Hey there. So, you’re trying to figure out this whole avocado tree pollination thing, aren’t you? I get it. I was over at a friend’s place in San Mateo last summer. He had this gorgeous, big avocado tree in his backyard. Lush leaves, strong branches—looked like something out of a magazine. But he was frustrated. “Not a single avocado for two years,” he told me. He was watering it right, giving it good food, everything. Turns out, he had no idea his tree was lonely. That’s right. Avocado trees get lonely.
It’s a way more common problem than people think around here, from the backyards of Burlingame to the communities in Cupertino. Everyone wants that dream of homegrown guacamole, but the trees just won’t cooperate. It’s not always about water or fertilizer. A lot of the time, it’s a simple party no one showed up to. A pollen party.
Let’s break it down simple, because it really isn’t as complicated as it sounds.
What’s the Deal with Avocado Flowers?
This is the key to the whole mystery. Avocado trees are pretty clever, but also a little weird. Their flowers pull a trick that not a lot of plants do. Each little flower opens twice. The first time it opens, it’s acting like a girl. It’s ready to get pollen from another flower. Then, it closes up shop for the night.
The next day, that same flower opened again, but now it’s changed. This time, he’s acting like a boy. It’s ready to give out its pollen to any bee that comes visiting. Botanists call this “protogynous dichogamy.” That’s a ten-dollar phrase that just means “first female, then male.”
Why does this matter? Well, if all the flowers on your tree are doing their girl and boy parts at different times, they might just miss each other completely. It’s like one shift clocking out just as the next shift is clocking in. No handoff. No fruit.
The Two Types of Avocado Trees
| Feature | Type A Avocado Trees | Type B Avocado Trees |
|---|---|---|
| Flowering Schedule | Female in the morning → Male in the afternoon | Male in the morning → Female in the afternoon |
| Pollination Benefit | Best when planted with a Type B nearby | Best when planted with a Type A nearby |
| Common Varieties | Hass, Pinkerton, Gwen, Lamb Hass | Fuerte, Bacon, Zutano, Sir Prize |
| Fruit Season (General) | Late spring to summer harvest | Winter to early spring harvest |
| Best for Home Growers | Hass (popular, creamy taste) | Fuerte (smooth and less oily) |
This is where it gets really important. To make sense of the flower shuffle, avocado trees are grouped into two types: A and B. This has nothing to do with quality. It’s all about their daily schedule.
- Type A Trees: Think of these as the “morning female, afternoon male” crowd. A flower opens in the morning as a female, ready to be pollinated. It closes up. The next afternoon, it re-opens as a male to shed its pollen. Popular Type A varieties are Hass (the most common one!), Gwen, and Reed. You see Hass everywhere around here.
- Type B Trees: These guys are the opposites. They’re the “afternoon female, morning male” group. A flower opens in the afternoon as a female. It closes, and then re-opens the very next morning as a male. Common Type Bs are Fuerte, Bacon, and Zutano.
So, you see the problem if you only have one tree? If you have a lone Hass (Type A), all its flowers are female in the morning and male in the afternoon. There’s no other tree around with flowers that are male in the morning to pollinate them! The timing is just off.
How Do You Get Avocados?
The best way to guarantee a good harvest is to have a buddy for your tree. You need a partner in crime from the other group. It’s like planting a best friend right next to it.
- If you have a Type A tree (Hass), plant a Type B tree (like a Bacon or Zutano) nearby.
- If you have a Type B tree (Fuerte), plant a Type A tree (like a Hass or Gwen) nearby.
Bees will do the rest of the work, moving the pollen from one tree to the other while they’re looking for nectar. You don’t need a huge orchard. Just one other tree within maybe 30 feet can make a world of difference. I’ve seen it work miracles for folks in Palo Alto whose trees were just for looks before.
Now, you might have heard that you can get fruit from just one tree. And that’s sometimes true. If the weather is just right—a little warm, a little breezy—sometimes a male flower from one part of the tree might pollinate a female flower on another part. Or, if you have neighbors with avocado trees, their trees might be close enough to help yours out. But it’s a gamble. If you want a reliable, heavy fruit set, planting a partner is the way to go.
Related: Avocado Tree Flowering Cycle: How Avocados Bloom and Fruit
What If I Don’t Have Room For Another Tree?
This is a big issue for a lot of Bay Area homes. Yards are smaller. You might only have space for one big tree. Don’t worry, all hope isn’t lost. There are a few tricks.
- Grafting: This is the pro move. You can have a tree surgeon like us come out and add a branch from a different type of avocado onto your existing tree. So your one Hass tree can have a Bacon branch growing right on it. They’ll pollinate each other like they’re right next door. It’s pretty cool to see.
- Choose a Self-Fruitful Variety: Some newer varieties are better at pollinating themselves. The little-known ‘Sir-Prize’ variety is a Type B that is famous for being a good pollinator for Hass and also for being more self-fertile. It’s something we recommend to a lot of our clients in smaller San Jose gardens.
- Check Your Neighborhood: Take a walk around. Do you see any other avocado trees? If your neighbor two doors down has one, there’s a good chance the bees are traveling between your yards. You might already have a pollinator partner and not even know it.
This is Just One Piece of the Puzzle
Look, pollination is a huge reason for no fruit, but it’s not the only one. While we’re on the subject, here are a few other reasons your tree might be shy:
- Young Trees: A tree grown from a nursery-bought tree usually takes 3-4 years to bear fruit. A tree grown from a seed? That can take 10 years or more! So have patience if it’s a youngin.
- The Weather: Avocados hate the cold. A bad frost when the trees are flowering can wipe out your entire crop for the year. We see this some years after a cold snap in the Santa Cruz mountains.
- Watering Problems: This is a big one we fix all the time. People either love their trees too much with water or forget about them. Avocados need deep, but infrequent watering. Soggy roots will make the tree drop its fruit.
How We Can Help You Get That Guacamole
This is what we do all day, every day. We’re not just guys who mow lawns. We’re proper gardeners who understand how plants work. When you call us out to look at a tree that’s not producing, the first thing we do is ask what kind it is. Then we look around to see what else is planted nearby. We’ll check for signs of pollination, look at the soil, and check your watering schedule.
We can help you choose and plant the perfect pollinator partner for your tree. Or, if space is tight, we can talk about grafting. It’s one of our favorite jobs—it feels like performing surgery to give a tree a new best friend.
And it’s not just avocados. We see the same kind of issues with apple trees, pear trees, and plenty of other plants. Nature likes company.
So if you’re staring at a beautiful but barren avocado tree, don’t get down about it. There’s a really good chance it’s a simple fix. It just needed a date for the pollen party. Give us a shout. We’ll come over, take a look, and get you on the path to more avocados than you’ll know what to do with. Your biggest problem will be finding enough friends to give them all to.
