Fruiting Trees, Shrubs and Herbaceous Plants -- A

++ Indicates that this is a variety or a species that is found in our arboretum, but not often stocked in our nursery. Inquire about availability. If we do not have it in stock, we can put you on our "waitlist" and call you when we have it available.

Acerola

see Barbados Cherry on page 9.

Antidesma

see Bignay on page 9.

Apple, Subtropical

Malus domestica

FCFS available. Low chill apples bear farther south than ECHO in Florida, and may be a unique addition to your yard. Attractive white apple blossoms will appear during Feb-March and give way to fruit (smaller than standard apples) in June. They remain a small tree, growing to about 15 feet. Apples prefer slightly acidic and well-drained soils and perform best in full sun. The trees will need a complete fertilizer with micronutrients and may need to be defoliated by hand in the fall. Prune trees lightly in late winter to promote new growth. Because flowering, fruit development and spring vegetative growth all occur during some of Florida's hottest and driest months (April - June), irrigation is critical for succeeding with apples. To conserve moisture, mulching is highly recommended as long as mulch is not in contact with the trunk. Low chill apples are productive in Florida, but susceptible to anthracnose, fire blight, and root fungus. Apples require cross-pollination with two different cultivars to ensure decent production. The low chill varieties listed below require 50 - 150 chill hours for strong flowering and vigorous growth. Chill units are the number of hours the temperature stays between 32-55º F. Most effective chilling occurs with continuing temperatures below 45 º F.

'Anna' has red skin and is the most widely planted apple cultivar in Florida. The fruit of 'Anna' resembles that of 'Red Delicious' more than other low-chill apple cultivars. Originally from Israel, this large apple can be eaten green similar to 'Granny Smith,' or can be allowed to ripen to desired sweetness.

'Dorsett Golden' looks like 'Golden Delicious' with golden skin and sometimes a red blush. This cultivar was discovered in the Bahamas and is crisp and juicy with excellent flavor.

Atemoya

Annona squamosa x A. cherimola

FCFS available. The Annona family contains many fine tropical fruits. The atemoya is no exception. This superb dessert fruit is one of Dr. Price's (ECHO's director), favorite tropical fruits. The sugar apple (A. squamosa) and the cherimoya (A. cherimola) were crossed to produce the atemoya. The cherimoya needs cooler temperatures, but atemoyas thrive in the lowland tropics and can take a little more cold than the sugar apple. The fruit has fairly thin skin and black seeds. The pulp is white, fairly soft, sweet, and delicious. They are usually eaten fresh, but also make a great milk shake and tasty sherbet. Be sure to remove all the seeds before putting the pulp into a blender because the seeds contain the toxic substance rotenone. The trees produce as early as August and as late as January. Atemoyas reach a height of 25-30 ft. The tree has an irregular, low spreading habit, and is largely deciduous losing most of its leaves in the winter. Pruning is recommended on young trees to develop a desirable shape and to control excessively long shoots. As trees age, a March pruning (while the tree is still without leaves) is recommended for further shaping and size control. The flowers are self-fertile; however, hand-pollination will enhance the fruit set. A June pruning will result in additional flowering and later fruit development. Prune long terminal branches back to 5 or 6 nodes and remove the last two leaves closest to the pruning cut. Flowering should occur on new growth. We have several trees planted in 1996 growing in our arboretum .

'Bradley' is less firm than Geffner, but the flavor and texture are of exceptional quality. ECHO staff preferred Bradley over Geffner in a 2001 taste test. However, Bradley is reported to not fruit very well without hand-pollination.

++ 'Elly' is very productive like 'Geffner' but produces earlier. It has a creamy pear texture softer than 'Geffner's' firmer texture.

'Geffner' is a productive, well known variety. It is probably the best for our area and the one we recommend most to customers. Our 'Geffner' froze almost to the ground, but grew back and produced about a dozen large fruit the second summer. It has good fruit production without hand-pollination and can be seen in our arboretum.

