My Dad has these avocado trees.

My dad has three avocado trees planted together in his yard. One male one female, and one the sex of which is undetermened. The three started all about the same size. Now one of them now has a trunk that sprouted near the root of the main plant. The new sprout is now twice as tall as any of the other three plants.The new trunk is keeping a glossy green look(like new growth). Our question is wether we should keep the rogue sprout or cut it off. Thanks in advance for any advise you might have for me.:)

Sincerely,
David

David

I think that might be a sucker growing from the root stock. Maybe I'm wrong and someone will soon jump in if I am;))))) Does it spoil the look of the tree? If so just pull it downwards sharply (if it is sappy enough) or else cut it off close to the main trunk.. Hope that helps.

PS now you have a bunch of answered post huh!!!!!

Avocado's don't have separate sexes--many of them will bear more fruit if there's another avocado around to cross pollinate with, but the sexes are not separated.

As far as your sprout, I would probably cut it off...if your avocado's are grafted then you should definitely remove it since rootstocks that are used for grafting are generally more hardy and robust than the tree that's grafted onto it but also typically have poorer look/fruit, and if you leave it, it could eventually take over and crowd out your desireable cultivar. But if the avocado is growing on its own roots then it's more of an aesthetic consideration.

ecrane3

This is just one of many persons who have indicated that an Avacado tree is either male or female. I know what you are saying, that they don't have separate sexes, to be the truth. I have seen you post that information before as well. Why do you think that idea seems so prevelent? Just wondering if you have any idea.

Thanks.

It probably has to do with the fact that some citrus (and other fruit trees) are not self-fertile, meaning that you need to have two of them in order to get any fruit. Both trees have male/female and both trees can bear fruit, but for reasons that I don't completely understand, some species have developed so that a tree can't pollinate itself (maybe it's a way of ensuring more robust genetic variation to reduce the chances of susceptibility to disease?). In cases where you do need two trees to get fruit, I could see how that could easily get turned into an assumption that the sexes are separate even though they're not, it seems like the most logical explanation for needing two of them if you aren't familiar with plants that aren't self-fertile. Avocado's I believe are actually self fertile (at least some varieties) so you probably don't need multiple trees to get fruit, although you may get more fruit if you have two. I had a big avocado tree at my old house and not another avocado for miles around since they don't usually thrive up here, but it bore fruit just fine all on its own. I'm sure there would have been more if it had a friend though!

Well everybody needs a friend don't they?
Thanks for your input on that. My grandfather had 2 avacados on 5 acres- the house separated these 2 trees; both produced more fruit than 3 famillies ( grandparents, aunt & uncle, and ours) could ever eat.

Dave, I know nothing of avocado, other than I love to eat them and I once owned one that was a very prolific fruit bearer...... but your handle made me Chuckle Big Time.....

Thanks Aguane, I was begining to think I was being 86ed because of it.

ecrane3, The myth about variation in sex of avocado trees came through my dad from a local nursery. I'll try to learn more about what he was saying. It was almost like some varieties work better with specific varieties. I'll post again with more de"tales". You can tell us weather they be fact or fiction.

By the way, the rogue sprout is gone. thanks B1ZZTL1ZZY.:)

Lots of people think avocado's have sexes, so it's a pretty common myth! The nursery is correct though about some varieties working better with specific varieties, but it has to do with the pollination that I mentioned above and has nothing to do with sexes, so either the person at the nursery confused their explanation or your dad heard that he needed different varieties and assumed it meant different sexes. This is a common thing in citrus and some other fruit trees where they will either bear no fruit or not very many fruit unless they are pollinated by another variety. I'm not sure what all goes into figuring out which varieties are best paired up, blooming at the same time is obviously important but there are probably other factors as well.

I caused the confusion. My dad said the guy at the nursery called them A and B. I made the incorrect translation. I'l try to find out more from the nursery.

Dave I don't think you can take all the credit. This would not be the 1st time I have heard of Avacodo trees referred to as male and female.

A bit OT, but Dave, you wouldn't happen to be a fan of Mystery Science Theater, would you?

I've seen the show a few times. Always laughed. Wouldn't call myself a fanatic, but good show. KITH is another one.Why do you ask?

Because of the routine they had, "Dave? Dave? Dave? DAVE's NOT HERE!"
I thought with your screen name, you might be a fan. That's all. Enjoy your avocadoes.

Actually it's from a sceen in Up In Smoke. Cheech(Dave) is out side asking to be let in. Chong asks who he wants. Cheech says "it's Dave"(they are friends you see). Then Chong says "Daves not here". It goes on for a while. This is Dave. I said Daves not here man! This IS Dave. Daves not here. Well anyway, you get the idea.

That's it! It's stuff my DH loves-- Cheech and Chong, Duck's Breath Mystery Theater, etc. he has these reel- to reel tapes full of the routines so I get the comedy groups confused. Sort of like , who's on first.....