Avocado reached the roof.
 

A friend of ours lives in Exeter, they have an Avocado they have grown
for about 5 years in their conservatory, and it has now reached the
roof.

It has been suggested that they try it outside - but I reckon Exeter
will be too cold in the winter. I think it would need to be somewhere
very mild with no real frosts to have a chance of making it. Though I'm
not sure how bothered they are about it surviving.

any experience with this?

My though is to just cut it back and hopefully it will re-sprout
--
Chris French

Avocado reached the roof.
 

On Thu, 26 Aug 2010 10:45:42 +0100, chris French
wrote:

A friend of ours lives in Exeter, they have an Avocado they have grown
for about 5 years in their conservatory, and it has now reached the
roof.

It has been suggested that they try it outside - but I reckon Exeter
will be too cold in the winter. I think it would need to be somewhere
very mild with no real frosts to have a chance of making it. Though I'm
not sure how bothered they are about it surviving.

any experience with this?

My though is to just cut it back and hopefully it will re-sprout

I had an Avocado that reached the roof and then started to grow at a
angle along the roof. It was a major job to move it so I just let it
grow. Eventually three of us managed to move it out to the garden. It
did very well until Winter when it died which wasn't surprising for a
warm climate tree.

Steve

--
EasyNN-plus. Neural Networks plus. www.easynn.com
SwingNN. Forecast with Neural Networks. www.swingnn.com
JustNN. Just Neural Networks. www.justnn.com

Neural Planner Software Ltd www.NPSL1.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/npsl1

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"chris French" wrote in message
A friend of ours lives in Exeter, they have an Avocado they have grown for
about 5 years in their conservatory, and it has now reached the roof.

It has been suggested that they try it outside - but I reckon Exeter will
be too cold in the winter. I think it would need to be somewhere very mild
with no real frosts to have a chance of making it. Though I'm not sure how
bothered they are about it surviving.

Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection when
young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space so
sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The following cite
may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening experts (but of the
alternative variety so what she tries, and can manage to grow, often goes
against conventional wisdom). She lives in an area where it can get down
to -9C at worst but would regularly get to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Avocado reached the roof.
 

In article , newspost-c-
says...
A friend of ours lives in Exeter, they have an Avocado they have grown
for about 5 years in their conservatory, and it has now reached the
roof.

It has been suggested that they try it outside - but I reckon Exeter
will be too cold in the winter. I think it would need to be somewhere
very mild with no real frosts to have a chance of making it. Though I'm
not sure how bothered they are about it surviving.

any experience with this?

My though is to just cut it back and hopefully it will re-sprout

Clive at Hardy Exotics tells me that several of his customers in London
are cropping theirs!, you really need an extreme coastal or city garden
but it can be done
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection when
young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space so
sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The following
cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening experts (but of
the alternative variety so what she tries, and can manage to grow, often
goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in an area where it can get
down to -9C at worst but would regularly get to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above with
a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives in gets
as cold as she claims it does.
http://www.jackiefrench.com/garden.html

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
u...
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection when
young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space so
sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The following
cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening experts (but of
the alternative variety so what she tries, and can manage to grow, often
goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in an area where it can get
down to -9C at worst but would regularly get to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives in
gets as cold as she claims it does.

So what? She knows nothing of growing plants in a cold climate. She grows
plants in a warm temperate climate with occasional frosts. This is a quote
from her "The Magic Grove" page:

How To Start a Grove
Step 1.
Start your grove with a single, very hardy tree that you will survive severe
frost, hellish winds, summers over 45C and drought...a bunya, loquat,
macadamia...

So Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) is "very hardy", is it?! It may grow on
Tresco (I can't remember if there is one there) but is there a plant
surviving anywhere on the UK mainland? I doubt it. To quote from the
Wikipedia entry "Once established Bunyas are quite hardy and can be grown as
far south as Hobart in Australia (42° S) and Christchurch in New Zealand
(43° S) and (at least) as far north as Sacramento in California (38° N) and
Lisbon (in the botanical garden)." Even the extreme south of the British
mainland (50°N) is 10° north of these areas.

And as for macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia of tetraphylla), no chance!
Another quote from Wikipedia "Macadamias prefer ... temperatures not falling
below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light frosts)...".

