avocado trees...facts and fiction, pushing their zone and their timetable?

I thought this makes sense because I eat them a lot, they're a good source of fat, protein, and yum, as well as maybe money.  And everyone grows them (for about a week, I mean...some longer).

We have two avocado trees in pots here in the house.  I had no idea until a few days ago that they might actually do something for us (ask not what you can do for your avocado trees).

Every year, we'd bring them in in the fall and bring them out in the spring.  

Then I read some how-to article or something that said, "you can just plant an avocado tree from the pit and produce your own avocados," and had a picture of an avocado tree in a pot with avocados on it!  I thought wow, can it be that easy?

According to something else on the internet, they have to be 10 years old from seed to flower and fruit.  But I have a feeling that that, like many other things, may not be an actual fact.

They have never blossomed yet.

Also, they're potentially self-pollinating but they stagger their male and female blossoms, so it's more convenient to have two.  They all bloom in synchrony on each tree, and you get one day where you have a chance.

Anyway, does anyone have some truer facts to challenge my internet facts?

You say you are in a 9(b) climate zone -- you will need to protect your avocados from winter frosts. Some varieties are more cold hardy than others, but if it goes below 30F, you will be losing all the leaves and having it resprout from the base. Given that it takes a good 6-8 years for a tree to start bearing, you don't want to be knocked back to year 1 to have to start all over.

 John Elliot wrote, on the thread "anyone got avocado experience?"

So I was right!

Ok, I think they might want a bit more mulch, and some more heat...we just don't have any space!!

Oh, unintentional avocados....

You could buy a commercially grafted Hass tree that is already of mature fruiting age, then graft some buds onto your home grown rootstock. The growth from the buds will be of mature fruiting age and a commercially viable and good tasting variety. You could in ideal conditions, put a Hass scion onto a 6 mth old self grown rootstock and have fruits within 2 years of the seed germinating. Another thing you could do to speed up the process is grow it hydro/aero/aqua-ponically.

The coldest variety I know about is "Lila," which can apparently handle 12 degrees. And you're right on questioning the "ten years from seed" thing. I met a guy who had his bloom in three.

I've recently managed to get my hands on two mexican seedlings which are much more frost hardy than other types.  Apparently they will cope better with both frost and heat after they are a couple of years old so I'm nursing mine in pots until the bark has thickened up.  I also have a Fuerte and a Bacon and I'm hoping to cross breed them with the mexicolas (they are a mexican landrace, grown from seed, not grafted) and try to breed something with bigger fruit but retaining the cold hardiness.

Here's a thread that might be interesting - Avocados and Frost in Europe

Evening, a favorite idea, plants from our food...especially avocados, pineapples,  I am eating from scrapped onions from last year still, just trimming the tops, free food is good : )

I have maybe 3 avocado plants that are about 3 years old now, but just this spring put into the ground, so, I can be hopeful...

But, Q if I may, when my compost bin is in progress, that I don't want to interrupt,  I just lay my kitchen scraps onto my 2 small raised beds, and when they dry out, I turn them under the mulch...now I have 5 avocado plants coming up in my one bed, and one coming up in my potted lemon tree (also from a farm bought organic lemon seed)...So 1. can I move them, and 2 will they ever fruit?  If they will fruit, I can gift them, but I don't want to give away duds!  Ah, the experiments continue : )

Thanks always for kind words and advice.