Mexicola Avocado Trees...

Avocados are yummy...or at least that is what the experts say! And my tongue is an expert. Cut up in salads...made into fresh guacamole...YES PLEASE!!! Other than their paramount yumminess...they are also incredibly good for you.

Enough times buying avocados for top dollar at the store...and I decided that I wanted to see if it was possible to grow them myself. I spoke with a horticulturist friend of mine...whose property looks like a garden of Eden...who told me about his avocado tree experience. When his children were young he planted a "Mexicola" avocado tree. He said "The skins were so thin and they were so buttery and nutty in flavor that my children would pluck them from the tree and eat them skin and all!" He told me in no uncertain terms that the Mexicola is the best suited for the Sacramento Valley's climate.

The California Rare Fruit Growers Association states that "Avocados do well in the mild-winter areas of California, Florida and Hawaii." This area does have mild winters...but sometimes our winters can get pretty frosty...which can quickly kill an avocado tree. Some people avoid the frost entirely by keeping them in a pot and bring them indoors when it gets cold. While that may work...it sounds like a chore...and one will severely limit their fruit production keeping it in a pot. The reason that the Mexicola is so suited to the Sacramento region is because they are the most cold hardy of the avocados...down to 18 degrees!

Apart from the cold issue...Avocados are also are susceptible to burning from the sun...and do best with proper fertilization. See the link above for more information on the care of the tree. They are a finicky tree to take care of in the early years...but as they get more established...they are stronger and require less maintenance.

La Vernes Nursery supplies Capital Nursery with their Avocado's. They offer 3 Mexicola varieties. The Mexicola Grande...the Mexicola...and the Stuart Mexicola. The full grown tree sizes are in that order...the Grande the tallest...then Stuart the Smallest. Their fruit size and qualities are different...but all are equally cold hardy.

At Capital Nursery you can expect to pay $50 for one of these tree's. You could potentially get Lowe's or another like store to special order what you want. They have done that for me before and I paid considerably less...and from the same supplier!

It is possible to grow one from seed...but I would recommend just buying the tree that has been grafted onto superior rootstock...if fruit production is your goal.

So...if you have a nice sunny space to plant...can make the time to care for a tree...and love avocado's...you may want to consider planting a Mexicola!