Between grocery store prices skyrocketing and many people spending more time at home, indoor gardening is a craze that’s gaining traction rapidly! However, it’s hard to know which plants you can reasonably grow indoors.
It’s great to be able to grow fresh produce right in your own home—tomatoes and peppers are both popular choices for this—but what about produce that grows on trees? This is a question avocado lovers are now facing.
If you’re hoping to grow avocados yourself but can’t seem to find a definitive answer to the question “How big does an avocado tree get?”, good news! I’m here to tell you about the most common avocado tree sizes and whether or not you can reasonably expect to grow them in your house.
Let’s dive in!
Most Common Avocado Varieties
Hass
The Hass avocado is far and away the most popular variety of avocado. Very few avocado consumers won’t recognize its classic look: with the expected ridged green-brown skin and pale inner fruit, the Hass is the perfect example of what an avocado should be.
This is the variety you’ll want to pick up for avocado toast, a butter substitute, or some delicious guacamole. If you’re looking to learn about avocado tree size, this is likely the variety you’re looking to plant!
Bacon
While still recognizable as an avocado, the Bacon avocado is smoother on the outside and more consistently green than the ever-popular Hass. It’s called the Bacon avocado after the first man to breed it, not because it tastes like bacon…unfortunately!
Still, this avocado certainly can pair well with bacon, and it’s a great choice to spread on your breakfast sandwich, or just about any avocado recipe so long as you’re not thrown off by its slightly sweeter flavor.
Another perk of the Bacon avocado tree is that it happens to produce its fruit when many other trees don’t: in the winter season! You’ll find Bacon avocados maturing between November and March rather than the warmer months, so if you’re struggling with avocado cravings in the cold months, great news! This tree has your back.
Mexicola
The Mexicola avocado is one of the toughest avocado varieties around, known for being able to withstand severely cold temperatures thanks to its rough, bumpy, blackish-green flesh. This is also one avocado that you’re able to eat with the skin intact, if you so desire!
This is the avocado to choose if you’re not so much into cooking, but still want to snack on an avocado from time to time. You can bite straight into it without concern for cutting or peeling—just be careful not to take a chunk out of that pit! You’re not going to be too happy to find yourself biting into that rock-hard seed in the middle of the fruit.
Fuerte
The Fuerte is another very popular avocado variety, often compared to the Hass when people consider which avocado they’re hoping to grow or eat.
These avocados are smaller and sweeter than the Hass, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious! You may just need more of them for whatever recipe you’re planning to make, and you might want to add a pinch more salt to balance out the sweetness.
The Fuerte is brighter green in color, but still has that classic avocado look about it. It’s definitely one to watch if you’re looking for the best avocado varieties out there, and it’s definitely worth looking into when it comes to avocado tree size.
Gwen
The Gwen avocado may be the prettiest of these avocado varieties. With rich green skin and a smooth, compact look, they’re definitely aesthetically pleasing, but that’s not where the perks of the Gwen stop!
These are absolutely delicious avocados, extremely similar to the Hass, though somewhat smaller. You can’t go wrong by choosing to grow these little jewels.
Deciding Which Avocado is Right for You
Now you know the most common types of avocado tree to plant, but how big does an avocado tree get? Well, that answer changes depending on the variety.
Avocado tree size can vary greatly between types of avocado, and if you’re hoping to grow these emerald-like fruits inside your home, you’re going to need to take these differences into consideration. Let’s go over which varieties fit best for indoor gardens, small yards, or big yards!
Best for Indoor Gardens
Gwen
Now this is a proper indoor avocado tree! The Gwen avocado tree is considered a dwarf variety, and it will only reach about 15 feet at its maximum height. How big does an avocado tree get? Well, with the Gwen avocado, that’s mostly up to you!
These guys will stay pretty small naturally, and they’re incredibly easy to prune down if you’re looking for something even smaller. When it comes to avocado tree size, the Gwen avocado is likely your best bet to have a low-maintenance, house-friendly avocado tree.
Best for Small Yards/Patios
Hass
While these beauties can get up to 30 feet tall when planted outdoors, you’ll likely be able to keep them much smaller if you commit to regular tree maintenance. With careful pruning, you can keep your Hass avocado tree size around 10-15 feet tall.
