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applestar
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Re: My potted avocado is going to bloom! ...now what?
Update -- not blooming yet but the 'Day' flower buds - trusses are developing
These are branch tips of Avocado #1 and #2 -- I keep hoping to see flower buds on these too... I gave them VIP spots this winter with plenty of light
These are branch tips of Avocado #1 and #2 -- I keep hoping to see flower buds on these too... I gave them VIP spots this winter with plenty of light
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rainbowgardener
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applestar
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Hmm I guess you are concerned about energy usage?
I added this one this year and turned an unused, dark 1/5 of the kids' playroom into a jungle -- avocados, mangos, citruses, tea shrub, overwintering eggplants, stevia, banana, pineapple, ginger, mints, hot peppers, tomatoes, aloe, etc. etc.
This area was first to be infested by the TRM (some dead plants have already been removed). I also replaced the bulb in the torchere in the room to a giant photographers CFL bulb. The air quality in the room has noticeably and significantly improved. It doesn't hurt that the Meyer lemon has started to bloom, though I miss the fragrance in the a Family Room where it was situated last winter. We sat under the canopy of the "Jungle" and I found myself breathing deeper. 
The "playroom" would be called the "dining room" on a realtor's floorplan, right off the kitchen - the heart of our home. Although the kitchen window sports two utility lights with CFS, amount of space in the kitchen that I can begrudge the plants is limited to a single window bench. So this room now also functions like our house's natural air filtration system. -- DD's are now calling it "The GREEN Room"
In the Family Room, I have another fixture like the one pictured above, and this was dubbed "The Winter Wonderland" and has been my main Winter Indoor Tomato and Pepper growing, as well as blooming orchid display area. I had the Meyer lemon here last year. And in the summer time, the SE-facing window-side, cleared bar-height surface with the overhead light fixture becomes my kids' project space. I have a two t-12 fixture standing vertically on the floor that provide light for the old "Cool Gang" avocado forest space, which is currently hosting the Orange Pixie tomato, which I recently described in the Winter Indoor Tomato thread, a large pot of beautiful celery, one of the Fish peppers that is currently sporting 5 orange-turning-red fruits, smaller rosemary, a rooted Petit Negri fig cutting I took earlier in the year, overwintering Donkey Ears pepper, and a citrus, as well as the seed grown coffee -- now towering over behind us on the sofa table, slowly declining Lettuceleaf basil and the overwintering Scotch Bonnet pepper with two remaining fruits.
I have one more same fixture in the garage which is the "V8 Nursery" and is currently growing winter lettuce and salad greens, onion/garlic greens, as well as keeping alive the larger pot of rosemary, still blooming pots of pineapple sage, as well supplying light for the dormant Petit Negri fig.
In addition, there is a two-T12 tube fixture providing light and some warmth for the dormant peppers, pomegranates, lemongrass, and -this year- big mama banana.
I have a major light/energy hog dubbed "Winter Paradise" on the NW facing window-side bench seat, which is the vinyl covered 30" plant shelf with two interior shelves. I have cobbled together lights for each shelves and also have another light setup for plants on the top outside of the covered shelves. Inside of this "indoor greenhouse shelves" in the only place that stays in the 70's during the winter months, and I grow tropical plants that need the extra warmth in there, which include orchids that are currently sending up flowers stalks and setting flower buds.
All of these (except the garage set up) are in the first floor living areas. Upstairs in one of the girls' bedrooms, I have another plant area with two utility light CFL's and the lights are bright enough that she often doesn't bother to turn on the overhead light
I try to keep at least some of the fragrant or blooming plants in there -- cinnamon basil and the two jasmine pots at the moment -- and this winter, there is also the fruiting espaliered Coyote cherry tomato. 
For my situation, all of these extra lights work out very well because we homeschool and we're home most days especially in the winter. No winter blahs and seasonal disorders here, and vast majority of the plants are food bearing plants and some are still giving as winter solstice nears and we head into the depth of winter.
