I don't know avocados, but a lot of times things won't flower or fruit if they're too big. Could you check with an arborist to see if they could trim it back some so it can provide fruit? Too bad you're not comfortable sitting under a tree with leaves and twigs, that's kind of normal for many tree types. The tree looks pretty to me, and if I lived in CA I would treasure any bit of shade I could get!

Stuff always falls from trees i would find out why it does not bear fruit maybe something missing in the soil I would save the tree it is beautiful and certainly provides shade and also keeps the air clean

Hi venicekeystone, we live in SoCal close to Pasadena and have an avocado tree...still fairly small and bears fruit. If yours is that messy (which avocados tend to be!) and fruitless, I'd probably remove it. However, checking with an arborist sounds like a wise suggestion. If you want the shade you might consider a carrotwood....which we also have. They do require occasional trimming...depending on the size you want...but are pretty, evergreen and not particularly messy. An ex-neighbor of ours had a carrotwood. He hated trees but was happy as could be with that pretty tree.

@mikerear, we sure don't give that much water to our avocado, but it's only about 10' tall. We do love the fruit but...yikes...300-400 gallons? Is there such a thing as a dwarf avocado? Our tree hasn't grown any in the 3 years we've lived in this house.

Do NOT get an olive tree if you don't like trees dropping things or being very on top of spraying it (and it will still probably drop olives). Olives are beautiful and drought tolerant, but super messy!

I second (third? fourth?) having it trimmed. I've never heard they take that much water for some fruit (maybe a farm tree expected to produce?). Anything you replace it with will not provide shade for years.

That tree has to be many years old, how long would it take to get anything anywhere near that big to provide shade? I would go for a trim as suggested above. You could have a deck built under and around it and just sweep away the twigs etc. The organic material could also be used as mulch to maintain moisture and limit the amount of watering needed.

There is not a dwarf avo, however, you can keep them trimmed to keep them from getting too big. Open up the inside of the tree to allow some more light through. They do drop leaves but with a trimmed tree, it should not be. Big problem.
With some water you can keep them green and healthy but don't expect much fruit without a lot of water.

As to olive trees, there is a variety that does not bear fruit. They are readily available in So Cal.

Here you go for Southern California;)) It is fake!

sorry, inappropriate, sometimes i take these defenseless ones too much to heart.

Keep your lovely big shade tree.

I would get rid of it and get something you like better. I can't tell from the photos but seems to rather dominate the yard.

Golden medallion tree or Evergreen ash, both evergreen shade trees and are good in drought conditions. Otherwise take photo to a garden centre and ask for their advice

My sister lives in WeHo and has a YUUUGE avocado tree in her backyard. House is 1921. Tree is beautiful, and she has an amazing modern treehouse in it, but it's not worthy fruit-bearing. Great shade tree, but kind of makes a big mess IMHO.

If you chop down the tree why not get a big parasol for shade, they are quite attractive these days.

My neighbor has 30 to 40 foot oaks and pecan trees alnong our property line. Very messy but late in the day when the sun is setting and the front of my house is shaded by them I enjoy raking the leaves.

We live in an area surrounded by beautiful, old oaks. They're pretty special and also protected here.

And some avocados on our little tree...

No way!!!! It is coveting nicely and is old, at least 30 yrs. Besides, it is a very earth friendly methodology to have plants that produce food you can eat or sell for profit

Give it. Some bloom fertilizer prune back. Follow instructions from avocado tree pruner.

Very difficult to get something to grow in that same spot..roots everywhere!

That's an expensive tree to replace

I'm curious - what did you decide to do? Personally, I would've kept it - just hired someone to trim it down to a manageable size. Avocado trees are great, but they need pruning & maintenance to make good use of them. That tree looks like someone started it with good intentions, but then it eventually got left unattended for years.

I had a fruitless avocado tree that was about 18 feet tall in my yard in Nipomo. I stumpped it 4 years ago and grafted 3 varieties to it. Now I am enjoying avocados. With the extensive root system already there it grows back fast. You can shape it whatever you desire. There are over 500 varieties of avocados. There must be the kind （size ，fruit，cleaness……）you like.. Plus，learning crafting from Youtube is fun！

Today，Jan 24 my grafted tree.

Avocado grafted last year

I realize it’s been a while since this thread. Figured I’d provide an update.

We got rid of it. Best decision ever. It opened up our backyard and let in a lot of light. No mess. No critters. Just an incredibly fun and modern space where we’ve entertained endlessly. Extremely low maintenance, minimal water use. We planted some citrus trees (lime and satsuma) bc we figured squirrels/rodents/birds might not be keen on it (compared to stone fruits). The lime tree produces more incredibly perfect limes than we know what to do with; waiting for satsuma to start producing fruit. We love our backyard now.

Very nice.

Looks good

If the roots are making problems, get rid of the whole tree. If not, I would thin it to keep the shade but remove some of the debris-making branches.

Sad 😔

Sad indeed. Chopping it halfway and grafting new varieties into the tree would've been great.