On Feb 28, 1:59 pm, "Julie Bove" > wrote:
> I tried growing them when we lived in CA. Couldn't get it to grow and I
> heard that it could take many years before it would produce.

Yeah, it's tricky.

from wiki:

The subtropical species needs a climate without frost and little wind.
High winds reduce the humidity, dehydrate the flowers, and affect
pollination. In particular, the West Indian race requires humidity and
a tropical climate which is important in flowering. When mild frost
does occur, the fruit drops from the tree, reducing the yield,
although the cultivar Hass can tolerate temperatures down to -1°C.
Contrary to the conventional wisdom, avocado trees cannot sustain the
frost. Avocado farmers in California lost hundreds of millions of
dollars in 2006 due to a temperature drop[citation needed]. The trees
also need well aerated soils, ideally more than 1 m deep. Yield is
reduced when the irrigation water is highly saline. These soil and
climate conditions are met only in a few areas of the world,
particularly in southern Spain, the Levant, South Africa, Peru, parts
of central and northern Chile, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka,
Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia,
Mexico and Central America, the center of origin and diversity of this
species. Each region has different types of cultivars. Mexico is the
largest producer of the Hass variety, with over 1 million tonnes
produced annually.


[edit] Propagation and rootstocks
While an avocado propagated by seed can bear fruit, it takes roughly 4-
6 years to do so, and the offspring is unlikely to resemble the parent
cultivar in fruit quality. Thus, commercial orchards are planted using
grafted trees and rootstocks. Rootstocks are propagated by seed
(seedling rootstocks) and also layering (clonal rootstocks). After
about a year of growing the young plants in a greenhouse, they are
ready to be grafted. Terminal and lateral grafting is normally used.
The scion cultivar will then grow for another 6-12 months before the
tree is ready to be sold. Clonal rootstocks have been selected for
specific soil and disease conditions, such as poor soil aeration or
resistance to the soil-borne disease caused by phytophthora, root rot.


[edit] Breeding
The species is partially unable to self-pollinate, because of
dichogamy in its flowering. The limitation, added to the long juvenile
period, makes the species difficult to breed. Most cultivars are
propagated via grafting, having originated from random seedling plants
or minor mutations derived from cultivars. Modern breeding programs
tend to use isolation plots where the chances of cross-pollination are
reduced. That is the case for programs at the University of
California, Riverside, as well as the Volcani Centre and the Instituto
de Investigaciones Agropecuarias in Chile.