...and later on, V8 nursery and parts of Winter Paradise will be turned over to winter seed starting depending on temperature needs. By that time, some of the edible plants will have finished producing or will be declining due to constrained root space or other issues, and as thaw approaches by late February, it will be possible to send some of those plants outside for the remainder of the winter and early spring. Eventually, I intend to figure out the season extension outside with use of coldframes and covered poly tunnels, etc. and then, I may be able to keep the garage V8 Nursery lights off for a while longer in the fall and turn them off earlier in the spring.
Indoors, the plants get moved around and regrouped as they decline or as the outside temps become warm enough to send some of them outside, and the sun start to come around further east to rise earlier and set later further west, providing more light from the windows get turned off in sections. Then the lights are turned off in sections as they become unnecessary.
I added this one this year and turned an unused, dark 1/5 of the kids' playroom into a jungle -- avocados, mangos, citruses, tea shrub, overwintering eggplants, stevia, banana, pineapple, ginger, mints, hot peppers, tomatoes, aloe, etc. etc.
The "playroom" would be called the "dining room" on a realtor's floorplan, right off the kitchen - the heart of our home. Although the kitchen window sports two utility lights with CFS, amount of space in the kitchen that I can begrudge the plants is limited to a single window bench. So this room now also functions like our house's natural air filtration system. -- DD's are now calling it "The GREEN Room"
In the Family Room, I have another fixture like the one pictured above, and this was dubbed "The Winter Wonderland" and has been my main Winter Indoor Tomato and Pepper growing, as well as blooming orchid display area. I had the Meyer lemon here last year. And in the summer time, the SE-facing window-side, cleared bar-height surface with the overhead light fixture becomes my kids' project space. I have a two t-12 fixture standing vertically on the floor that provide light for the old "Cool Gang" avocado forest space, which is currently hosting the Orange Pixie tomato, which I recently described in the Winter Indoor Tomato thread, a large pot of beautiful celery, one of the Fish peppers that is currently sporting 5 orange-turning-red fruits, smaller rosemary, a rooted Petit Negri fig cutting I took earlier in the year, overwintering Donkey Ears pepper, and a citrus, as well as the seed grown coffee -- now towering over behind us on the sofa table, slowly declining Lettuceleaf basil and the overwintering Scotch Bonnet pepper with two remaining fruits.
I have one more same fixture in the garage which is the "V8 Nursery" and is currently growing winter lettuce and salad greens, onion/garlic greens, as well as keeping alive the larger pot of rosemary, still blooming pots of pineapple sage, as well supplying light for the dormant Petit Negri fig.
In addition, there is a two-T12 tube fixture providing light and some warmth for the dormant peppers, pomegranates, lemongrass, and -this year- big mama banana.
I have a major light/energy hog dubbed "Winter Paradise" on the NW facing window-side bench seat, which is the vinyl covered 30" plant shelf with two interior shelves. I have cobbled together lights for each shelves and also have another light setup for plants on the top outside of the covered shelves. Inside of this "indoor greenhouse shelves" in the only place that stays in the 70's during the winter months, and I grow tropical plants that need the extra warmth in there, which include orchids that are currently sending up flowers stalks and setting flower buds.
All of these (except the garage set up) are in the first floor living areas. Upstairs in one of the girls' bedrooms, I have another plant area with two utility light CFL's and the lights are bright enough that she often doesn't bother to turn on the overhead light
I try to keep at least some of the fragrant or blooming plants in there -- cinnamon basil and the two jasmine pots at the moment -- and this winter, there is also the fruiting espaliered Coyote cherry tomato. For my situation, all of these extra lights work out very well because we homeschool and we're home most days especially in the winter. No winter blahs and seasonal disorders here, and vast majority of the plants are food bearing plants and some are still giving as winter solstice nears and we head into the depth of winter.
