How To Make an Avocado Tree Bear Fruit

Avocados are healthy, delicious, and easy to grow with an Avoseedo grow kit. Once you’ve sprouted your avocado and watched it grow for several years, it can be disappointing when you fail to see your avocado tree bear fruit.

In this article, we will discuss a few issues that might be causing the lack of avocados on your tree.

Avocado Tree Growing Requirements

USDA Zone	9 – 11
Age of Maturity	10 to 15 years
Soil and Sun	Sandy loam, full sun
Temperature	70-100 degrees Fahrenheit
Minerals	Zinc and Manganese

Do You Live in the Correct Agricultural Zone?

Avocados are native to tropical areas of Mexico and Central America. All three commercially-grown species, Persea nubigena guatamalensis, Persea americana drymifolia, and Persea americana americana, are hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11. If you’re not sure what agricultural zone you live in, check here.

USDA zones are based on average winter temperatures in a particular area. If you don’t live in USDA zones 9 through 11, you can still grow an avocado tree, but you will need to keep your growing tree inside through the winter.

Is Your Avocado Tree Mature?

Growing an avocado tree to the age of bearing fruit is a lesson in patience; if you grow your avocado tree from a pit, it won’t bear fruit for at least 10 years. Some varieties may take as long as 15 years to begin bearing avocado fruit.

If you don’t want to wait that long, consider purchasing an avocado tree from a nursery or garden center. These commercially-sold trees are grafted from mature specimens and will begin to produce avocados after 3 or 4 years.

Do You Have Multiple Avocado Trees For Pollination?

In order to produce fruit, two avocado trees are required in close proximity to one another. Avocado trees either produce type-A flowers or type-B flowers. Both types produce pollen and are receptive to pollination, but at different times of the day. The best pollination occurs when type A and type B producing trees are grown together. This cross-pollination produces the best fruit.

Are You Meeting Your Tree’s Growing Requirements?

Avocados, like many other plants, require specific growing conditions to produce a healthy crop of fruit. 

Soil, Sun, and Water

These trees prefer sandy loam soil and full sun. Though the tree will survive in shade, they will likely not produce fruit under these conditions. Soil with poor drainage or regular flooding will harm and possibly even kill your avocado tree.

To avoid overwatering, water your tree when a ball of dirt from underneath the tree crumbles in your hand.

Any sustained temperatures above 100 or below 70 degrees Fahrenheit can cause low or no fruit yield.

Fertilizing Your Avocado Tree To Bear Fruit

Fertilizer can encourage your avocado tree to begin bearing fruit. Many young trees benefit from fertilizer up to 6 times per year. Trees that are at least 4 years old can be fertilized four times each year. According to Home Guides fertilize your avocado as follows:

Age of Avocado Tree	Amount of Fertilizer per Year	Feedings per year
1 year	1.5 to 3 lbs	6
2 years	3 to 6 lbs	6
3 years	6 to 9 lbs	6
4 years	9 to 10 lbs	4
5 years	10 to 14 lbs	4

Add an extra 2 lbs of fertilizer per year up to 20 lbs. Your young avocado tree can also benefit from zinc, boron, and manganese six times per year. These minerals can often be found in nutritional plant sprays. Older trees can still benefit from zinc and manganese and can be sprayed 4 times each year. 

Other Factors To Help Your Avocado Tree Bear Fruit

Your soil may be alkaline and, as a result, deficient in iron. Solve this issue by applying iron chelate soil drenches between early and late summer.

Poor weather such as cold or heavy rain during pollination may discourage pollinators from visiting your trees. Consider taking a paintbrush and cross-pollinating your trees yourself.

Patience: The Key to Get Your Avocado Tree To Bear Fruit

Growing your own avocado tree and producing your own avocados takes time (a lot of it!) and patience. Not many gardeners make it to the final product. 

Are you growing your own avocado tree? How far have you gotten? Let us know!