- The avocado tree is a tropical plant that can be grown at home if placed in a warm, moist and light environment.
- It is super easy to grow an avocado tree: you’ll need only a few basic tools and a little effort.
- Here you’ll find 7 short and simple steps along with some useful tips explaining how to grow your own avocado tree from A to Z.
Avocado is one of the healthiest tropical fruits in the world. Not to mention the amazing taste of it – perfect textured avocados seasoned with salt and pepper smashed together with little pieces of baby onions, fresh-made guacamole dipping, avocado toasts, smoothies…you name it! Everyone loves this superfruit, right?
However, not everyone likes running through the grocery stores, digging through the gigantic baskets of fruits, just to find that ONE – not too hard, not too soft, perfectly ripe AVOCADO… It seems like an impossible mission, isn’t it? Then why not to grow a splendid avocado at home? Below are 7 simple steps on how to do that:
You will need:
- Drinking glass/bowl
- At least one avocado seed (pit)
- A jar of room-temperature water
- 4 toothpicks
- 10-12 inch pot
- Potting mix
Step 1: Buy a few ripe avocados from the local store and make your friends some guacamole.
Step 2: Remove seed (pit) from the avocado and gently wash it under the warm water. No knives allowed in this step – do not damage the seed!
TIP: To avoid disappointments, germinate couple avocado seeds at a time as not every seed germinates from the first time.
Step 3: Prepare avocado seed for germination! Take 4 toothpicks and stick them into the upper part of the avocado seed. Toothpicks should not be wedged too deep – just make sure they stay firmly. The main idea here is to place the bottom part of the avocado pit into the water and leave the upper part hanging over the glass of water.
TIP: Seeds germinate best when kept warm throughout the day. The ideal temperature is above 25 ° C. Therefore, it would be easier to germinate avocado seeds in winter, during the heating season.
Step 4: Place the glass of semi-soaked avocado in a sunny and warm place. Leave it rest for about 8 weeks.
TIP: use a translucent glass to watch the roots grow.
Step 5: Every few days check your avocado seed to make sure that it remains partially submerged into water. Remember to replace the water to prevent your plant from mold, bacteria or fungus. A few weeks later you’ll notice – your seed is germinating! In the meantime, you can start looking for a beautiful flower pot.
Avocado is a tropical fruit. Use some sand or perlite together with the potting mix to prepare drainage for a seed. The soil should always be moist. Create some South American atmosphere in your plant pot!
The top and bottom of the seed are different. The bottom is usually broader and flat – the roots will grow out of it. Plant the seed bottom down.
Plant your seed gently and with care. Do not break the roots of the seed.
Step 6: Let’s plant! Fill the pot with potting mix (not wholly) and place the seed. Pour some room temperature distilled water until the drainage is moist. After that, add some more potting mix to keep seed steady and comfortable.
Step 7: Last and most important step – find a nice, warm and sunny place to live for your new exotic roommate!
TIP: To make the plant grow higher – cut 2 – 3 leaves from the top of the plant. The best time to start doing this – when the height of the stalk is about 31 centimeters. Repeat this procedure after each additional 15 centimeters.
Well, that’s pretty much it! Now, here is the part where your patience has to kick in. It can take about 10 years for the avocado tree to bear fruit. Water your plant, take good care of it and don’t lose your hope! It’s definitely worth it.
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