Oro Negro Avocado Grow Guide

A Bowl Full of Oro Negro Avocados And Lemons
Image Credit: Sweet Song Groves

If you’re planning to grow an avocado tree, why not aim for gold? 🥇

With a name that literally translates to ‘Black Gold,’ Oro Negro is a relatively new avocado cultivar that has earned a stellar reputation among those who have had a chance to try it. While Oro Negro is far from a perfect avocado, it is definitely high up on a lot of folks’ lists of favorite avocado cultivars (myself included).

With that being said, this grow guide will cover everything that you need to know about Oro Negro Avocado:

Table of Contents

Oro Negro Avocado Tree Characteristics

The Oro Negro 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 Oro Negro’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:

An Oro Negro Avocado Tree
Image Credit: Elise Pickett

Speaking of fruit production, Oro Negro’s fruit production consistently ranges from poor to fair.

In fact, the only complaint I have about this cultivar is its lackluster yields. While it’s true that Oro Negro does set a lot of fruit, I have consistently observed that the tree seems to have a problem with holding fruit to maturity.

An Oro Negro Avocado Tree in bloom
Image Credit: Daniel Rodriguez

This is particularly interesting given that Oro Negro is most likely a seedling of Monroe, which produces an incredible amount of fruit compared to Oro Negro—sometimes 200% – 300% more fruit from a similarly sized tree.

Additionally, Oro Negro is known to have a vigorous growth habit. Therefore, if fruit production and space concerns are essential factors for you, then this variety may not be the best choice for you.

An Oro Negro Avocado Tree
Image Credit: D’s Fruit Trees

The avocados themselves are medium-sized elliptically-shaped fruits that typically weigh between 1.0 – 1.5 lbs.

The Oro Negro Avocado is a Complex Hybrid (containing genes from all three subspecies) and is moderately cold tolerant to temperates as low as 25°F, possibly even slightly lower due to its Mexican genetics.

This makes Oro Negro a great option for those in USDA Hardiness Zones 9B and above.

Oro Negro Avocado Trees In Containers
Image Credit: D’s Fruit Trees

Oro Negro Avocado Flavor Profile

The Oro Negro Avocado features smooth, soft, pliable, shiny, dark black skin of medium thickness that peels very easily and doesn’t adhere to the fruit.

A Mature and Ripe Oro Negro Avocado Cut In Half
Image Credit: Serendib Farms

Slicing into the fruit will reveal a greenish-yellow flesh that has a soft, smooth, and butter-like texture that is reminiscent of a creamy Catalina Avocado.

From a flavor perspective, Oro Negro is a delightful blend of richness and nuttiness that is very similar in flavor (but not identical) to Hass. Between the mouth watering flavor and oil content ranging from 10 – 15%, Oro Negro is also an excellent avocado for guacamole.

An Oro Negro Avocado Cut In Half
Image Credit: Sweet Song Groves

So while Monroe may outshine Oro Negro when it comes to fruit production, Oro Negro wins hands down in the taste department.

And while I believe that a perfect Fuerte is the best-tasting avocado in the world, Oro Negro is definitely a contender for one of the best avocados to grow in Florida (judged strictly on flavor).

A Mature and Ripe Oro Negro Avocado Cut In Half
Image Credit: Food Forest Tampa

Oro Negro Avocado Season (And When To Pick)

Oro Negro Avocados are considered a mid-to-late season avocado (November – January).

With that being said, the best time to pick Oro Negro Avocados are when they are mature on the tree. In terms of color, this is when the majority of the fruit has transitioned to a patent-leather black.

A Perfectly Mature Oro Negro Avocado
Image Credit: Sweet Song Groves

Another important point to note about Oro Negro is that the fruit has a tendency to drop once it becomes 80% – 100% black. So make sure to stay vigilant so that the critters don’t reach the fallen fruit before you do! 😆

Speaking of critters, if you do happen to have problems with wildlife, Oro Negro Avocados can be picked when the black color covers at least 80% of the fruit.

Mature Oro Negro Avocados
Image Credit: Louis Boling

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:

  1. Starting Nov 1, after the fruit has transitioned to a deep black color, 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.
  2. 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 another month and repeat the process with another single fruit
An Oro Negro Avocado Cut In Half
Image Credit: Fruit Retrobution

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.

Oro Negro Avocado History

The Oro Negro Avocado was initially propagated in Homestead, Florida, by Mike Hunt in 1989.

The name Oro Negro is Spanish for “Black Gold.”

Due to the fruit’s similar shape and season, Oro Negro is speculated to be a seedling of Monroe (Guatemalan X West Indian Hybrid). However, what’s even more interesting is Oro Negro’s potential pollinating parent.

That is because while Oro Negro’s black skin is a prominent characteristic of Mexican Avocados, the tree’s leaves lack the familiar anise aroma typically associated with Mexican varieties. Therefore, I speculate that Oro Negro is actually a Complex Hybrid, possibly containing genes from all three subspecies.

Oro Negro Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)

Tropical Tree Guide has proudly partnered with Montura Gardens, a family-owned nursery in Clewiston, Florida, to bring you premium, grafted tropical fruit trees—delivered FREE to your doorstep! With Montura Gardens’ exceptional quality and service, we’re making it easier than ever to grow flourishing tropical trees right in your backyard.

For more information, please check out our Tropical Fruit Trees For Sale Page.

Conclusion

If you found this grow guide helpful, please consider sharing. It helps support the website 🙂

If you have any questions regarding anything mentioned in this grow guide, please comment them below! This way, others can also benefit from the answer to the same question. For any other questions or growing tips that you think may be helpful, feel free to use the contact form and drop me a line.

Thank you for reading! 🙂

_

Join Our Community

Avatar

Matthew Rowlings

I have a degree in Biology from the University of Florida and am also an Active Florida Master Gardener. I am located in Central Florida (Zone 10A) and have 7+ years of experience with growing, propagating, and grafting 20+ types of tropical fruit trees on my 0.15 acre suburban lot. You can learn more about me and why I started Tropical Tree Guide on my about page.

View all posts by Matthew Rowlings →