Avocados are for Advanced Gardeners in the Desert

Q. We would like to plant fruit trees but don’t have much gardening experience. Can we plant during the summer months? Are there types of fruit with a tougher skin so birds can’t get them? My wife loves avocados, so is that a possibility for someone without a green thumb here?

Avocados come in all shapes and many different colors. These avocados were from Zimbabwe where it is warmer than Las Vegas. Las Vegas and the Mojave Desert is a bit cold for avocados so pick a variety that stays small and known for winter cold tolerance.

A. I would not plant anything but palm trees, Bermudagrass, cacti and succulents from May through mid-September. Even good gardeners prefer not to plant during the hot summer months if they have a choice. Nurseries are pretty dead compared to spring.

Good Gardeners Plant in Spring and Fall

            Why? Anything you plant now is slow recovering from planting because of the late planting date, heat, and low humidity. If you see something you just can’t say “No” to, then buy it, put it in the shade and plant it as soon as possible. Plant in the morning when temperatures are cooler. After removing it from the container, transfer it to a wet, prepared planting hole as quickly as possible. Have a hose ready and plant everything wet, wet, wet.

Plant in the spring and fall. fall months it is harder to find fruit trees you want but patience is good.

Start Slow with Fruit Trees and Avoid Birds, Don't Fight With Them

            If you are new to gardening and fruit trees, start with a single fruit tree. Purchase a 5-gallon container tree or larger. Apricot is a good choice and harvest the fruit when they start turning a color and you see the first signs of a bird nibbles.

This is a fresh bird peck in peach. Harvesting the fruit a bit earlier would forgo most bird damage when birds are not interested in your fruit yet.

            You have 2 to 3 weeks to harvest everything from the tree so don’t take it all at once! Fruit will ripen first in the hottest part of the tree and work toward the coolest. So pick the fruit first that is farthest along. Picked fruit will ripen on your kitchen counter (or garage, or back patio and covered so the birds can’t get them) and still taste the same. The fruit doesn’t need light anymore to ripen and taste good. Apricots don’t have to be soft on the tree (which by the way is a little later than when birds first start pecking them) to be “tree ripened”.

Avocado is 'Advanced Gardening' in the Desert

            Don’t start with an avocado tree unless you are an experienced gardener. I am not going to get into the “why” here, but I will guarantee you failure if you don’t know what you’re doing. Search my blog for answers. Apricot or plum is much easier to grow here than avocado.