2095]

That explains it then, I have a 3 year old Avocado plant in my kitchen, if you took all the leaves off it would be a Stick, there`s No branches at all

[KFC]

Thats a real time saver.

 

Another question, can I use gibberellic acid with a bansai to make it look older faster?

[Genecks]

That's interesting. Why not use a genetically modified plant?

[Sisyphus]

Isn't that kind of cheating?

[Glider]

I think we need to define branch. If you take a terminal shoot and root it, it becomes a trunk and has no branches (i.e., a stick) and will not fruit. If you take a primary branch from a tree that only fruits on tertiary branches and manage to root that, then asuming that branch had secondary and tertiary branches (and used to fruit), then once it has rooted you would have a trunk with only primary and secondary branches which would not fruit until it had developed the next set of branches.

 

Trees do respond to the number of ramifications they have. It affects the distribution of auxins and other hormones which determines which parts of the tree are which (i.e. which is a trunk, a primary branch, a secondary branch, a leading shoot etc..), how each part grows and the likelihood of fruiting. Taking cuttings affects the distribution of these hormones.

 

This is why a cutting even one taken from the finest twig, furthest away from the trunk after many ramifications, once rooted will become a trunk and will not bear fruit, but will take on the physical and physiological characteristics of a trunk and begin to form primary branches. It really is amazing if you think about it.

 

Anyway, things are a bit more complicated with avocado as, to guarantee fruit, you need to have two different varieties growing in proximity. See here.

[YT2095]

well I started mine off from a seed 3 years ago, it`s just a trunk though, no branches at all and it`s nearly 4 foot high.

I tried to pinch the growing tip off last year hoping to encourage side shoots, it just went Dormant and then 6 months later made a new growing tip and now it`s Shot up.

 

perhaps a larger pot might help?

[Glider]

Hmmm... The usual practice when aiming for a nice rounded avocado 'bush' is wait until the seedling is about a foot high, then cut it back to 6". This triggers side shoots from the buds that form in the leaf axils. However, if your plant has got to four feet without any side shoots forming, even after pinching out the leader, then something is wrong.

 

The main reason for this kind of growth is either not enough light, or an imbalance between light & heat. Avocados need a lot of light when grown indoors. If they don't get enough light, they will shed their side buds until they find it, resulting in long, leggy plants. They do this because it's a waste of energy to put out side branches if there's not enough light to feed the tree.

 

The light/heat imbalance is when it's a bit too warm and a bit too dark. I.e., it's light enough that the tree would grow well, but high temperatures encourages rapid growth and there's not enough light to support that. Then you get the same symptoms as above. You often see this in houseplants in the winter. Loads of central heating, but very poor light.

 

To grow an avocado indoors you need lots of light and a cool[ish] room to maintain the balance. The alternatives are a conservatory (if you have one) or a greenhouse. Both are warm, but they both have enough light. They also provide the cooler night temperatures which helps to moderate growth.

 

Increasing the pot size won't help unless it's rootbound, but that gives a different set of symptoms; pale leaves, general failure to thrive, very weak growth/dieback and leaf loss. Having said that, a repotting might help with general vigour, if you prune the roots to encourage the growth of fine feeder roots.

[KFC]

I think we need to define branch. If you take a terminal shoot and root it, it becomes a trunk and has no branches (i.e., a stick) and will not fruit. If you take a primary branch from a tree that only fruits on tertiary branches and manage to root that, then asuming that branch had secondary and tertiary branches (and used to fruit), then once it has rooted you would have a trunk with only primary and secondary branches which would not fruit until it had developed the next set of branches.

 

Trees do respond to the number of ramifications they have. It affects the distribution of auxins and other hormones which determines which parts of the tree are which (i.e. which is a trunk, a primary branch, a secondary branch, a leading shoot etc..), how each part grows and the likelihood of fruiting. Taking cuttings affects the distribution of these hormones.

 

This is why a cutting even one taken from the finest twig, furthest away from the trunk after many ramifications, once rooted will become a trunk and will not bear fruit, but will take on the physical and physiological characteristics of a trunk and begin to form primary branches. It really is amazing if you think about it.

 

Anyway, things are a bit more complicated with avocado as, to guarantee fruit, you need to have two different varieties growing in proximity. See here.

 

 

If you grafted more branches could to speed this up?

[Glider]

Probably, and it would almost certainly increase your chances of getting edible fruit. Most crop avocados (as with many citrus and other fruit trees) are specialized hybrids. The plant you get by germinating a seed aren't. The fruit from seed-grown trees is likely to be smaller, harder, less tasty/more bitter and possibly not edible at all.

 

If you can find a tree that you know is a good producing cultivar and take grafts from it, that wood will produce edible fruit. Grafting is a bit of a knack though, and still takes time.

[KFC]

Cool, Thanks