Things I've learned about avocados

So, some important things I've learned about planting and caring for an avocado tree.

• They NEED fast-draining soil. Avocado trees really suffer in heavy soils and are more susceptible to root rot in wet conditions.
• They are sensitive to salts in their water supply. In SoCal we have alkaline and salty tap water, which burns the tips of leaves as the salts build up. (It also raises the pH, when the tree prefers slightly acidic soil.) Deep waterings can help flush salts from the soil. Using gypsum powder helps bind the salts so they stay out of the tree.
• In the wild, baby avocado plants grow up under the shade of larger trees, and because of this get sunburned easily when left in the sun at a young age. They can be painted with white interior latex paint diluted 50% with water to protect against sun damage.
• To help keep the soil from getting water logged, it is recommended to plant avocados on mounds. 
• Trees appreciate heavy mulching, 3-6inches recommended to provide nutrients to the shallow feeder roots and protect them from sun damage.

Why a Holiday?

So, why did we choose a Holiday avocado?

1. It is a natural dwarf/semi-dwarf tree. Various sources list it at 10-15ft tall full grown, and about as wide. We have a smallish back yard in Southern California and did not want to dominate it with a 30-ft Hass tree.
2. It's different. We can buy Hass at the supermarket, and most farmers' markets also sell Fuerte and Bacon. Holiday is different and interesting.
   
3. The fruits get very large (15-18oz; as a reference, Hass is usually 8-10oz).
4. Julie Frink lists the flavor as XLNT.

Welcome

Welcome to this avoblogo. This will be an outlet for me and J to chronicle the life of our Holiday (XX3) avocado, planted in February of 2012.

I plan to post pictures, comments, and tragedies as they happen over the years. We took a lot of time researching avocado types and have found a relative lack of information about the Holiday variety. I hope to share my experiences to add to the library of first-hand literature about the variety, and hope that someone will find this useful somewhere. I aim to last a little longer than the other avoblogs, both in the life of our tree and the life of this blog.

Although I am starting this website in April 2012, I will be adding posts about the first few months according to the date of the events chronicled.