'Priestly' is another very large fruited cultivar. Production does not seem as high as Elly or Gefner. The fruit is of good quality, but does have a slightly grainy texture.

++ 'Rosando Perez' bears later than most other varieties of atemoya. The fruit is elongated and of good quality. This variety has historical importance in being one of the first atemoya cultivars released by the USDA in the early 1900's.

Avocado

Persea americana, Persea nubigena

FCFS available. Avocados are native to Central America and Mexico. From these regions, three distinct races have been recognized: West Indian (WI), Guatemalan (G) and Mexican (M). These races have been crossed to create innumerable hybrids. The ancestry determines cold hardiness, skin texture, and time of fruiting, among other things. The West Indian race is the least hardy (24-28 ºF), and Mexican strains are the most hardy (16-24 ºF), but do not always fruit well in Florida's humid climate. See Table 1 for a comparison of other features of these three avocado races.

Choosing an appropriate planting location for avocadoes is extremely important. The first priority is a location that is high and has no history of saturated or flooded soils. Avocadoes demand well-drained soils, as flooding for 24-48 hours can kill them. They are especially susceptible to Phytophthera, a common soil-borne fungus that causes root rot in avocado, papaya, citrus, and other susceptible plants. Phytophthera and flooding are a deadly combination for avocado. The second priority is choosing a location with full sun. Much energy from the sun is needed to annually produce the high numbers of large-seeded and oil-rich fruits. They also typically exchange their leaves each year in the spring, resulting in a bare appearance until new growth appears. The third consideration is space. Remember that avocado trees become huge, easily reaching 40'. They can be pruned to control size (immediately after fruit is fully harvested) but their habit is to become large.

Aside from phytophthera, the only other significant problem we encounter with avocados is the Avocado Lace Bug (Acysta perseae) that feeds on the underside of leaves, causing brown blotches and premature leaf drop. Populations are especially high in late fall and, if possible, they should be controlled to prevent spread to newly emerging spring growth.

Avocados are of two flower types, A and B, depending on when they are shedding pollen.  A-type flowers shed pollen in the afternoon, B-type flowers shed pollen in the morning. There are different theories about avocado pollination, but recent research seems to demonstrate that self-pollination is the norm, meaning that only one tree is necessary for fruit production. 

Table 1. Growing conditions and fruit features for three avocado races.

Gaillard and Godefroy, "Avocado", Tropical Agriculturalist Series, pg. 14

'Beta' July to September, mid season fruit, 1- 1 ½ lb fruits, highly recommended for commercial planting, rounded, densely foliated canopy, consistently high producer. However the fruit is not of excellent quality.

'Brogdon' (A and B type), a M ´ WI cross, is productive and hardy to 22º F. It is the most cold hardy variety we commonly stock in our nursery. Bears small smooth black-skinned fruits (8-14 oz.), with high quality green flesh. For those looking for a 'California' or Mexican type similar to ones found in the grocery store, Brogdon is a good choice. Its strength is its cold hardiness and excellent, rich flavor. Drawbacks include a large seed and paper thin skin which makes fruit difficult to peel. Brogdon ripens July-Sept.

'Choquette' (A type), a G x WI cross, is oval-shaped and large (24-40 oz.). Skin is glossy, smooth, and slightly leathery. The smooth flesh is of an excellent quality with 13% oil and a mild nutty flavor. Choquette is similar to Monroe in fruit size and quality; both are excellent choices for those interested in a very good-tasting, large 'Florida pear'. The Choquette has an open, spreading growth habit. Freeze damage in established trees occurs around 26º F. Season is Nov-Jan. with heavy bearing in alternate years.

++ 'Custer's Red' originated as a seedling on Pine Island in southwest Florida. It is very cold hardy and was not damaged in 24º F temperatures. The fruit is medium-sized (14-24 oz.), oval, and has a mild flavor. We rarely stock this variety since ECHO staff find the flesh watery tasting. Both the mature fruit and new foliage have an attractive red blush. Fruit is ready for harvest when red blush appears; pick early and let fruit ripen off the tree. Bears Oct-Nov.