She has got a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) right. That will withstand heavy
frosts. But if you are waiting for a good crop of fruit in the UK, you'd be
better off looking in your local supermarket.

--

Jeff

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Sacha" wrote in message
On 2010-08-26 14:31:50 +0100, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given said:

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection
when
young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space so
sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The following
cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening experts (but of
the alternative variety so what she tries, and can manage to grow, often
goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in an area where it can
get
down to -9C at worst but would regularly get to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with
a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives in
gets
as cold as she claims it does.
http://www.jackiefrench.com/garden.html

In Australia? This is UK.rec.gardening!

Plants don't know the difference between the UK and a cold climate area of
Oz. There are many plants that grow in the UK that I can't grow because
it's too cold here.

In Cornwall last year it went
to -11C in some areas and that's the balmy south west. ;-( We can grow
stuff here that will take down to -5C but not for prolonged periods of icy
days *and* nights.

Yes and you were complaining about the weather because it was worse than
normal. The max and min winter temps in Exeter are about the same as where
that Author lives if Wikipedia can be relied upon.

There are bunyas at Bussaco in inland central Portugal. Enormous ones, they've been there about 100 years. It's also up quite a big hill, but Wikipedia won't tell me how high, but I'm guessing round about 500m/1500ft, as the highest point in the range of hills it sits on is 600m. But you get a hot summer there and that makes a big difference to winter survivability.

But "some areas" of Cornwall, which can be inland and a frost pocket, are not at all the same as locations at sea-level on south-facing inlets of the sea. I know someone living in Cornwall inland and he expects -6C frosts in a normal year. It is hilly around Exeter, and it makes quite a difference to your microclimate whether you are up a hill in the north of the city or facing the estuary to the south. It also makes an important difference whether you are in a location affected by cold air draining out of inland valley systems.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection
when young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space
so sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The
following cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening
experts (but of the alternative variety so what she tries, and can
manage to grow, often goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in
an area where it can get down to -9C at worst but would regularly get
to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives
in gets as cold as she claims it does.

So what? She knows nothing of growing plants in a cold climate. She grows
plants in a warm temperate climate with occasional frosts. This is a
quote from her "The Magic Grove" page:

How To Start a Grove
Step 1.
Start your grove with a single, very hardy tree that you will survive
severe frost, hellish winds, summers over 45C and drought...a bunya,
loquat, macadamia...

So Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) is "very hardy", is it?! It may grow on
Tresco (I can't remember if there is one there) but is there a plant
surviving anywhere on the UK mainland? I doubt it. To quote from the
Wikipedia entry "Once established Bunyas are quite hardy and can be grown
as far south as Hobart in Australia (42° S) and Christchurch in New
Zealand (43° S) and (at least) as far north as Sacramento in California
(38° N) and Lisbon (in the botanical garden)." Even the extreme south of
the British mainland (50°N) is 10° north of these areas.

And as for macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia of tetraphylla), no chance!
Another quote from Wikipedia "Macadamias prefer ... temperatures not
falling below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light
frosts)...".

She has got a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) right. That will withstand
heavy frosts. But if you are waiting for a good crop of fruit in the UK,
you'd be better off looking in your local supermarket.

You've raised some interesting questions. She's a top grower of all sorts
of things weird and wonderful and she does things that most people say just
can't be done and that no mere mortal should be able to do in her climate.
Growing coffee and many of the other things she does should be absolutley
impossible where she lives but apparently she does it.

I wouldn't even consider a A. bidwillii or a macadamia if I wanted to plant
a hardy tree, I'd use a radiata pine Or failign that, a realy big rose.

However, since the question was about growing an avocado in Exeter which
must be one of the mildest climes in the UK that is what we should
concentrate on and since Charlie Pridham says that avacodo can grow in
London and I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

But yougot me interested about A. bidwilliii so I did a quick google.
Apparently they have been grown in Cornwall at places called Glendurgan,
Penjarrick and Mount Edgecumbe. Never heard of any of these place, but I
imagine that they'd have to be quite big gardens. No-one with less than 3
or 4 acres should consider growing an A. Bidwillii if they were smart (and
even then I'd wonder why). The are as ugly as sin, have bark like an
elephant's bottom once mature, grow way too big on anything less than major
acreage and the nuts on those things are lethal.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...
"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection
when young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space
so sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The
following cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening
experts (but of the alternative variety so what she tries, and can
manage to grow, often goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in
an area where it can get down to -9C at worst but would regularly get
to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives
in gets as cold as she claims it does.