You can also put these in containers if you want; if you’re really serious, you might even be able to keep it at six or seven feet tall. However, this takes considerable pruning and careful maintenance, so they’re better suited to outdoor spaces.
Bacon
The Bacon Avocado tree is probably not the best choice for an indoor tree unless you have pretty tall ceilings to accommodate it! This avocado tree size can stay closer to 15 feet, but it can grow closer to 20 or more, so it’s not exactly going to be the best choice for a closed-in sunroom or porch.
While these avocados are certainly delicious—not just in name!—they’re not the best choice for indoor gardeners. This avocado tree size is better suited to the outdoors, but the good news is that they don’t get massively tall, so you can always plant one outside as long as you have some space in your yard.
Best for Big Yards
Fuerte
While even the previous varieties can be controlled with careful pruning, the Fuerte does not adapt well to containers. When it comes to avocado tree size, this variety can get up to 35 feet tall, and trying to shrink it down to an indoor-garden-friendly size is just going to be more trouble than it’s worth.
These trees definitely do better outside. You simply won’t get a full yield of fruit if you try to force these trees into a box, so to speak.
Mexicola
This is another avocado that doesn’t necessarily fit the bill in terms of indoor gardening. Avocado tree size can generally be controlled by pruning, but the Mexicola will normally reach heights of nearly 20 feet. Even if you do commit to pruning it down to proper avocado tree size, these are cold-resistant avocados that will likely do better outdoors than indoors.
Keeping these hardy trees indoors is kind of like building a sauna for a polar bear—it’s absolutely not necessary, and they probably won’t thrive in there, anyway. Mexicola is another variety that’s probably better left to the outdoors, so don’t get your heart set on making a home for it in your living room.
Growing Avocados Indoors: FAQ
How much sunlight to avocado trees require?
Regardless of avocado tree size, these trees need plenty of light to thrive properly in any environment. Avocado trees should be placed in a room that gets ample sunlight; at least six hours of it, if you can make that happen. While a little shade won’t kill these trees, a lot of shade will, and you want to make sure the leaves of your avocado tree get plenty of exposure to light if you want them to stay hearty and healthy. If your house doesn’t get much natural light anywhere, growing an avocado tree indoors likely isn’t the best idea.
Should I fertilize my avocado tree?
Absolutely! Most gardeners recommend fertilizing your avocado trees, though not too often; it’s suggested that you fertilize them once per season, with the exception of winter. Feeding your trees once in the spring, once in summer, and once in autumn should be plenty. So while you definitely should fertilize your avocado trees, it’s hardly an everyday occurrence. Yay for low-maintenance tree care!
What should I plant my indoor avocado tree in?
You don’t need a pot made of any special material to house your tree regardless of avocado tree size, but you will want to choose something sturdy. Tree roots aren’t gentle things, and trees are heavy plants; you don’t want anything flimsy. Also keep in mind that you’ll need to have a stake or two on hand to support your trees while they’re small; you want them to grow straight and tall, and support is crucial to ensuring that.
Will my avocado tree grow fruit indoors?
The short answer is yes; the long answer is that you should be able to get fruit from your tree regardless of size, but it will likely be less than you would get if your tree was planted outside. Still, if you’re not looking to yield a particularly huge crop, your indoor tree should produce plenty of fruit to make your indoor gardening endeavors worth it.
So How Big Does an Avocado Tree Get?
Ultimately, for the most part, your avocado tree size is dependent on you and how much maintenance you want to put into it! There are some varieties, particularly the Mexicola and the Fuerte, that should not be grown indoors. The Hass and Gwen avocados should take just fine to being grown inside your house as long as you ensure they receive the proper amount of sunlight.
Ready to start growing your own harvest of avocados? Pick a plant and get started!
Looking for more avocado varieties, growing guides, and even recipes? Take a peek at our Avocado Trees page to learn more!
- About the Author
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Cassidy Eubanks is a proud Michigander, an avid reader, a lover of colorful gardens, and a writer for Minneopa Orchards.
After earning her bachelor’s in Creative Writing (partially through virtual learning, thanks to the pandemic), gardening gave her an excuse to get outside and get away from all the screens. With a particular love for decorating with colorful flowers, using herbs grown in her own garden, and finding creative ways to build big gardens in small spaces, Cassidy enjoys helping others learn about growing their own food, flowers, and trees through Minneopa Orchards!