...and later on, V8 nursery and parts of Winter Paradise will be turned over to winter seed starting depending on temperature needs. By that time, some of the edible plants will have finished producing or will be declining due to constrained root space or other issues, and as thaw approaches by late February, it will be possible to send some of those plants outside for the remainder of the winter and early spring. Eventually, I intend to figure out the season extension outside with use of coldframes and covered poly tunnels, etc. and then, I may be able to keep the garage V8 Nursery lights off for a while longer in the fall and turn them off earlier in the spring.
Indoors, the plants get moved around and regrouped as they decline or as the outside temps become warm enough to send some of them outside, and the sun start to come around further east to rise earlier and set later further west, providing more light from the windows get turned off in sections. Then the lights are turned off in sections as they become unnecessary.
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applestar
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It actually has three branches that are all lined with floral trusses, plus a new central shoot that is also covered with blossoms.
I've been running the soft paintbrush over them but am not sure if they will set fruits.
I'm also releasing the ladybugs among these blossoms in case they can use the pollen and nectar for food that will provide the necessary nutrients for them to successfully mate and lay eggs.
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applestar
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Did I mention my avocado's in some other thread this past year? I can't believe I didn't update this thread.... 
Anyway, you know I would have if any of those hundreds of blossoms set fruit.
But we are back with new flowerbuds on the Day avocado (top row). Other photos are shots of terminal growths on the biggest two seed-grown avos I have, though I have several more
)
-- and I have something more to share --
I had to seriously prune these three biggest trees to get them back in the house this fall.
I took some of the pruned branches, prepped them as scions, and tried to graft them onto some of my younger seed-grown avocados in 1-2 gal pots. I think I tried 6.
One of them failed almost immediately, so I tried again a little lower down on the trunk... And I think that one "took" -- there is a little bud poking out through the paraffin tape. I lost track of which scion it was though, so it might not be the already blooming "Day", but one of the others ....
This stock also was grafted with a T-bud that looks like it might be coming off, but I'm keeping an eye on it, just in case it's going to be OK.
A second one with terminal flowerbuds -- obviously "Day" 
-- is looking REALLY good.
Two others really don't look very hopeful, and I have one more but the plant is located in a difficult to access spot, plus this is the one that the treefrog was hiding in a week or so ago, so I haven't had the chance to open up the produce bag covering the grafted branch to check it.
Anyway, you know I would have if any of those hundreds of blossoms set fruit. But we are back with new flowerbuds on the Day avocado (top row). Other photos are shots of terminal growths on the biggest two seed-grown avos I have, though I have several more
)-- and I have something more to share
--I had to seriously prune these three biggest trees to get them back in the house this fall.
One of them failed almost immediately, so I tried again a little lower down on the trunk... And I think that one "took" -- there is a little bud poking out through the paraffin tape. I lost track of which scion it was though, so it might not be the already blooming "Day", but one of the others ....
This stock also was grafted with a T-bud that looks like it might be coming off, but I'm keeping an eye on it, just in case it's going to be OK. -- is looking REALLY good. If your day avocado has pollen those are the males. The B avocado should have female blossoms. You need to transfer pollen from the A to the B when the female flowers are open.
After the pollen has been shed the blooms will be done.
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Flowering/RemarkableFlower.html
After the pollen has been shed the blooms will be done.
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Flowering/RemarkableFlower.html
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applestar
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'Day' which I suspect is 'Holiday' is supposed to be self fertile.
But someone said you need to save pollen from morning blossoms and apply them to afternoon blossoms, then save pollen from the afternoon blossoms and apply them to morning blossoms because Holiday has both type A and type B flowers. I will try this method this time.
But someone said you need to save pollen from morning blossoms and apply them to afternoon blossoms, then save pollen from the afternoon blossoms and apply them to morning blossoms because Holiday has both type A and type B flowers. I will try this method this time.
