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The Marcus Pumpkin Avocado is one of the largest avocados in the world.
Seriously, there are not many avocado cultivars capable of consistently producing individual fruits weighing upwards of 3 pounds. So, if you are searching for a conversation-starting tree to add to your yard, look no further than Marcus Pumpkin!
With that being said, this grow guide will cover everything that you need to know about Marcus Pumpkin Avocado:
Table of Contents
- Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree Characteristics
- Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Flavor Profile
- Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Season (And When To Pick)
- Marcus Pumpkin Avocado History
- Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)
- Conclusion
Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree Characteristics
The Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree is a Flowering Type B Avocado. In other words, the female flowers open in the afternoon and male flowers in the morning. In order to maximize Marcus’s fruit production, the tree should be planted near a Flowering Type A Avocado with a similar fruiting season.
This includes avocado cultivars such as:
- Choquette (FL)
- Florida Hass (FL)
- Hall (FL)
- Lula (FL)
- Super Hass (FL)
- Wurtz (FL)
Marcus Pumpkin’s fruit production consistently ranges from fair to average. And while Marcus yields a decent amount of fruit for backyard growers, it is not consistently productive enough to be cultivated commercially.
Despite being a shy bearer, Marcus Pumpkin makes up for its lack of quantity with its exceptionally large fruit. The avocados themselves are very large, round fruits that typically weigh between 1.0 and 3.0 lbs.
That is a lot of avocado toast!
And although Marcus has a larger seed, the fruit boasts an excellent flesh-to-seed ratio.
The Marcus Pumpkin Avocado is a Guatemalan X West Indian Hybrid. Similar to other Guatemalan X West Indian Hybrids like Lula, Hall, Monroe, Choquette and Kampong, Marcus is moderately cold tolerant to temperatures as low as 25°F. This makes Marcus a great option for those in USDA Hardiness Zones 9B and above.
Finally, it should be noted that the Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree has a vigorous and upright growth habit.
Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Flavor Profile
The Marcus Pumpkin Avocado is very round and large, with slight ridging around the exterior of the fruit, reminiscent of an actual pumpkin. Fortunately, the skin is pliable easy to peel.
The fruit’s bright yellow flesh possesses a smooth and creamy texture, although not as creamy as what one would expect from varieties like Catalina, Oro Negro, or Kampong.
Additionally, the fruit’s flesh has a low oil content (single digits) and can sometimes have a medium-to-high amount of moisture (depending on when the fruit was harvested). As a result, Marcus Pumpkin would not be the best avocado for making guacamole.
However, the fruit does have its culinary uses. Marcus Pumpkin is definitely suitable as an ingredient in both smoothies and salads requiring avocado.
From a flavor perspective, Marcus Pumpkin has a very mild and subdued West Indian Avocado flavor that is similar to that of Choquette, Monroe, and Donnie. And while there is a nice, yet subtle, sweetness to the fruit, the flavor is definitely underwhelming compared to other avocados with similar genetics.
More specifically, while Marcus Pumpkin is 100% more “flavorful” relative to the very mild Donnie, I personally prefer both Monroe or Choquette over Marcus Pumpkin.
There is no doubt that Marcus Pumpkin’s large size is definitely a conversation starter, however there’s honestly not much more to say about the fruit.
At the end of the day, there are other avocado cultivars with a similar fruiting season (mentioned above) that, while smaller in size, are much more flavorful and productive than Marcus Pumpkin.
Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Season (And When To Pick)
Marcus Pumpkin Avocados are considered a mid-season avocado (October – November).
Note: According to the Official Florida Picking Schedule, Marcus Pumpkin can technically be picked as early as September. However, I highly encourage you to allow the fruit to continue maturing closer to the beginning/middle of November in order to maximize Marcus’s (already mild) flavor.
That being said, the best time to pick Marcus Pumpkin Avocados are when they are mature on the tree. In terms of color changes, Marcus undergoes very little transformation during the maturation process.
As a result, my usual approach involves first checking if the fruit is full size and then attempting to gently remove it from the tree. If both of these conditions are met (in addition to it being Oct – Nov), then Marcus Pumpkin should be ready to harvest!
And while determining an avocado’s maturity can be difficult and require some trial and error, I have developed a repeatable process that has worked great for me:
- Starting Oct 15 (I personally like waiting until Nov), pull a single fruit off the tree and allow it ripen for 3 – 8 days (at room temperature)
- Delicately create small indents all around the fruit using your fingers.
- If you detect a mixture of hard and soft spots, the fruit is not yet ripe.
- Conversely, uniform softness (not super soft) throughout the fruit indicates that it is ready for consumption.
- Delicately create small indents all around the fruit using your fingers.
- Taste the fruit – is the taste or consistency off ?
- If the fruit tastes great, the rest of the avocados on our tree are ready to be harvested
- If the fruit tastes sour/foul/rancid, wait 1-2 weeks, and repeat the process with another single fruit
- Fruit that are picked too early will often become black/inedible.
After confirming that the avocados on our tree are mature, we can begin developing our ‘avocado pipeline.’ This involves picking some fruit to ripen on the counter for more immediate use while also placing others in the refrigerator to be used later. By adopting this approach, we can ensure a continuous supply of ripe avocados.
Marcus Pumpkin Avocado History
While the Marcus Pumpkin Avocado has been around for a while, there isn’t a lot of literature regarding this cultivar’s origin story. However, the consensus is that Marcus Pumpkin originated in Florida almost a century ago.
A more concrete fact that we do know is that if you have ever strolled into a nursery selling a ‘Marcus’ or ‘Pumpkin’ Avocado, they are likely referring to Marcus Pumpkin (the cultivar’s full name).
Finally, Marcus Pumpkin’s large seed has made it a favorite rootstock among those who like to graft, due to the seedlings’ more vigorous growth.
Marcus Pumpkin Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)
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Conclusion
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Thank you for reading! 🙂
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