So what? She knows nothing of growing plants in a cold climate. She
grows plants in a warm temperate climate with occasional frosts. This is
a quote from her "The Magic Grove" page:

How To Start a Grove
Step 1.
Start your grove with a single, very hardy tree that you will survive
severe frost, hellish winds, summers over 45C and drought...a bunya,
loquat, macadamia...

So Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) is "very hardy", is it?! It may grow on
Tresco (I can't remember if there is one there) but is there a plant
surviving anywhere on the UK mainland? I doubt it. To quote from the
Wikipedia entry "Once established Bunyas are quite hardy and can be grown
as far south as Hobart in Australia (42° S) and Christchurch in New
Zealand (43° S) and (at least) as far north as Sacramento in California
(38° N) and Lisbon (in the botanical garden)." Even the extreme south of
the British mainland (50°N) is 10° north of these areas.

And as for macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia of tetraphylla), no chance!
Another quote from Wikipedia "Macadamias prefer ... temperatures not
falling below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light
frosts)...".

She has got a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) right. That will withstand
heavy frosts. But if you are waiting for a good crop of fruit in the UK,
you'd be better off looking in your local supermarket.

You've raised some interesting questions. She's a top grower of all sorts
of things weird and wonderful and she does things that most people say
just can't be done and that no mere mortal should be able to do in her
climate. Growing coffee and many of the other things she does should be
absolutley impossible where she lives but apparently she does it.

I wouldn't even consider a A. bidwillii or a macadamia if I wanted to
plant a hardy tree, I'd use a radiata pine Or failign that, a realy big
rose.

However, since the question was about growing an avocado in Exeter which
must be one of the mildest climes in the UK that is what we should
concentrate on and since Charlie Pridham says that avacodo can grow in
London and I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

But yougot me interested about A. bidwilliii so I did a quick google.
Apparently they have been grown in Cornwall at places called Glendurgan,
Penjarrick and Mount Edgecumbe. Never heard of any of these place, but I
imagine that they'd have to be quite big gardens. No-one with less than 3
or 4 acres should consider growing an A. Bidwillii if they were smart (and
even then I'd wonder why). The are as ugly as sin, have bark like an
elephant's bottom once mature, grow way too big on anything less than
major acreage and the nuts on those things are lethal.

London has a microclimate all of its own. I doubt there are many true
frosts in central London which are prolonged into the day. There are many
plants which could be grown there which would probably not survive in even
south-west Cornwall, and with the added bonus of a large, south-facing wall
to act as a storage heater, I am sure quite a few "tropical" fruits are in
reach. It would be interesting to see a photo of an Avocado tree fruiting
in Exeter, although I doubt it could be done outside of glass protection!

I remain unconvinced about A. bidwillii. The photo here
http://teegee8.smugmug.com/Nature/Gl...04556979_afj3B
looks very much like A. araucana to me. If you compare it with
http://anpsa.org.au/a-bid.html or
http://www.maltawildplants.com/ARAU/...idwillii_t.jpg
you will se what I mean. I have emailed Glendurgan to see if they have - or
had - A. bidwillii there.

The ref here
http://www.growingontheedge.net/view...e024c 7a8e2ac
to A. bidwillii actually has a photo of A. araucana at Penjerrick! The page
does refer to bidwillii, but growing on Madeira.

--

Jeff

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
...
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

You've raised some interesting questions. She's a top grower of all
sorts of things weird and wonderful and she does things that most people
say just can't be done and that no mere mortal should be able to do in
her climate. Growing coffee and many of the other things she does should
be absolutley impossible where she lives but apparently she does it.

I wouldn't even consider a A. bidwillii or a macadamia if I wanted to
plant a hardy tree, I'd use a radiata pine Or failign that, a realy big
rose.