'Day' (A type) is a G x WI cross. Fruit is small (8-16 oz.), pear-shaped with an excellent rich, nutty taste. Skin is green and dull. The tree is very productive and cold hardy; Dr. Price's tree in North Ft. Myers, FL survived the terrible freeze in 1989 with little damage while a nearby avocado was killed. Bears Aug-Sept.

'Donnie' (A type), a WI type, is cold sensitive. It is the earliest commercial variety (May - June) and bears large fruit (greater than 1 lb). They are extremely mild, to the point of being bland. Its popularity is due to its early season.

'Expedition' (Unknown flower type) likely has Guatemalan heritage. The round fruit is medium to large (bigger than Lula), with dull, dark green skin and contains a large seed. David Fairchild selected this high quality cultivar but much remains unknown about this cultivar. Expedition bears Nov-Jan., but the fruit can hang on the tree through February.

++ 'Fuerte' (B type) is a M´ G cross commercially grown in many regions of the world. The fruit is small (12-14 oz.) with dark green bumpy skin. This cultivar is better suited to drier climates- a wet summer can cause the fruit to rot. This variety is not recommended for Florida. Bears Nov-Dec.

++'Kampong' (B type) is a Guatemalan race with high cold tolerance, but low yields. It bears a green fruit (14-24 oz) from Dec 1 to March 31.

'Lula' (A type), a G x WI cross, produces medium (14-24 oz.), pear-shaped fruit with nearly smooth skin. Lula has a large seed and is slightly sweet with good flavor. Formerly grown commercially, it is a good producer, but very susceptible to scab (a disease which only harms the appearance). Lula is hardy to central Florida most years, freezing at about 25º F. Bears Nov-Jan.

++'Marcus Pumpkin' has very high cold tolerance, a moderate yield and a huge fruit - the fruits can weigh over 3 lbs. The flavor is very mild and is often described as watery. Its main appeal is its very large fruits. It bears Oct 15 to Nov 30.

'Miguel' 1 ½ - 2 lbs fruits, fruits August to September, is large, productive and of excellent eating quality.

'Monroe' is a G x WI cross grown commercially in the Miami/Homestead area. This variety is prolific, consistently bearing large fruits that mature in the fall. Flesh is of very good quality lacking the watery texture often found in other large fruited types. Monroe's growth habit is upright, rather than spreading and is cold hardy to 26ºF. Monroe bears Nov-Dec.

++ 'Russell' (A type) a West Indies avocado, is fairly frost sensitive. The fruit is 12-18 inches long, club-shaped, often weighing between 16-24 oz. It has smooth, glossy, green skin, and a small seed. This cultivar yields well and is of high eating quality. Russell bears July-Aug.

++ 'Tonnage' (B type) belongs to the Guatemalan race. Fruit is medium sized (14-24 oz.), green, and has thick, rough skin. Production is good, but flavor is very mild and inferior to many other varieties. Freeze damage in established trees occurs around 26º F. The tree is tall, upright, and in SW Florida bears Sep-Oct.

++ 'Wurtz' (unknown flower type) is of Guatemalan race and was discovered in California in 1935. Fruit is small pear-shaped, with a large seed and rough green skin similar to California avocados. Wurtz has rich flavor and is of high quality. The tree is slightly dwarfed for an avocado, is cold hardy, and bears moderately but consistently in Nov-Dec.

++'Winter Mexican' (B type) is a Mexican x West Indies cross. Fruit is small (12-16 oz.) and oval with dark green, rough skin. The fruit quality is not as good as most of the other varieties we carry, thus it is not a recommended variety. The tree is large, attractive, and very frost hardy (to 22º F). Bears productively Oct-Dec.

Manager's Choice - Avocado

For those who prefer small California/Mexican types as found in grocery stores:

1. Brogdon
2. Lula

For those interested in large fruited types typically grown in Florida (a.k.a Florida Pears):

1. Monroe
2. Choquette

Table 2. Fruiting seasons in southwest Florida for avocado varieties, as described in the text.