Mon 25 Jun 2007
What’s New and Green and Loved All Over?
Posted by cindy under Cilly Stuff , Photos , Work Crap at 1:40 pm[8] Comments
The judge took half an hour away from us for lunch to cram in more time for jury selection, so I was unable to go to the gym. Instead, I kept busy with something else…look who got a new little house!
It’s my big boy! The “little” avocado tree! My dad told me recently that an avocado tree has to be “mated”, male and female, to bear fruit, and asked if I wanted to graft his friend’s avocado tree into mine to take care of that. I told him I already knew that there has to be 2 trees together and that I’d already taken care of that by growing my little avocado tree a wife:
And then I found out from my dad that you can’t tell whether an avocado tree is male or female before it flowers for the first time. What?! It has DESIGNATED gender, like a human? I did not know that. I just figured you put 2 different trees together and they’ll straighten themselves out. So now it’s possible I may be raising a little gay or lesbian avocado couple. But 2 out of 4 courtroom personnel in here agree, the little avocado tree has a definite male presence. And the new seedling in the plastic cup took her sweet time springing out roots and a little stem as everyone waited, so it seems female to me!
For prior photos and a little avocado history, click here.
Hhaha that’s cool!!! Gay or Lesbian avocado trees!?!! 😀
What a fun little project! I want some yummy fresh avocados!!!!
Well…it may be a few years. Especially if it turns out both trees are the same gender!
How do you even tell whether or not a tree is female or male?
I’m not sure. Something about the flowering. I’m gonna ask my dad right now and get back to you.
I solved my own question.
Avocados do not come in “male” and “female” types; rather, they are type “A” which is functionally female in the morning and male in the afternoon, and type “B” which is the reverse. So if you have a tree of each, both should bear fruit. Some varieties can do some self-pollinating, and in chilly weather, almost any variety can. But in most situations, it helps to have one of each.
Seedling trees will, indeed, flower and fruit, after about 5-7 years, and at a height of 15-20 feet. The only possible truth to the concept that seed-grown plants will never bear is if it is assumed that you’ll keep them in the house and keep cutting the top out of them, so they never develop the needed height (actually number of nodes) to gain maturity.
http://citrus.forumup.org/about130-citrus.html
Hmm. That’s almost but not quite what my dad said.
Don’t forget I have my tree too, so we can mate/pair them. That will be interesting! Your first one has great genes!!!
oh, that’s true. Maybe the trees can have a menage trois in a few years! ooOOOoh! Kinky!