posted 7 years ago
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but avocados may not be safe east of the Rockies and Sierra Madre. Try a pair as "pets" but depend on other things for your income and feeding your family. Because the US doesn't require wood products and packing to be cooked or otherwise sterilized, many pests are invading from Eurasia (mainly China): Emerald Ash Borer up north, and relevant in this case, an ambrosia beetle spreading Laurel Wilt Disease through the Southeast (first found near Savannah, GA, but has now crossed the Mississippi) Other than the tall mountains that run down the spine of our continent, and cold weather at some indeterminate line up north that may spare the northernmost sassafras and spicebush plants, I am unaware of any geographic barriers to its spread. There is nothing to stop it before reaching Texas, and even (eastern) Mexico is likely eventually at risk. The once ubiquitous red bay (Persea borbonia) is rapidly going functionally extinct (dying before they can reproduce), and the apparently every member of the laurel family is vulnerable to the disease. (However, Lindera is sometimes spared because its wood is too twiggy to make a satisfying meal for the beetles, and some Asian laurels like camphor may have adaptations to mitigate the damage.) However avocados are in the same genus as the primary North American hosts/victims (Persea borbonia & palustris) and are neotropical thus naive to the Asian pest. The are dying in Florida. Florida is spending a lot of money to learn how to combat this beetle/fungal blight in hopes of saving its own avocado industry, but for now we are losing the battle. Best of luck.
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