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applestar
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Update on the two grafted avocados. I removed the tight rubber band tie from the definitely Day graft -- I was intrigued to see these callous-like growths along the graft. I later re-wrapped with a new strip of paraffin-M to keep the graft joint secure without strangling.
The other unID'd scion was tightly tied with a length of air pump tubing which had stiffened, so I removed that as well. Still not sure about the T-bud graft....
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applestar
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My grafted commercial avocado "Day" is not as florific this year and is suffering from something. It lost an entire branch which had a couple of flower bud clusters.
Here is the last of the clusters to bloom -- so far none has set -- and I'm not sure if it will be able to support any fruits even if some would set fruits. A couple of members of the Lady Patrol are enjoying the nectar though.
Here is the last of the clusters to bloom -- so far none has set -- and I'm not sure if it will be able to support any fruits even if some would set fruits. A couple of members of the Lady Patrol are enjoying the nectar though.
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Francesco Delvillani
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applestar
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Here's a progress collage of the successfully grafted avos
Top-left -- cluster of new leaves of Day avocado scion that grew out after it finished blooming.
Right -- probably not Day but either Avo#1 or Avo#2
Bottom-left - the bud graft is only half successfully joined, but it did grow a tiny bit more, so I'm just letting it go and see what happens. It's above the successful graft shown in the right photo, so if it doesn't recover by the time they go outside in spring, I'll trim this portion off.
Right -- probably not Day but either Avo#1 or Avo#2
Bottom-left - the bud graft is only half successfully joined, but it did grow a tiny bit more, so I'm just letting it go and see what happens. It's above the successful graft shown in the right photo, so if it doesn't recover by the time they go outside in spring, I'll trim this portion off.
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applestar
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Found this -- making a note here for future reference
Budding and Grafting Citrus and Avocados in the Home Garden
https://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/8001.pdf
Budding and Grafting Citrus and Avocados in the Home Garden
https://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/8001.pdf
BUDDING
Budding is the standard method used to propagate citrus. Aside from being the eas- iest method, it allows a large number of plants to be propagated from a small amount of scion wood and is suitable for trees, rootstocks, or branches from 1â„4 to 1 inch (0.6 to 2.5 cm) in diameter.
Budwood should be taken only from high-producing, disease-free trees (see sidebar). The best citrus budwood is located just below the most recent flush of new growth; the best avocado budwood is located near the terminal end of shoots that have fully matured, leathery leaves.
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applestar
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I needed to review how to hand pollinate the avocado, and specifically learn from other folks who are hand pollinating the 'Day' variety.
First a refresher on avocado blossom anatomy
Avocado male and female phase flowers
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image03.jpg
Avocado, Alligator Pear 'Day' (Persea americana)
Flower in male phase. This variety is B-type, meaning it's male in the morning and female in the evening.
by victorengel Mar 20, 2011 12:32 PM
https://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2011/0 ... b2528a.jpg
^^^ This appears to be **incorrect** ^^^
My observations didn't seem to match up with male/female phase of Type B so I went and asked in Logee's Customer Service chat room just now:
Logee's Customer Service
I'm here to help!
Chat started
You — Please update your info
Is the 'Day' avocado Type A or Type B?
Logee's Customer Service
Hello. It is a type A
You — Please update your info
Thank you. is it same variety as 'Holiday'?
Logee's Customer Service
That I do not know unfortunately. The one we carry is a day avocado grafted onto a hos [haas?] avocado.
You — Please update your info
OK. Thank you for your help. Bye.
Logee's Customer Service
You are welcome!
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image02.jpg
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image04.jpg
https://www.avopro.org/images/site/avoca ... vogrow.gif
***
So, mid-day hours on sufficiently warm days are when the magic happens.
Today's Day blossoms photographed around 11-12PM
#1,2,3
#4,5,6
...what do you see? Wouldn't you say #4 looks like it's in female phase? What about #3?
