They're all Persea americana. What matters is which cultivar you have, as far pollination requirements and fruit characters etc. are concerned.

Persea americana : 'Haas'

Cow : Holstein

There are only two varieties I know of that are dwarf - Wurtz and Holiday. You can keep other varieties smaller with careful pruning. Having both A and B type trees can increase production, but you can still get fruit with only one tree.

Thanks! I will look on the tag for additional info and see if it says Wurtz or Holiday.

If there is another avocado within a couple of miles, that is close enough for pollination. Having additional plants that attract pollinators (bees) also helps. Avoid pesticides, because of the bees.

Pollination distance of 100 feet maximum, 25 foot min recommended.. Bees do travel far, but it has to be the same bee on the same trip visiting BOTH trees, not likely at longer distances.

I do avoid pesticides, but I am afraid that the praying mantis in my yard may be eating bees, although I have not seen this happen. She seems to sit close to flowers in wait, and the plants do not have other insects for her to eat.

I haven't found the tag on the plant yet. I think the nearest other avocado tree is probably less than 100 feet away. I do have plenty of citrus trees that attract bees, as well as a lot of pepper plants that always seem to have flowers for the bees. Also, I let some of my basil go to flower and seed, and goldfinches seem to like the basil seeds, even though they are very small.

Finch eating basil seeds. I also let me chives flower and make seeds, as well as my dill and parsley, and I keep dill and parsley mostly in the winter.

Yes, mantids eat bees and butterflies as well as the unwanted insects.

I remembered what you said some time ago about the basil seeds and goldfinches, so I left the seed heads on this year. The basil was behind the tomatoes, so I could not watch them easily. But I know they visited the basil for a snack, because I could see them entering and exiting the location. Thanks for the tip!

In the tropics they also eat hummingbirds. And there's a movie we were shown in college where one pursues and kills a black widow spider. For some reason the spider just keeps rushing over and putting webbing on the mantis' front legs, then retreating. The mantis stops and gnaws the webbing off each time, then continues to advance through the main web until it can grab the spider.

Which is not small in relation to the size of the mantis by any means - certainly bigger than a honeybee. A traveling spider exhibit we visited at the local zoo had one that looked to be nearly as big as a cherry or filbert. It was hanging right in front of the glass, as though to say "Yeah, I'm a bad-ass!".

Black widow spiders are mostly legs; the body maxes out at about .5 inches. Most individuals are much smaller. The CA mantis can reach about 2-2.5 inches in body length. I would not think a full grown CA mantis would have a problem taking on a black widow.

I wonder if the zoo exhibit used a glass with magnifying properties, to allow for easier examination.

I still have not yet located the tag from the avocado tree, but there's not much I can do about it now anyway, as I plan to keep the tree. I'll just wait and see what I get.

I haven't seen the mantid lately, and so it may have moved to buggier pastures. I do see a reasonable number of ladybugs, however, and I am wondering what they are eating.

The actual dwarf Avos are pretty terrible compared to Haas. Reed is fairly small and excellent, possibly even better than Haas depending on your taste. You will NOT find that at junk nursery like HD. I would guess no Avos sold at HD survive long term.

A barrel is going to be very, very difficult to get to grow reliably, even less likely to get fruit. How about raised mound growing? Drainage doesn't have to be directly down.

I do have one spot in my yard where I could possibly grow a regular avocado tree in the ground, as I used to have a banana tree there (that was supposed to make fruit but never did) that grew very well, and I have a white sapote tree in that area that is also doing well, but also not making fruit. Right now I have another banana tree in another barrel in the area where the other banana tree was. I put it in a barrel because the tag said that it would grow in a container, and I wanted to be able to move it, in case I wanted to put something else in that location.

I'll keep my dwarf avocado for now, as it does not take up much space, and I will just wait to see what happens. If I do not like it, I can remove it easily enough.

I'm growing a dwarf Gwen avocado (in the ground). I've had it less than a year so it hasn't fruited yet, but from what I've read the quality is comparable to Hass and hopefully not 'terrible'.

I have a Reed that was planted as a 8' tall 15 gal from Clausen in Vista, Ca 5 years ago. It is now about 12' tall and 6' wide. The compact growth seems like it will fulfill the reasonable expectation to hold it to 15x8'. I struggle to keep my Fuerte from growing into the high power lines behind it, trim it down to 25' and in a couple years its back to 40' tall and wide.

The HD nursery that I go to in Marina Del Rey is NOT a junk nursery, and I bought a Manila mango tree that produced quite a few mangoes for me in Venice. I have also bought quite a few very nice bromeliads that have grown very well for me outdoors and continue to multiply and bloom. HD nurseries vary greatly from one store to another.

I try to shop at nurseries in my microclimate, which is rather small. If I go inland, I may find something that would not do well where I live. The furthest I have gone is San Gabriel.