However, since the question was about growing an avocado in Exeter which
must be one of the mildest climes in the UK that is what we should
concentrate on and since Charlie Pridham says that avacodo can grow in
London and I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

But yougot me interested about A. bidwilliii so I did a quick google.
Apparently they have been grown in Cornwall at places called Glendurgan,
Penjarrick and Mount Edgecumbe. Never heard of any of these place, but I
imagine that they'd have to be quite big gardens. No-one with less than
3 or 4 acres should consider growing an A. Bidwillii if they were smart
(and even then I'd wonder why). The are as ugly as sin, have bark like
an elephant's bottom once mature, grow way too big on anything less than
major acreage and the nuts on those things are lethal.

London has a microclimate all of its own. I doubt there are many true
frosts in central London which are prolonged into the day. There are many
plants which could be grown there which would probably not survive in even
south-west Cornwall, and with the added bonus of a large, south-facing
wall to act as a storage heater, I am sure quite a few "tropical" fruits
are in reach. It would be interesting to see a photo of an Avocado tree
fruiting in Exeter, although I doubt it could be done outside of glass
protection!

I remain unconvinced about A. bidwillii. The photo here
http://teegee8.smugmug.com/Nature/Gl...04556979_afj3B
looks very much like A. araucana to me. If you compare it with
http://anpsa.org.au/a-bid.html or
http://www.maltawildplants.com/ARAU/...idwillii_t.jpg
you will se what I mean. I have emailed Glendurgan to see if they have -
or had - A. bidwillii there.

Well, I stand corrected! I have had a very quick reply from Glendurgan:

"There was an original that grew at Glendurgan many years ago and was
lost in a cold winter once it had reached a reasonable size. The present
tree is young but been planted now for approx 10 years and is growing
well. Although it has not enjoyed the last two winters!"

I hope it survives long enough for me to get down there to see it!

--

Jeff

Avocado reached the roof.
 

In message , chris French
writes
A friend of ours lives in Exeter, they have an Avocado they have grown
for about 5 years in their conservatory, and it has now reached the
roof.


Thanks for everyone's comments, they've decided to prune it back, so we
will see how it goes.
--
Chris French

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Sacha" wrote in message
On 2010-08-27 09:14:55 +0100, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given said:
"Sacha" wrote in message
On 2010-08-26 14:31:50 +0100, "FarmI" ask@itshall be given said:
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection
when
young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need space so
sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The following
cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening experts (but
of
the alternative variety so what she tries, and can manage to grow,
often
goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in an area where it can
get
down to -9C at worst but would regularly get to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with
a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives in
gets
as cold as she claims it does.
http://www.jackiefrench.com/garden.html

In Australia? This is UK.rec.gardening!

Plants don't know the difference between the UK and a cold climate area
of
Oz. There are many plants that grow in the UK that I can't grow because
it's too cold here.

And there are many plants that we can grow here from Oz and NZ which won't
grow 3 miles away. That doesn't mean an Avocado tree *will* survive
outdoors in UK but it *might* for ever or for 2 years and then get knocked
down by a bad winter. Our problem this winter was not just cold but
*prolonged* cold. Many things will take a brief period of frost but not
several days. Cornwall, one of the very mildest areas of UK normally,
has had two bad winters in succession both in terms of temps and the
length of time those low temps hung around. IIRC some areas went to -11C.
Only yesterday someone asked my husband if a plant would come through the
winter and he said "only if you can tell me what this winter will be
like"!

So how different to your climate is Exeter's?

In Cornwall last year it went
to -11C in some areas and that's the balmy south west. ;-( We can grow
stuff here that will take down to -5C but not for prolonged periods of
icy
days *and* nights.

Yes and you were complaining about the weather because it was worse than
normal. The max and min winter temps in Exeter are about the same as
where
that Author lives if Wikipedia can be relied upon.

Exeter is probably warmer than here, being a city. We're a few miles only
from Dartmoor but rarely get the snow or ice they can get there.
England's climate is just too unpredictable and too varied over small
distances to be absolutely sure of anything with regard to winter or
summer weather. I just talked to someone in Chepstow, two hours drive
from here, who is chasing wasps away while we have a pale grey and boring
cloud cover. About two weeks ago temperatures varied by about 10 degrees
C within two days.

Well recalling the time we drove from Kings Cross station to Betwys-y-Coed
and it took 4 hours, 2 hours from you would halfway across the country.
It'd take me 2 days to get halfway across the country. You can just imagine
what it's like here in Oz. We look at the chart of what's happening in the
Tropics and wonder what the heack we're doing living where it's 6 months of
winter, hard frost for most of that time and where there has been snow on
Christmas day when it should be stinking hot.