Took a few more photos, this time with time stamp
#7,8,9
#10,11,12
First a refresher on avocado blossom anatomy
Avocado male and female phase flowers
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image03.jpg
Avocado, Alligator Pear 'Day' (Persea americana)
Flower in male phase. This variety is B-type, meaning it's male in the morning and female in the evening.
by victorengel Mar 20, 2011 12:32 PM
https://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2011/0 ... b2528a.jpg
^^^ This appears to be **incorrect** ^^^
My observations didn't seem to match up with male/female phase of Type B so I went and asked in Logee's Customer Service chat room just now:
Logee's Customer Service
I'm here to help!
Chat started
You — Please update your info
Is the 'Day' avocado Type A or Type B?
Logee's Customer Service
Hello. It is a type A
You — Please update your info
Thank you. is it same variety as 'Holiday'?
Logee's Customer Service
That I do not know unfortunately. The one we carry is a day avocado grafted onto a hos [haas?] avocado.
You — Please update your info
OK. Thank you for your help. Bye.
Logee's Customer Service
You are welcome!
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image02.jpg
https://ucavo.ucr.edu/Images/Flowering/Image04.jpg
https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/avocados/cr ... page=0%2C2
*Once the temperature increased closer to 25/15°C maximum/minimum, the flowering cycle started to behave more as expected with some overlap period in the middle of the day (Figure 7).*
Figure 7 Flowering stages of Hass in Manjimup/Pemberton for three days during warm conditions, where the maximum temperature is for the actual date and minimum temperature for the previous night in degrees Celsius. The labelled times are actual recorded stages.
https://www.avopro.org/images/site/avoca ... vogrow.gif
***
So, mid-day hours on sufficiently warm days are when the magic happens.
Today's Day blossoms photographed around 11-12PM
#1,2,3
...what do you see? Wouldn't you say #4 looks like it's in female phase? What about #3?
Took a few more photos, this time with time stamp
#7,8,9
Last edited by applestar on Mon Feb 01, 2016 8:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Found out 'Day' is actually Type A which matches Australian & New Zealand website finding that A can be self fertile.
Reason: Found out 'Day' is actually Type A which matches Australian & New Zealand website finding that A can be self fertile.
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applestar
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I took a series of time-stamped close-up photos of the Day avocado blossoms today and placed a thermometer on the Day avocado branch at approximately the same level. (67°F/19.4°C, 68°F/20°C)
Anyone else intrigued by the results?
Almost 9AM
11:30AM
2:30PM
By 5PM most of the blossoms were closed. (67°F)
...and yeah, did you notice the ants? I wonder if they might help to pollinate the blossoms and help set fruits.... ?
Anyone else intrigued by the results?
Almost 9AM
...and yeah, did you notice the ants? I wonder if they might help to pollinate the blossoms and help set fruits.... ?
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applestar
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I'm bummed. I was going to take a series of photos again yesterday, but a 2-hr errand ran into 5 hours, and I missed the chance. I'm running out of blossoms in this cluster. Maybe I'll get more chances later though....
-----
Here is my avo jungle in the Green Room. Day is to the bottom left, Avo#1 on the right in white 5-gal and Avo#2 in the back left and Mango#1 in the back right. Avo#1 and #2 are my oldest seed grown avos. I do have others but they are elsewhere. There are also some seed grown citruses here, as well as the tea and dormant stevia, and a couple of other plants.
Avo#1 and #2 have reached a phase with what seems like a completely different branch tip growth pattern -- very close leaf internodes with multitudes of buds but in the nodes as well as unexpectedly along the branches. But so far, none of the growths are beginning of floral clusters. I've included a photo of an emerging floral cluster on Day at bottom right of the collage.
-----
Here is my avo jungle in the Green Room. Day is to the bottom left, Avo#1 on the right in white 5-gal and Avo#2 in the back left and Mango#1 in the back right. Avo#1 and #2 are my oldest seed grown avos. I do have others but they are elsewhere. There are also some seed grown citruses here, as well as the tea and dormant stevia, and a couple of other plants.
