How To Grow An Avocado From A Seed At Home: Step-by-step Instructions With Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to grow an avocado from a seed at home

Avocado is a well-known fruit that came to us from tropical countries. Many lovers of exotic flora dream of getting this capricious guest on their windowsill. Growing an avocado from a seed at home is not difficult at all. But in order for the tree to grow in the future and become a real decoration of your interior, you will have to learn several rules for caring for it.

Content

• 1 What are the chances of growing an avocado at home
• 2 How you can germinate a bone: two ways

• 3 Home conditions for active tree growth

  • 3.1 Table: possible cultivation problems and methods of their elimination
  • 3.2 Video: how to care for an avocado tree
• 4 Reviews
• 5 Video: practical tips for growing avocados (part 1)
• 6 Video: practical tips for growing avocados (part 2)

What are the chances of growing an avocado at home

Avocados multiply easily, so growing it indoors from store-bought fruit is easy. The fastest growing avocado is observed in the spring. But this culture, most likely, will serve only a decorative function. The avocado growing in the natural environment reaches a height of 18–20 meters. The size of a tree obtained at home will not exceed 2.5 m. Moreover, the fruiting of such a plant does not always occur. But thanks to the lush crown, the avocado looks attractive even without flowers and fruits. Also, this tree is useful in that it effectively purifies the air.

Avocado grows well at home, but rarely bears fruit

How you can germinate a bone: two ways

Work needs to start with the preparation of planting material. The bone should be easily removed from the pulp, have a relief surface and be as large as a large quail egg. You can only get a suitable option from a ripe fruit. The ripeness of the fruit can be determined by the dark color of the peel and firm pulp.

Before planting, the seed must be removed and germinated.

You can buy unripe avocados if there are no others on sale. But it will first need to be put in a paper bag along with ripe apples, tomatoes or bananas and stored at a temperature of 18-23 ̊С for 1-2 days, avoiding direct sunlight. Ripe fruits contain a high concentration of ethylene - a gas that speeds up the ripening of fruits, and it will help your avocado get to the desired condition.

The next step is to extract the planting material. Cut the avocado in half, turn the flesh out and remove the pit.

There are two ways to germinate it:

• closed;
• open.

The closed method involves planting the seed directly into the soil. To do this, we need to do the following:

1. Prepare the pot, put a drainage layer 1.5–2 cm thick on the bottom. Expanded clay or small pebbles are suitable for this purpose.

   

   In pots, be sure to make a drainage layer

2. Combine equal proportions of sand, humus, and garden soil to make a nutrient mixture. You can also use ready-made soil mixture, but keep in mind that it must be loose and well-drained. Fill the pot with this mixture, no more than 1-1.5 cm to the top edge.

   

   We fall asleep on the drainage layer loose light soil

3. Place the bone with the blunt end to a depth of 3 cm. Water.

   

   Dip the avocado seeds 3 cm into the ground and pour

4. Place the pot in a warm, well-lit place, such as a windowsill. The seed usually sprouts in 20–30 days. Keep the soil moist all the time, do not let it dry out.

   

   Avocados germinate within 20-30 days

The open method involves germinating the seed in water. This requires a glass or other suitable container. Your actions will be as follows:

1. Punch 3 holes in the center of the bone. Then insert 3–5 mm toothpicks into each of them.

   

   Insert toothpicks into the bone

2. As such, place the bone with a blunt end in a container filled with cold water. Adjust the water level so that only one third of the planting material is submerged in the liquid.

   

   We lower the bone in a glass of water by a third

3. Watch the water level, it is necessary that it does not change. You can transplant avocados into the soil after the roots have grown 3-4 cm. Root formation takes 1-6 weeks, depending on the season.

   

   We are waiting for the bone to give a root 3-4 cm long

Home conditions for active tree growth

At home, it is difficult to achieve fruiting avocado. The plant yields only 5% of the time. If you are lucky, your tree will begin to bear fruit at 3-7 years of age, and these fruits will be quite suitable for consumption, although they are usually inferior in taste to purchased ones. Also, with this method of growing, the avocado will not reach its natural size, its growth will stop within 2–2.5 m.

A number of necessary conditions must be provided for an avocado, then your tree can grow up to 2.5 meters

For the successful growth of this culture, the following set of conditions must be observed.

1. Regular watering. The plant needs watering as the soil dries out. As a rule, 1-2 times a week is enough. To maintain optimal soil moisture in the cold season, water the crop in limited quantities - only 2-3 days after the soil has completely dried out.
2. Diffused light. Avocado is a light-loving plant, but at the same time it must be protected from direct sunlight so that there are no burns on the leaves. The culture is placed on the south, east or west window.

3. Humid air. This plant does not tolerate dry air. There are several ways to maintain moisture readings at the required level:

   • the simplest but troublesome way is to hang towels soaked in water around the room;
   • it is advisable to install plants next to the avocado with large leaves that evaporate a lot of moisture;
   • it is necessary to spray the leaves of the avocado up to 5 times a day from a fine spray bottle;
   • in summer and during the heating season, you need to place a pot with a tree on a pallet with wet sand or expanded clay.
4. Long daylight hours. In autumn and winter, the plant is illuminated using fluorescent lamps or phytolamps for 12 hours a day, and during the flowering period they provide it with 15 hours of daylight.
5. Compliance with the temperature regime during growth and rest. Temperature indicators in the room are set in the range of 16–20 ̊С. In winter, avocados often enter dormancy and shed their leaves. In this case, the temperature is lowered to 10–12 ̊С. At higher rates, the plant dries and leaves fall, but the avocado usually does not die.
6. Fertilizer. You also need to take care of feeding. The frequency of fertilization depends on the season. Avocados are fed 2-3 times a month in spring and summer, and 1 time in autumn and winter. As fertilizers, mixtures are used for ornamental flowering plants. For example, Biochelate (10 ml per 2 liters of water) is suitable.
7. Timely transplant. As it grows, the plant is transplanted into a larger pot. The first time this procedure is carried out when the avocado reaches 15 cm in height. In the future, the transplant is performed annually. In this case, the same soil composition is used that was used during planting. The most suitable time for transplanting is spring.
8. Formative pruning. To increase the decorative properties of the avocado, pruning is carried out. Otherwise, the tree will only develop in height. Pruning is done in March. In the first year, the top is shortened after 7-8 leaves, lateral shoots - after 5-6 leaves. In the future, the height is maintained at the desired level. The formation of the crown should be carried out annually in the spring.

Table: possible cultivation problems and methods for their elimination

Possible problems	Solutions
Avocado leaves dry	Insufficient Watering: Increase Watering
Leaves turn pale	Low light: supplement the tree with lighting fixtures to provide 12-15 hours of daylight
The plant begins to shed its leaves	Room temperature too low or too high: Maintain the temperature level between 16-20 ° C.

Video: how to care for an avocado tree

Reviews

Video: practical tips for growing avocados (part 1)

Video: practical tips for growing avocados (part 2)

Anyone can grow an avocado from a seed. To do this, the culture must be provided with timely watering, feeding, maintain a certain level of humidity and temperature. But getting exotic fruits is unlikely to succeed. In the vast majority of cases, avocado is used as an attractive decorative tree.