
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
- Oro Negro Avocado Flavor Profile
- Oro Negro Avocado Season (And When To Pick)
- Oro Negro Avocado History
- Oro Negro Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)
- Conclusion
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:
- Choquette (FL)
- Florida Hass (FL)
- Hall (FL)
- Hass (FL)
- Lamb Hass (FL)
- Lula (FL)
- Reed (FL)
- Super Hass (FL)
- Wurtz (FL)

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 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.
- 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 another month and repeat the process with another single fruit

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.”

Image Credit: Alex Curtis-Slep
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)
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Conclusion
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