Avocado is one of the most salt-sensitive crops and is also one of the most valued crops for every acre. Larger, bright green avocados may be Florida Avocados, which are bright green when ripe rather than how a Hass Avocado is black when ripe. Florida Avocados are usually 6½” length and weight anywhere from a 1½ pounds to 6½ pounds.

May be susceptible to Deer and Rodents🦌🐇🐁
Attracts: Bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators
Repels: Not known

Note: Proper care keeps plants resilient and healthy, preventing diseases and pests. This list details the potential threats, specific diseases and pests vary depending on environmental climate.
Diseases:
◦ Armillaria Root Rot: Widespread disease that can cause avocado trees to decline, with leaves turning yellow and falling off prematurely.
◦ Persea mite: Pest that’s especially damaging to Hass avocados, as well as other varieties.
◦ Phytophthora Canker: Common disease that infects leaves and shoots, causing dark lesions on leaf edges, browning, and leaf tips to die. It’s spread by spores from infected plants landing on healthy ones.
◦ Phytophthora Root Rot: This infection is caused by the fungus “Cinnamon Fungus” (P. cinnamomi). Symptoms are worse in wet conditions.

◦ Verticillium Wilt: A disease that clogs a plant’s vascular system with fungal cells, which then spread and cause the plant to die slowly. An early symptom is sudden wilting on one side of the plant, followed by leaves turning brown.
Problems: Small leaves turning yellow or green-yellow, reduced number of leaves, small branches dying back, and stunted growth, which could be caused by environmental or nutritional influence.
Pests:
◦ Aphids: Small, soft-bodied sucking insects which pierce plant tissues and draw out the juices.
◦ Mealybugs: Mealybugs feed on the juices from leaves and stems of plants, damaging a wide variety of host plants.
◦ Thrips: May spread plant viruses called tospoviruses, which cause diseases such as tomato spotted wilt, impatiens necrotic spot, and iris yellow spot virus. Thrips suck the sap from leaves, flowers, and buds, resulting in discolored, distorted, or stunted growth.
◦ Scale: Parasite that infest a plant’s leaves and stems and suck sap from plants through their mouth parts. Heavy infestations cause yellowing or wilting of leaves, stunting or unthrifty appearance of the plants, and eventually death of all or part of the plant. 
◦ Spider Mites: They feed by bruising plant cells with their small, whiplike mouthparts and ingesting the sap. Spider mites produce a fine silk webbing, often found at leaf nodes or the undersides of leaves, which may kill plants or cause serious stress to them.

Animal Toxicity: Toxic to cats and horses. Avocado without the seed is safe for dogs in small moderation.
ASPCA Website – Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants “Avocado”
Medicine Interactions:
Individuals may have a sensitivity or allergies to Avocado, consult a healthcare professional first and proceed at own risk.
◦ Warfarin (Coumadin): Warfarin is a blood thinner used to slow blood clotting that blocks the body’s ability to use vitamin K, which is a vitamin that helps clot blood. Avocado, which has vitamin K, may decrease the effects of warfarin. Decreasing the effects of warfarin might increase the risk of clotting. Monitor blood levels regularly. The dose of warfarin might need to be changed.
WebMD Website – Avocado “Interactions”

❗Never ingest essential oils, instead use organic fresh or dried herbs.
Use:
◦ Fruit: The smooth, rich, creamy, mildly nutty flavor is excellent for salad, dressing, dips, spreads, desserts, and smoothies.
◦ Essential Oil: Click Here for Precautions, Instructions, and Dilution Ratios
Benefits: Anti-inflammatory (reduces internal and external swelling), antioxidant (protects cells), stimulates digestion, and moisturizing. Fruit is a nutrient dense food that’s a source of calories, omega fats, fiber, protein, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B9 (folate), vitamin K, copper, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.
Dosing:1 spoonful of mashed avocado for 4 to 6 months. Two diced avocado slices each day for 6+ months..¾ of a medium avocado, diced, each day for 9+ months. 1 ripe avocado each day for adults.
◦ Fruits: Harvest when fruits are fully sized and green, from February to September. Fruit ripens in 5 to 14 days. Keep in fridge once fruit is dark or soft to preserve for more days. Avocados are ready for harvest 5 to 13 years after planting from seed.
◦ Seeds: Seeds do not store well, plant immediately! Soak seed for 24 to 48 hours, later removing the brown exterior. Insert 3 toothpicks and place the seed halfway in a cup of water and keep in a shaded sunny spot (not direct sun, the sunlight amplified through the glass may burn a plant). Change water daily, plant into soil and keep moist after the roots are 4″ length.

Aroma: Mildly herbaceous and creamy
Flavor: Smooth and creamy with a rich nutty flavor
Culinary Combinations: Avocado compliments herbs and spices (thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley, sweet basil, thai basil, mint, cilantro, cumin, cardamom, coriander, lemongrass, chives, ginger), quinoa, whole wheat enriched pasta, wild rice, beans (sugar snap peas, green beans, chickpeas [garbanzos], black, pinto), legumes (lentils, mung beans), tofu, tempeh, mushrooms, nuts (roasted cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, and pine nuts), vegetables (arugula, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, Winter squash [pumpkin, butternut squash, acorn squash], Summer squash [zucchini, straightneck, and crookneck], sweet potato, red potato, white potato, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, bell pepper, carrot, beet, asparagus, brussels sprouts, radish, tomato, and cucumber), and fruits (raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, apricot, mango, citrus [lemon and lime], and figs)
Click Here to explore a comprehensive list of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients with function explanations, deficiency or excess symptoms, and vegan food source rankings (high, medium, low)

Avocados are believed to have originated in Central America and Mexico between 7,000 and 5,000 B.C. . Evidence suggests that humans cultivated avocados as early as 500 B.C.

15 years to 200 years longevity for life expectancy. A very well taken care of family avocado tree may live to be as old as 400 years!