planetrj

Hi Keith, I've been growing this one for the last few years. It's a fairly good flavored fruit, but I would really regard it more of a novelty to have around moreso than for having lots of fruit, or even expecting good nutty/oily flavor... thats for sure. It's flavor is pretty sub-standard compared to even Haas or Fuerte. My heaviest harvests come from Haas and Mexicola Grande. The best flavor is either Haas, Fuerte, or Stewart, folowed closely by Mexicola Grande. The biggest problem I have with Russell is dropping or splitting. Dropping wouldn't normally be a big issue, except that it doesn't get close to the ripening stage enough to finish ripening off the tree, but instead the fruit that drop early end up rubbery and inedible. The other thing I don't care for is the 'watery' texture and taste (similar to many Florida type Avo's). There's a very low oil taste and also not any sort of nutty flavor. One smaller issue is that with the super thin skin, they are tough to peel, compared to most, and they don't allow for 'scooping' with a spoon, since it flexes too easily (like apple skin).
In conclusion, I would say that this one is just a novelty and not one of the most reliable fruit setters, and moreso, it's flavor is really substandard compared to the better varieties out there with a much higher oil content, giving that classic 'nutty' flavor that makes a superb Avocado the flavor it is known for.

I'd highly recommend getting Mexicola Grande over this, if you want something less common. They have a black skin (almost purple), HIGH oil content, rich, deep nutty flavor, and is an excellent producer.

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