Our Prolific Avocado Tree: Grown From a Pit in the Compost Pile

Our mystery avocados are getting ripe

And they said it couldn't be done. But it's almost mid January and our avocados are just about ripe for picking. This was not supposed to happen, according to conventional wisdom regarding growing  your own avocado trees. I guess we got lucky! Our tree is now about 13 years old, and about as many feet high. It was planted in the ground after my Belgian husband spotted the sprouted pit in our compost pile. For him, avocados are a bit exotic and growing one was just too tempting to pass up.

It's a beautiful tree now in our front yard, with lush foliage and actual edible fruit.

The pit may have originally come from a Haas - grocery stores don't seem to stock anything else, for many years now. I remember other types that were offered regularly in the past, for example, the Fuerte. But the Haas is a hybrid, and hybrid seeds don't breed true, so it's difficult to match up our tree with a known type.

The skin of a ripe Haas turns black (left) our mystery avocado remains green

The California Rare Fruit Growers web site has some good facts about growing avocados and the many varieties that are available.