Wanted Avocado scion/cuttings for grafting

[Avocado Man]

Hello everyone! New to the forum, decided to finally join, big fan of the channel and also a long time fruit and veg grower mostly in pots. This year I'm growing on a small plot of land so we see how it turns out.

Anyway, I was really hoping that someone could help me out, I've got a 13 year old avocado tree that has never fruited and possibly never will as its grown from seed.

I'm looking for some kind person to share some scion/cuttings from a flowering tree, Id be happy to cover postage and any other costs. Thanks!

 

[ClissAT]

Hi avo man and welcome!
Does your tree flower?
Perhaps it needs a polinator.
This is something you need to be very careful about when selecting scion material.
Also I think there is something to do with the root stock influencing the sex of the graft even after it has succeeded.
So even if you are able to get a graft to take that doesn't need a polinator, you might still only end up with a very few fruit.
Another reason why flowers don't set is disease such as anthracnose which is a fungal infection that sets the pollen preventing it getting into the ovary of the female flower.
Copper foliar spray 3-4 times during the year will fix that.
To be honest I think avos are too hard for the home gardener to be bothered about. They cause too much heartache for the amount (or lack) of fruit!
And the amount of chemical sprays required is horrendous.
Its impossible to have organic avos in this country no matter how much you squint or pretend!
Unless you like eating diseased or mineral deficient fruit that a Brix meter would jump out of your hand to escape from!

 

[Avocado Man]

Hi avo man and welcome!
Does your tree flower?
Perhaps it needs a polinator.
This is something you need to be very careful about when selecting scion material.
Also I think there is something to do with the root stock influencing the sex of the graft even after it has succeeded.
So even if you are able to get a graft to take that doesn't need a polinator, you might still only end up with a very few fruit.
Another reason why flowers don't set is disease such as anthracnose which is a fungal infection that sets the pollen preventing it getting into the ovary of the female flower.
Copper foliar spray 3-4 times during the year will fix that.
To be honest I think avos are too hard for the home gardener to be bothered about. They cause too much heartache for the amount (or lack) of fruit!
And the amount of chemical sprays required is horrendous.
Its impossible to have organic avos in this country no matter how much you squint or pretend!
Unless you like eating diseased or mineral deficient fruit that a Brix meter would jump out of your hand to escape from!

Hi! thanks for the welcome, nope it's never ever flowered. Haha, I'm not worried about getting tons of fruit, even if I got a single one it is totally worth it. I managed to graft it a few years ago but I never realised that after grafting the scion wood I should remove the grafting tape (once the growth starts). Sadly the grafts died. But looking at the grafts now the fusion was perfect so my technique was spot on. Unfortunately I have had a lot of trouble getting hold of more scion wood to try again. Is there any chance you could help or know of someone that can?

 

[ClissAT]

So something you can do now to get the tree ready for a new round of grafting is to start spraying it with copper sulphate about 6times yearly.
This will kill any fungal infections hiding in the bark.
Thats what killed your grafts before. Yes its very important to remove the tape as soon as new growth is detected.
Now regarding the actual scion material.
There are two ways to get the material you need. First is someone living nearby provides some cuttings.
The second way is to buy a new tree that will grow in your area. That is, the rootstock is suitable for your area and the varieties grafted onto the dwarfing stem stock are known for sure to tolerate your cool climate and be self fertile. Once the tree is settled and doing well with new growth, begin taking one scion at a time only, and grafting it onto your big tree. Only take one scion because removing more material can shock the new tree and kill it. I know thats a more longer term solution but might end up being your best bet in the long run.
Back to the first way.
There are very strict biosecurity regulations throughout Australia.
For example, nothing can go to Tasmania without considerable prior efforts and paperwork. Plant material must go via a specific plant transport agency so it can be quarantined and sterilized and the history of the material must be completely documented.
Eastern states can move material around but I think avocado, being a commercial primary industry, is a controlled material so only registered nurseries can move it around.
Bananas used to fall into this category also until mid last year when the scientists finally lost control of the infectious diseases running rife in people's backyards that plagued the industry from time to time. Now its up to the farmers to be aware of the pitfalls of moving material around and introducing new material to an area.
Nothing can go to Western Australia from eastern Australia.
Unless you lived within 100ks of me in the subtropics, I would be reluctant to provide material if I had any.
I don't have avos because they are too hard to grow in my area.
So the way I see it, buying your own tree to harvest from is probably your best long term bet. That young tree will also be disease free as well which is a huge bonus.

 

[Bushboy]

The old trick to make it fruit is make it think its being attacked, take an axe to the trunk and chop a bit into it. I did that with our avo, seed grown also and it fruited within 6 months. Like humans, if some trees are too comfortable they take a long time or dont fruit at all.