Anyway I still think it's worth a try to grow it outside. It certainly
isn't going to do anything in a conservatory except take up space.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
Avocado can grow in frosty areas but they need good frost protection
when young. They grow in to quite large trees eventually so need
space so sacrifical trees as protection is worth thinking about. The
following cite may help. It is about one of Australia's gardening
experts (but of the alternative variety so what she tries, and can
manage to grow, often goes against conventional wisdom). She lives in
an area where it can get down to -9C at worst but would regularly get
to -4C:
http://www.jackiefrench.com/groves.html

Here is a series of pics of the garden of the author I mentioned above
with a pic of an avocado with fruit. I do know that the area she lives
in gets as cold as she claims it does.

So what? She knows nothing of growing plants in a cold climate. She
grows plants in a warm temperate climate with occasional frosts. This
is a quote from her "The Magic Grove" page:

How To Start a Grove
Step 1.
Start your grove with a single, very hardy tree that you will survive
severe frost, hellish winds, summers over 45C and drought...a bunya,
loquat, macadamia...

So Bunya (Araucaria bidwillii) is "very hardy", is it?! It may grow on
Tresco (I can't remember if there is one there) but is there a plant
surviving anywhere on the UK mainland? I doubt it. To quote from the
Wikipedia entry "Once established Bunyas are quite hardy and can be
grown as far south as Hobart in Australia (42° S) and Christchurch in
New Zealand (43° S) and (at least) as far north as Sacramento in
California (38° N) and Lisbon (in the botanical garden)." Even the
extreme south of the British mainland (50°N) is 10° north of these
areas.

And as for macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia of tetraphylla), no chance!
Another quote from Wikipedia "Macadamias prefer ... temperatures not
falling below 10 °C (although once established they can withstand light
frosts)...".

She has got a loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) right. That will withstand
heavy frosts. But if you are waiting for a good crop of fruit in the
UK, you'd be better off looking in your local supermarket.

You've raised some interesting questions. She's a top grower of all
sorts of things weird and wonderful and she does things that most people
say just can't be done and that no mere mortal should be able to do in
her climate. Growing coffee and many of the other things she does should
be absolutley impossible where she lives but apparently she does it.

I wouldn't even consider a A. bidwillii or a macadamia if I wanted to
plant a hardy tree, I'd use a radiata pine Or failign that, a realy big
rose.

However, since the question was about growing an avocado in Exeter which
must be one of the mildest climes in the UK that is what we should
concentrate on and since Charlie Pridham says that avacodo can grow in
London and I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

But yougot me interested about A. bidwilliii so I did a quick google.
Apparently they have been grown in Cornwall at places called Glendurgan,
Penjarrick and Mount Edgecumbe. Never heard of any of these place, but I
imagine that they'd have to be quite big gardens. No-one with less than
3 or 4 acres should consider growing an A. Bidwillii if they were smart
(and even then I'd wonder why). The are as ugly as sin, have bark like
an elephant's bottom once mature, grow way too big on anything less than
major acreage and the nuts on those things are lethal.

London has a microclimate all of its own. I doubt there are many true
frosts in central London which are prolonged into the day. There are many
plants which could be grown there which would probably not survive in even
south-west Cornwall, and with the added bonus of a large, south-facing
wall to act as a storage heater, I am sure quite a few "tropical" fruits
are in reach. It would be interesting to see a photo of an Avocado tree
fruiting in Exeter, although I doubt it could be done outside of glass
protection!

The OP didn't ask about getting it to fruit so we have no idea if this is
the aim. From the qusetion asked, it seems the OP might jsut want it to
live and is thus worried aobut frosts. IF they've grown it from a seed (and
that would be probalbe) then it would take a long time to fruit anyway. I
know that avocadoes can survive frosts.

I remain unconvinced about A. bidwillii. The photo here
http://teegee8.smugmug.com/Nature/Gl...04556979_afj3B
looks very much like A. araucana to me. If you compare it with
http://anpsa.org.au/a-bid.html or
http://www.maltawildplants.com/ARAU/...idwillii_t.jpg
you will se what I mean. I have emailed Glendurgan to see if they have -
or had - A. bidwillii there.

