Anyone grow avocado trees?

[Lisa0825]

I have been thinking about planting a couple trees as a long-term project since I know they usually do not produce fruit for the first couple years. I am considering avocado, a citrus, and/or banana. Of the three, the one I would prefer most is avocado. The type of avocado I eat most from the grocery store is Hass, but the tyoe I have seen in the garden store is different (I don't recall the name). I know that you should not grow from the pit. Does anyone here grow avocados? What variety? Any input on getting staretd?

What about citrus and/or bananas? Does a "dwarf banana" mean small tree, small fruit, or both?

[NMDemDist2]

1. citrus will do fine in TX but avos and nannas need quite a bit of humidity I think

make friends with someone at your local Nursery and see what they suggest....

[Lisa0825]

2. It gets very humid down here on the gulf coast.

I know people do grow them around here, and I saw them at the garden center, but not the Hass kind. If it is going to take me 2-4 years to get fruit, I'd like to make sure it's good fruit! I have tried some varieties of avocado from the store that had really different flavor and texture from Hass.

It's not so easy to make friends with nursery people... they are always so busy when I am there, and everyone wants to be their friend! LOL

[NMDemDist2]

3. well if you know they grow in your area, give em a try!

I know we had HUGE plantain trees in NOLA not sure how different they are from bananas though...

[Gormy Cuss]

4. I wish! We have too many light frosts to grow them here.

The smooth-skinned varieties were common in Florida (Fuerte's one type but I think there are others) and Florida-happy ones would probably do well on the Gulf. Hass used to be principally grown in California.

I have a yard full of citrus, all dwarf or semi-dwarf trees. The designation "dwarf lemon" means the tree size, not the fruit. Citrus needs to be fed and protected from hard frosts but is generally pretty easy going in my experience. My climate is very different however (CA dry summer/wet winter Zone 9.)

Most of my trees were purchased locally but came from this company:
http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/variety_list.html