Avocado trees are known for producing edible fruits. But in order to bear fruits, avocado trees need to perform pollination. There are different kinds of pollination processes found in plants.
Today, we are going to discuss the pollination process of avocado trees and find out whether they are self pollinating or not.
Are avocado trees self pollinating?
Most varieties of avocado trees have the ability of self pollination. Presence of both male and female flowers enables an avocado tree to self pollinate. However, the hand pollination process and cross pollination process can also be applied on avocado trees to increase their fruit production.
Many varieties of avocado trees can be found in nature. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them and see if they have the ability to self pollinate.
Hass avocado trees:
Hass avocado trees are known for producing delicious edible fruits. The important thing to remember here is that hass avocado trees belong to the category of hybrid avocado trees.
However, it is very easy to grow hass avocado trees because they require a minimum amount of care.
Under the right conditions, hass avocado trees can reach a height of twenty five feet on average. But one thing that the hass avocado trees need in abundance is sunshine. Without six hours of sunshine everyday, hass avocado trees can not achieve their optimum growth.
It is believed by gardening experts that the hass avocado trees possess the gift of self pollination. You will not have to rely on a pollination partner and a pollinator in order to yield fruits from hass avocado trees.
Hass avocado trees are quite good at self pollinating and can produce an abundance of fruits through it.
Joey avocado trees:
Joey avocado trees fall in the category of Mexican avocado trees. Just like the other varieties of Mexican avocado, joey avocado trees are capable of producing edible fruits through the pollination process.
It is believed by experts that joey avocado trees bear fruit through the process of self pollination.
However, you will also need to provide a decent amount of water, sunlight, and fertilizer for your joey avocado trees. Otherwise, they will not be able to reach their maturity and start producing fruits by self pollinating.
This self pollinating variety of avocado trees can grow up to thirty feet tall. But it is true that cross pollination can increase the fruit production of joey avocado trees.
Fuerte avocado trees:
Fuerte avocado trees are another hybrid variety of avocado trees. They also go by the name of Persea americana. This variety of avocado trees can reach a height of forty feet at mature age. But fuerte avocado trees need a lot of sunlight to achieve this height.
According to gardening experts, self pollination can be done by fuerte avocado trees. But their fruit production increases rapidly when cross pollination is introduced. Fuerte avocado trees and hass avocado trees are compatible pollinator partners.
Fantastic avocado trees:
Fantastic avocado trees are yet another variety of avocado trees that are great at producing edible fruits. They are known for their ability to handle cold weather. Fantastic avocado trees can grow up to thirty feet tall if they are taken care of.
Additionally, six hours of sunlight regularly can really increase their growth rate.
Fantastic avocado trees belong to the category of avocado trees that can self pollinate. But the important thing to remember here is that cross pollination improves the fruit production of fantastic avocado trees greatly.
So it is really up to the gardener whether he wants to self pollinate or cross pollinate the fantastic avocado trees.
Do you need two avocado trees to pollinate?
It has been noticed by experts that most varieties of avocado trees are blessed with the gift of self pollination. The reason behind this is that avocado trees have both male and female flowers on them. So self pollination is a process that can be done effortlessly by a single avocado tree.
But it is also true that two avocado trees will be able to increase the overall fruit production of avocado trees. It is not a necessity to use two avocado trees in order to produce fruit. It is merely a choice that gardeners take to improve the amount of fruit production.
Can avocado trees cross-pollinate?
According to gardening experts, avocado trees have the ability to cross-pollinate. But the cross pollination process needs to take place between two different varieties of avocado trees.
And there are some things one needs to understand about the type of avocado trees based on their flower.
First of all, all avocado trees have both male and female flowers on them. But the opening time of the male and female flowers varies. The male flowers of type A avocado trees tend to open up during the afternoon and their female flowers can be seen opening up during the morning.
On the other hand, the male flowers of type B avocado trees open during the morning and their female flowers open during the afternoon. This means that you will need to use a type A avocado tree and a type B avocado tree for cross pollination.
Same type of avocado trees can not be used for cross pollination at all.
How to pollinate avocado trees?
Pollinating avocado trees might seem like a difficult task if you have no prior experience regarding the matter. However, there are some steps and methods you can follow to accomplish the task. Let’s discuss in detail about some of them.
Choose compatible avocado trees:
Cross pollination works best for avocado trees. In order for a successful cross pollination, you will have to select two compatible varieties of avocado trees.
It is very easy to do as avocado trees have two types of varieties based on the opening of their male flower and female flower.
You will need to choose one variety from type A and another variety from type B. Type A avocado tree and Type B avocado tree will have compatible flower opening time.
Begin planting avocado trees:
In the next step, you will be required to plant the two varieties of avocado trees. You will need to maintain at least a distance of fifty feet between the avocado trees.
This amount of distance gives both the avocado trees enough room for growth and gives them the opportunity to participate in cross pollination.
Plant flowering plants:
You will also need capable pollinators in the garden for the cross pollination process. The best way to attract different pollinators to your garden is by planting colorful flowering plants.
These plants will grab the attention of the best pollinators such as bees and make them come to the garden.
Pollinating insects are crucial for carrying pollen from one avocado tree to another. Wind can not alone complete the cross pollination process.
Technique of hand pollination:
If you do not want to go through the trouble of attracting pollinators to your garden, then you can use the technique of hand pollination. You will need to gather the male flower by hand and make direct contact with the female flower.
This will result in the transfer of pollen and pollination will take place.
Why is the avocado tree not producing fruit?
There are a number of reasons that can stop an avocado tree from producing fruit. Let’s discuss in detail about some of those reasons.
The avocado tree is premature:
An avocado tree needs to become three or four years old before it can start producing fruits. You can not expect an avocado tree to start bearing fruits right after plantation.
If you are patient enough and give it the required time, then it will begin bearing fruit at the right moment.
The avocado tree needs sunshine:
It is believed by gardening experts that an avocado tree needs to be under six hours of direct sun everyday. Otherwise, the growth rate of the avocado tree becomes slower and it does not start bearing fruits in time.
The avocado tree needs to pollinate:
An avocado tree is not able to produce fruits without the pollination process. Most of the avocado trees are capable of self pollination. You can even use hand pollination to complete the pollination process of your avocado tree.
Cross pollination between two different varieties of avocado trees give you the best chance when it comes to fruit production.
The avocado tree needs water:
Shortage of water can hamper the fruit production of an avocado tree. So it is important to remember that you will need to provide a lot of water for your avocado tree if you expect a good harvest. Decent amount of water can increase the number of avocado fruits.
But excessive water supply can hamper fruit production.
Final Thoughts
It is believed by gardening experts that most avocado trees are self pollinating. But cross pollination can really improve the fruit production of avocado trees. Cross pollination can take place between two different varieties of avocado trees. Type A and Type B avocado trees are compatible.