The ref here
http://www.growingontheedge.net/view...e024c 7a8e2ac
to A. bidwillii actually has a photo of A. araucana at Penjerrick! The
page does refer to bidwillii, but growing on Madeira.

I don't really care if A. bidwillii will grow in the UK or not. It's not a
plant I like and nor is it what the OP asked about. I just did a google to
see if it got a mention as growing in the UK. It did.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message

You've raised some interesting questions. She's a top grower of all
sorts of things weird and wonderful and she does things that most people
say just can't be done and that no mere mortal should be able to do in
her climate. Growing coffee and many of the other things she does should
be absolutley impossible where she lives but apparently she does it.

I wouldn't even consider a A. bidwillii or a macadamia if I wanted to
plant a hardy tree, I'd use a radiata pine Or failign that, a realy big
rose.

However, since the question was about growing an avocado in Exeter which
must be one of the mildest climes in the UK that is what we should
concentrate on and since Charlie Pridham says that avacodo can grow in
London and I can't see why it wouldn't be worth a try.

But yougot me interested about A. bidwilliii so I did a quick google.
Apparently they have been grown in Cornwall at places called Glendurgan,
Penjarrick and Mount Edgecumbe. Never heard of any of these place, but
I imagine that they'd have to be quite big gardens. No-one with less
than 3 or 4 acres should consider growing an A. Bidwillii if they were
smart (and even then I'd wonder why). The are as ugly as sin, have bark
like an elephant's bottom once mature, grow way too big on anything less
than major acreage and the nuts on those things are lethal.

London has a microclimate all of its own. I doubt there are many true
frosts in central London which are prolonged into the day. There are
many plants which could be grown there which would probably not survive
in even south-west Cornwall, and with the added bonus of a large,
south-facing wall to act as a storage heater, I am sure quite a few
"tropical" fruits are in reach. It would be interesting to see a photo
of an Avocado tree fruiting in Exeter, although I doubt it could be done
outside of glass protection!

I remain unconvinced about A. bidwillii. The photo here
http://teegee8.smugmug.com/Nature/Gl...04556979_afj3B
looks very much like A. araucana to me. If you compare it with
http://anpsa.org.au/a-bid.html or
http://www.maltawildplants.com/ARAU/...idwillii_t.jpg
you will se what I mean. I have emailed Glendurgan to see if they have -
or had - A. bidwillii there.

Well, I stand corrected! I have had a very quick reply from Glendurgan:

"There was an original that grew at Glendurgan many years ago and was
lost in a cold winter once it had reached a reasonable size. The present
tree is young but been planted now for approx 10 years and is growing
well. Although it has not enjoyed the last two winters!"

I hope it survives long enough for me to get down there to see it!

If you are that keen on them, come to Oz where there are some truly huge
brutes about. I must admit I can't understand the interest. But then the
Wollomi Pine is another plant that fails to interest me. The story of it's
discovery is interesting but the plant..... Nah!

Avocado reached the roof.
 

In article , Sacha wrote:

It's always worth a try unless someone is especially sentimental about
a plant. When I first found this nursery, I tried several things that
died in my then frost-pocket garden but which surviv here and
positively flourish in Salcombe, which is on the sea and about 45
minutes away by road. And ISTR that kiwi fruits (a type of Actinidia)
had gone wild in the Lost Gardens of Heligan and were found growing
right up into the mature trees behind the Italian Garden.

Actinidia chinensis is actually pretty tough, and is merely set back
by late frosts, though the consequence is likely to be no crop.
I was extremely surprised by the hardiness of Acca (Feijoa)
sellowiana, which I wasn't expecting to survive its roots freezing.
I was less surprised by pomegranate, but my pip-grown one hasn't
flowered.

Quite a lot of things are much tougher than the books say, but often
don't flower or fruit, which is why they are described as needing
proptection. Figs, for example - ours lost all of its new growth
late on and produced no fruit buds at all, but every significant
branch resprouted vigorously.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-08-28 10:21:50 +0100, said:

I was extremely surprised by the hardiness of Acca (Feijoa)
sellowiana, which I wasn't expecting to survive its roots freezing.
I was less surprised by pomegranate, but my pip-grown one hasn't
flowered.

