Avocado:

Do I need two avocado trees to get fruit?

Avocado species are divided into two flower types: Type A and Type B. Each flower type has both male and female characteristics. The difference being that the A type is female flowering in the morning and male flowering in the afternoon of the following day. The B type is female in the afternoon and male the following morning. This flowering pattern holds true under consistence temperatures of 70 - 75 degrees F. in areas where avocados are native, specifically Central America. Under southern California conditions, where there is a greater temperature variance during the blooming season, both male and female flowers are present whenever the tree is in bloom. Thus pollination is not as greatly affected by the A&B type schedules. Although some may argue that avocado trees will produce more heavily with a pollinator, but this is more of a concern for orchard use, where maximum yield per tree is a great concern. For backyard use, one avocado tree will produce just fine.

Citrus:

How big will my citrus plants grow?

Dwarf citrus grown at La Verne Nursery, Inc. are propagated by means of scion grafting onto a dwarfing seedling rootstock. This form of propagation produces a bushy, multi-stemmed branch structure above the graft union. The average size of a mature specimen of this type will range in height from 6 - 12 feet, depending on the variety. These dwarf, bushy plants are ideally suited for container culture or in-ground plantings where space is limited.

Standard citrus grown at La Verne Nursery, Inc. are propagated by means of T-budding a single bud into a vigorous growing, seedling standard rootstock, which is best suited to southern California growing conditions and soil types. Since several varieties of standard rootstock are available, La Verne Nursery, Inc. selects the most desirable scion understock combination for each individual variety's bud union compatibility and longevity. The average size of a mature specimen of this type will range in height from 10 - 25 feet, depending on the variety. Full-sized trees are best suited for orchard type use, or large yard plantings.

What is the difference between a tangerine and a mandarin?

All tangerines are mandarins, however not all mandarins are tangerines. Confused? Both originated from the classification mandarin, yet through hybridization some developed a darker pigmented skin color. Tangerines show this darker pigmented skin color, learning more toward a reddish-orange, while "mandarins" show a lighter orange skin color. Thus, the only difference between tangerines and mandarins is skin color.

Deciduous Fruits:

How tall will my apple tree get?

All apples grown by La Verne Nursery, Inc. are produced on a self-dwarfing rootstock (MM106). This produces a tree which will mature out at approximately 10 - 15 feet tall.