Avo#1 and #2 have reached a phase with what seems like a completely different branch tip growth pattern -- very close leaf internodes with multitudes of buds but in the nodes as well as unexpectedly along the branches. But so far, none of the growths are beginning of floral clusters.
I've included a photo of an emerging floral cluster on Day at bottom right of the collage.-
applestar
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OK, today series, though the number of blossoms are a bit sparse....
...I discovered that the other grafted scion that I thought wasn't 'Day' but either Avo#1 or Avo#2 had been struggling to push a floral stalk out of the Parafilm-M and had managed to get a couple of blossoms to open today -- so this must actually be 'Day'
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applestar
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So, no luck on getting the Day avocados to set fruits again.
-- based on this year's specific male/female blossom observations, I think it's because the bloom timing = COLDEST period of deep freeze in winter. It's just not quite warm enough downstairs for the blossoms to open according to the "normal" schedule when the overlap of male and female blossoms would occur.
Next winter, I will lug that tree upstairs where it will be about 5°F warmer on the average.
All of the avos and mango are waking up to the longer daylight hours. Here are Avo #1 and #2 and Mango #1:
-- based on this year's specific male/female blossom observations, I think it's because the bloom timing = COLDEST period of deep freeze in winter. It's just not quite warm enough downstairs for the blossoms to open according to the "normal" schedule when the overlap of male and female blossoms would occur.
Next winter, I will lug that tree upstairs where it will be about 5°F warmer on the average.
All of the avos and mango are waking up to the longer daylight hours. Here are Avo #1 and #2 and Mango #1:
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applestar
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...and I have a new baby growing
Trying the water method in response to recent inquiries here -- just to review what happens. As you can see, the seed has split at the bottom and a root is starting to emerge. (Yes, that is a K-cup with the bottom cut off.)
Started on 2/13, so within my usual experience of 3-4 weeks
Trying the water method in response to recent inquiries here -- just to review what happens. As you can see, the seed has split at the bottom and a root is starting to emerge. (Yes, that is a K-cup with the bottom cut off.)
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applestar
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The original large Day avocado tree continued to deteriorate and died. So I am extra happy that two of my attempts to graft Day cuttings/scions to seed-grown avos (probably Haas) rootstock were successful.
I put one upstairs where it is warmer, and the other downstairs in the Green Room but further in the corner where it would be a bit more insulated from the back door drafts. And the upstairs one is starting to swell flower buds -- they will probably open within the next week? The downstairs one is slightly behind. So here we go again!
I put one upstairs where it is warmer, and the other downstairs in the Green Room but further in the corner where it would be a bit more insulated from the back door drafts. And the upstairs one is starting to swell flower buds -- they will probably open within the next week? The downstairs one is slightly behind. So here we go again!
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applestar
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This morning, I was VERY excited to discover this very first blossom EVER on my AVO.1 -- oldest seed grown avocado
The other two successfully grafted 'Day' avo's (on the right) are blooming as expected, but I'm not going to push them to set fruits by trying to hand pollinate this year. Once the AVO.1 begins to bloom with fuller inflorescence, I think their opportunities for cross pollinization will increase significantly. ...maybe even next spring?
This spring and during the growing season, I will fertilize them more while concentrate on pruning and shaping these so I will be able to situate them optimally next fall when they are brought back inside. I'll also try grafting the pruned upper branches from AVO.1 to some of the younger seed-grown avos
The other two successfully grafted 'Day' avo's (on the right) are blooming as expected, but I'm not going to push them to set fruits by trying to hand pollinate this year. Once the AVO.1 begins to bloom with fuller inflorescence, I think their opportunities for cross pollinization will increase significantly. ...maybe even next spring?
This spring and during the growing season, I will fertilize them more while concentrate on pruning and shaping these so I will be able to situate them optimally next fall when they are brought back inside. I'll also try grafting the pruned upper branches from AVO.1 to some of the younger seed-grown avos