Ray is still letting his Acca grow before risking it outdoors. I don't
know how it will do with us because we often find that things will go
through two or three winters quite happily and then suddenly be killed off
in another winter.

Acca is a lot hardier than it is given credit for. Only in this very cold
winter has mine lost some of its upper leaves, and looks like it will
replace those before too long. After such a hard winter, it still surprised
me by having around a dozen flowers (one may be turning into a fruit).
True, it is only 3 metres from the house (SE-facing side) and has the
protection of some other evergreen shrubs, but it is not bad for a Brazilian
shrub.

Quite a lot of things are much tougher than the books say, but often
don't flower or fruit, which is why they are described as needing
proptection. Figs, for example - ours lost all of its new growth
late on and produced no fruit buds at all, but every significant
branch resprouted vigorously.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

I'm not at all sure what *does* kill off a fig tree!

--

Jeff

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
...

I hope it survives long enough for me to get down there to see it!

If you are that keen on them, come to Oz where there are some truly huge
brutes about. I must admit I can't understand the interest. But then the
Wollomi Pine is another plant that fails to interest me. The story of
it's discovery is interesting but the plant..... Nah!

I am sorry to have to tell you that my favourite tree is Araucaria araucana!
I find the Araucariaceae a fascinating family (never mind Oz. If only
someone would give me a ticket to New Caledonia...) and if you could see the
Araucaria forests of Chile you would be very impressed.

Have to agree with you somewhat about the Wollomi Pine, though. I can't see
what all the fuss is about. In fact, despite the obvious resemblance, it
seems that the fact is was a member of the Araucariaceae was hidden for
quite some time.

Still, the most impressive flora in the world is that from WOz. So plenty
of other things for you to choose from if you don't like A. bidwillii. :-))

--

Jeff

Avocado reached the roof.
 

In article , Sacha wrote:

Again, it's one I saw first in a garden in Jersey but it was lost in a
harder than usual winter. But it was in an open border away from the
house so had only the protection of other planting, although it was
south facing. The same garden had the miniature pomegranate in a
walled garden but again, that fell victim to one especially hard
winter. Normally, Jersey gets them every five years or so but the last
two have been hard in CI terms. ...

Both of mine are in pots and survived the last winter largely without
problems. My guess is that, like so many things, it is the British
combination of cold and wet that writes them off. With good drainage,
they seem to be able to take cold. Certainly, pomegranate grows in
places that get very cold, and the Merkins classify it as zone 7
(-15 Celsius). Acca is only zone 8.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Avocado reached the roof.
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
"FarmI" ask@itshall be given wrote in message
I hope it survives long enough for me to get down there to see it!

If you are that keen on them, come to Oz where there are some truly huge
brutes about. I must admit I can't understand the interest. But then
the Wollomi Pine is another plant that fails to interest me. The story
of it's discovery is interesting but the plant..... Nah!

I am sorry to have to tell you that my favourite tree is Araucaria
araucana!

A case of 'to each their own' methinks.

I find the Araucariaceae a fascinating family (never mind Oz. If only
someone would give me a ticket to New Caledonia...) and if you could see
the Araucaria forests of Chile you would be very impressed.

I'm impressed with most forests so long as they aren't full of people. Much
more impressive than most cathedrals TMWOT. So yes, I'd probably be
impressed with the New Caledonia ones. A toally irrelevant aside - I wonder
in what way it was so like the Old Caledonia to get that name?

Have to agree with you somewhat about the Wollomi Pine, though. I can't
see what all the fuss is about. In fact, despite the obvious resemblance,
it seems that the fact is was a member of the Araucariaceae was hidden for
quite some time.

Still, the most impressive flora in the world is that from WOz. So plenty
of other things for you to choose from if you don't like A. bidwillii.
:-))

So many plants, so little time, so limiting a climate.......

Avocado reached the roof.
 

FarmI wrote:
[...]
A toally
irrelevant aside - I wonder in what way it was so like the Old
Caledonia to get that name?

From its rugged coast, it says here (Wikipee).

Have to agree with you somewhat about the Wollomi Pine, though. I
can't see what all the fuss is about. In fact, despite the obvious
resemblance, it seems that the fact is was a member of the
Araucariaceae was hidden for quite some time.

I'm tipping that the thing is going to be in the Leyland cypress league
pretty soon.
[...]

--
Mike.