You might contact the CA Rare Fruit Growers Association in your area. They're a bunch of avid home gardeners interested in the unusual fruits.

Here's the place to start, the association's home page
http://www.crfg.org/

Here is a link that might be useful: CA Rare Fruit Growers Association

The phone # that I have for Atkins is (760) 728-1610. Is that the number you have? They also show a fax number of 728-8069. These are from the local phone book for Fallbrook...where Atkins Nursery is.

Gypsy,

Yup. I have: 760-728-1610, 800-928-1610. Neither work. One goes to Blue Shield or something...

I'm told that Fallbrooke is waist deep in avocado producers. Anyone know of a good one down there I could call? Maybe they've got some idea. I can't image there are no Sharwils in CA! Maybe they just don't grow well here... I dunno.

You said "I can't image there are no Sharwils in CA! "

I looked up the name because I wasn't familiar w/that particular avocado. According to the various sources, it's grown in Hawaii. That's why I suggested CRFG; they're enthusiastic home gardeners who try to grow just about anything & everything that fruits in spite of what's said to do well in their regions.

Jean, who formerly gardened for 30-some years in LB, CA, and remains a CRFG member so that I can drool over their successes as written about in their quarterly mag.

Jean,

I have contacted CRFG. They're the ones who turned me onto Atkins in the first place. I've contacted Atkins via email and have yet to get anything back... We'll see! The CRFG folks told me they might have some Sharwils at the show this year, but I can't get down there to buy one. ugh. Hopefully I'll find one soon!

Thanks!

Definitely check our your local CRFG chapter. Many chapters are conducting their annual scionwood exchange, and you might be able to pick up some scions and graft them with some assistance. Guess this and a couple of other specialty avos - Jan Boyce and Queen - are also on the "most cherished" list I'm finding out. Sharwils may not grow well up in San Francisco, though, as they really like warm weather, and are not at all frost tolerant. A great resource for you to check out is Growquest. They're in Santa Paula and they really are great folks, and have some lovely avocadoes. Good luck, and let us know what Atkins has to say. And as far as Fallbrook being "up to their knees" in avocados, sad to say, many of the groves are being let go, and sold to developers due to the ever-rising cost of water. Even well water with the fees that the water authorities place, and the almost imposibility of dropping a new well (the waiting list is years long.) Not as it was 20 years ago, when it truly WAS wall to wall avocadoes out there. I live about 20 mins. south, in N. San Diego county, which also was full of avocado orchards. In fact, my small subdivision was built on an old avocado orchard. Sadly, the developers could not afford to keep the avocados going while building the homes, again, due to the insane cost of water. So sad, I could have had a yard full of lovely avos. But I now have to plant my own.

Patty S.

Patty,

Thanks for the intel. Strangely enough, I was just about to post a question about Growquest... I've never ordered from them before, but they said they're trying to get some Sharwils. We'll see.

I live just North of SF. We get about two weeks of frost per year, and the summers are significantly hotter than SF. Probably averages about 85 or so during the summer months. Get about three weeks of 100. Might not be enough, but I'm willing to try! I've got some Panachee figs that require high heat too. I'll see how those go. As it is, I'll probably put a Hass and a Fuerte together until I can experiment with a Sharwil. I just don't want 40 foot trees in my yard, so I'll have to keep them clipped!

So sad about Fallbrooke. Hopefully it'll be good for them in the long term.

Nick.

Ah, my Panachee Fig LOVES it here in N. San Diego county. I'm about 6-7 miles from the ocean, but the Panachee is on a south-facing slope with a lot of wind protection, so every summer it is covered with the most delicious striped figs, yummm! I had never had a fig tree until I purchased this lovely home, and had never see green and yellow striped figs, before, either. My figs and my olive trees just love it here. Hoping my avos do well, even though we have a fair amount of salt in our soil, so we do tend to get brown tipped leaves (all of this area deals with it, and the trees still do okay, just maybe don't look as pretty as they could.) Our hottest temps are rarely over 95, and I have a tree-load of figs, so you should be fine. And with the Sharwil, it's more of a cold issue, than needing high heat. They like it balmy, but never below 32 degrees. You may need to take protective measures to keep it from getting severely damaged. And talk to Growquest about how to trim it so you don't end up with the SUV of avocados. It is a full sized tree for sure. If you want something delicious that doesn't get out of control, consider a Lamb Haas or Holiday as well.

Patty S.

Thanks Patty. Gives me hope for my Panachee! I've got a Hass going already, so I need the B-type. Seems like the Fuerte is the most likely candidate, but I wanted to try something a bit more exotic. We definitely get below 32, but not more than 5-6 times per year in the middle of the night. Just long enough to get a frost on the lawn.

Well... Whatever. I'll see what I can do. If they all die, such is life.

Consider a Sir Prize. Chat with Chris at Growquest, he really likes Sir Prize. That would be my B option (and actually IS my B option :-) ). There is some thought that Sir Prize can withstand some lower temps, but I think that may be in dispute. Do you have avocados growing nearby you, especially a commercial grove? If so, no need to worry about getting a B avocado. If you don't, then it can help with fruit set. And, Growquest can give you some easy suggestions for frost protection. If your trees are little, then all you need is a bedsheet hung all the way to the ground with some bricks or rocks to hold it to the ground. Larger, established trees will probably do fine in your area. We get a handful of nights at 32, too, and had at least one or two nights like that already, and my Haas is just fine. It's probably 2 or 3 years old, now, and about 10 feet tall, and FINALLY looking like it's going to fruit. The previous owners neglected it near to death. I was able to salvage it with a lot of water, organic fertilizer and more light.

Patty S.

Hey Nick,
I may have a lead on a Sharwil, and of all things, a Jan Boyce (completely impossible to get in production). I will let you know if this pans out, and if they ship. Stay tuned for tomorrow afternoon's report :-) Only in Orange County/San Diego County would this happen. And at one place! Cross your fingers for me!

PattyS.

Nick,
I just got back from Bonita Creek Nursery in Bonita, CA (way down by Chula Vista) and Dave, who owns and runs the nursery had a Kona Sharwil as well as a Jan Boyce in stock. Went home with those 2, plus a Nimlioh. Have a Queen and a Linda on order. Plus bought a Valencia Mango and a White Sapote. I'll be a busy girl the next couple of days, getting everything in the ground, composted, mulched dripped and some wire cages around them to keep critters away. I asked Dave if he shipped, and he said they are working on it. I would contact him and see what he can do for you, or possibly put you in touch with someone closer to you for a Sharwil, if possible. I've included their website link, but their site is just getting set up, so not much info on it, but their contact info is there for you. Good luck!

Patty S.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bonita Creek Nursery

Thanks Patty! I'll check them out right now. I love the hunt!

Atkins definitely has Sharwil and many other rare avocado varieties. I bought a Sharwil from them around October of last year. From what I recall, they also had JB. I will try to see if I can find their number.

The number on my invoice from October is 760-728-1610, same as you were calling. It also looks like they have a website now: http://atkinsnursery.com/.

Thanks Angel. I appreciate it even though I'm an A's and Dodgers fan!

I picked up 2 Sharwils at Atkins nursery a couple weeks ago, they're small trees but are grafted on roots that fill the whole 5 gallon container so they should grow rapidly. They said they grafted about 100 trees recently and they gave me the 2 largest.
Other rare avocados I spotted at Atkins were Nimlioh and Queen.

I would like to warn you against buying anything from Growquest. I know that they are disreputable dealers. Maybe if you deal with them face to face they are OK but I believe they will steal your money if it is mailorder. They stole mine and never answered their listed phone number.