Growing Alligator Pears

Feb 09, 2022

By Lisa Hickey

Avocados, historically known as alligator pears, have become very popular over that last decade. They can be spread over toast, mashed into dips, blended into milkshakes, and even pressed for cooking oil. These deliciously creamy fruits (yes, fruits!) are highly desired around the globe. Avocado trees (Persea americana) are thought to be indigenous to Mesoamerica. As a species, avocados are large, evergreen trees in the Laurel family. This family of plants also includes cinnamon and bay leaves.

Where do avocados grow?

Avocado trees grow best in warm, frost-free conditions. They can grow in subtropical, tropical, and Mediterranean climates depending on the variety being grown. To be most productive, they should be planted in full, bright sunlight (8+ hours). Additionally, they should be planted in fertile, well-drained soils. Avocado trees are very sensitive to overly wet or flooded conditions. In these situations, the trees tend to perish quickly from root rot. Lastly, as mentioned above, avocado trees should be planted in the warmest spot in your landscape. You can find cold tolerant varieties, but prolonged freezing temperatures will kill them.

Avocados are nutritious and healthy fruits to eat

Avocados are nutritious and healthy fruits to eat.

Multiple domestications

Recent evidence has suggested that avocados were domesticated independently at least three times. The result of these multiple domestication events was the development of three avocado “races.” Two of the races, the Mexican and Guatemalan, were developed in the highlands of their respective countries. The remaining variety, the West Indian, was domesticated in the lowland regions of Mexico and the Caribbean. The avocado races can be distinguished from each other by many characteristics. This includes blooming/maturity season, fruit size/weight/color, skin texture, and oil content to name a few. To further complicate things, there are many hybrids between these distinct races. One prominent example of a hybrid is the ‘Hass’ variety.

Things to watch for

In general, avocado trees tend to be fairly disease and pest free. However, even with good care, pests and diseases may show up. Some common pests include avocado lacebugs, scale insects, and mites. These pests can be managed if they are causing significant damage or are attacking young trees. On the other hand, diseases are best avoided through good sanitation and cultivation. Some diseases you may encounter are scab, powdery mildew, anthracnose, root rot, and laurel wilt. Selecting scab-resistant varieties, planting in full sun, scouting regularly, and avoiding wet or low areas will go a long way in preventing problems.

Deciding which avocado is for you

With dozens of varieties to choose from, finding the right avocado for your garden can be a little challenging. Fortunately, there are some things to look for while researching that will help you make the best decision. While researching varieties, you should consider the following criteria: cold tolerance, scab resistance, productivity, fruit quality, and flower type (A or B, ideally one tree of each). With that said, some recommended avocado varieties for our area are ‘Choquette,’ ‘Brogdon,’ ‘Monroe,’ and ‘Oro Negro.’

Avocados are full of fiber and can be mashed, blended into smoothies (or brownies), or eaten whole

Avocados are full of fiber and can be mashed, blended into smoothies (or brownies), or eaten whole.

Source : ufl.edu

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.