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There’s no doubt that Russell Avocado is a great conversation starter. It looks like a tree zucchini!
While funny looking as it is, the Russell Avocado is an exotic cultivar of avocado that can surely supply you and your family with a healthy amount of avocado toast 😄
With that being said, this grow guide will cover everything that you need to know about Russell Avocado:
Table of Contents
- Russell Avocado Tree Characteristics
- Russell Avocado Flavor Profile
- Russell Avocado Season (And When To Pick)
- Russell Avocado History
- Russell Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)
- Conclusion
Russell Avocado Tree Characteristics
The Russell Avocado Tree is a Flowering Type A Avocado. In other words, the female flowers open in the morning and male flowers in the afternoon. In order to maximize Russell’s fruit production, the tree should be planted near a Flowering Type B Avocado with a similar fruiting season.
This includes avocado cultivars such as:
Speaking of fruit production, Russell’s fruit production consistently ranges from average to good. The avocados themselves are medium to large-sized fruits that typically weigh between 1 – 2.5 lbs.
Due to their elongated neck, which can sometimes reach 5-6 inches in length, and a smaller seed, Russell Avocados have an excellent flesh-to-seed ratio. As a result, Russell can definitely be classified as a ‘family-size’ avocado! 😄
Russell is a pure West Indian Avocado, which means that it is very susceptible to cold damage.
Similar to other West Indian Avocados such as the Simmonds, Pollock, Dupuis, and Catalina, Russell should only be planted in areas that rarely experience freezing temperatures. This makes Russell a great option for those in USDA Hardiness Zones 10B and above.
Russell Avocado Flavor Profile
The Russell Avocado boasts a thin, glossy, and smooth bright green skin with a leathery texture.
Slicing into the fruit reveals a yellowish-green flesh that is smooth and buttery, with a slightly firmer texture that holds up well. If the fruit is harvested too early, the flesh may sometimes have a high moisture content.
This issue can be mitigated by allowing the fruit to continue maturing on the tree.
From a flavor perspective, Russell offers a mildly rich West Indian taste with a distinctive nuttiness that isn’t too overpowering. There is also a noticeable but not overpowering sweetness, yet it’s not as sweet as what one would expect from a Lula.
If you are looking for that trademark West Indian flavor, then Russell would be a good choice to consider.
Furthermore, due to the fruit’s larger size and ‘easy peel’ skin, Russell has proven to be an excellent option for recipes requiring a substantial amount of avocado.
On the other hand, for those who prefer oilier varieties, Russell may taste more on the mediocre side due to the fruit having very little oil.
As a result, if you have space for only one avocado tree and prefer a fruit with higher oil content, I would not suggest planting a Russell Avocado Tree and instead look into cultivars such as Oro Negro, Brogdon or Mexicola.
Image Credit: Joel Leon
Side Note: If you want a long-neck avocado that is the complete opposite of Russell (dense, rich, oily), then I recommend checking out the Del Rio Avocado. It’s like Russell’s twin but on the other side of the oil spectrum! 😋
Russell Avocado Season (And When To Pick)
Russell Avocados are considered an early-season avocado (July – August).
Note: Russell Avocados exhibit a tendency for uneven ripening, with the body maturing faster than the neck area.
That said, the best time to pick Russell Avocados are when they are mature on the tree. From a color perspective, Russell changes very little during the maturation process. As a result, I usually check if the fruit is 1) full size and then 2) see if I can gently remove the fruit from the tree.
If both of those conditions are true (along with it being July/August), then Russell should be ready to harvest!
When in doubt, I have developed a repeatable process that has worked great for me:
- Starting July 1, 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
- 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.
Russell Avocado History
The Russell Avocado was discovered in Islamorada, Florida, in the Florida Keys.
While the Russell Long Neck Avocado boasts significant dimensions and distinctive elongated characteristics, it has not seen significant commercial cultivation due to challenges in shipping (weird size) and the tree’s moderate fruit production habit.
Russell Avocado Tree For Sale (Where To Find)
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Conclusion
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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! 🙂
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