Avocado quartet: all in on hole

Sunset, April, 1986

Avocado quartet: all in one hole

To have more avocados over a longer period, consider planting in the same hole several varieties that bear fruit in different seasons.

The quartet pictured here will bear avocados on the frost-free California coast: "Hass' (April to November), "Anaheim' (June to September), "Zutano' (October to February), and "Pinkerton' (November to March). Planting trees together saves space, helps ensure maximum pollination to increase crop size, and can extend fruit production to year-round.

Few nurseries sell ready-made combinations of avocados. To duplicate results, buy two to four trees to plant together.

Choose varieties based on cold-hardiness and when they bear. To provide nearly year-round fruit, combine new semidwarf "Whitsell' and "Gwen'. Both thrive in areas where temperatures don't drop below 28|. In cooler areas of mild-winter California, try combining "Bacon', "Mexicola', and "Zutano'; ripe fruit will be available about August through March.

Although mid-March is best for planting avocados, it's fine to do it this month. Prepare a hole at least 2 feet wider than the combined rootballs. Then plant the trees so trunks are 8 to 10 inches apart, slanting trunks slightly outward. For the first few years, prune the four to a U-shape as if they were a single tree.

If one of the trees becomes sickly, remove it. Replace it if the trees have been planted for two years or less. If the planting is older, the remaining trees will fill in. For more on avocado care, see pages 118 to 123 of the March 1985 Sunset.

Photo: Foursome at Chula Vista nursery combines "Anaheim', "Hass', "Pinkerton', and "Zutano' varieties for avocados all year