How to start an avocado seed

Use three toothpicks to suspend it broad end down over a water-filled glass to cover about an inch of the seed. Put the glass in a warm place out of direct sunlight and replenish water as needed. You should see the roots and stem start to sprout in about two to six weeks.

The toothpicks should be supporting the seed so that the pointed half is out of the water and the bottom half is in the water. The sprouting tip will come out of the pointed end, so be sure the flat end is immersed in water. Place the glass on a sunny window sill or some other well lighted spot.

The only skill you need to coax that hard avocado seed (aka the pit) to break is patience — because it usually takes six to eight weeks to get a sprout. Some sources say it takes two to six weeks to go from avocado seed to small avocado seedling, but in most regions it’s a long haul.

Fill a container with potting soil and make a hole about two inches down. Put the avocado pit, pointy side up, into the hole. Cover it with dirt. Water your plant every other day, making sure to not oversaturate the soil.

The crack will extend all the way to the bottom of the avocado pit, and through the crack at the bottom, a tiny taproot will begin to emerge. The taproot will grow longer and longer (and may branch), and eventually a small sprout will peek through the top of the avocado pit.

Try flipping them over and see what happens. They may be too dry at the end that roots but maybe not. I’ve never had a lot of luck with the glass of water and toothpick thing with avocados but they’ve always grown very well in my compost pile. I just toss them in and then dig them up from there and pot them up.

Pits from store–bought avocados do germinate, so you can grow your own avocado tree from just one little pit. You can also start an avocado seed by planting it directly in potting mix, with the top one-third of the seed above the soil, and keeping the soil moist until it sprouts.

That will take care of most microorganism on the surface of the pit. But the truth is that this thin brown shell is as much a cover as a source of potential pathogens, so you need to peel it off. Once the seed is clean and free of its cover, cut away 5mm of the bottom of the pit and 1cm of the top.

An avocado seed in water will germinate well, and using the water method allows you to see when the seeds finally sprout, which isn’t always apparent when they are planted in soil. Avocado seeds started in water and grown indoors don’t usually set fruit, but the plants can survive for years.

Two Crops of Avocados

Yep, that also means it takes an avocado 12-18 months to grow and become ready to eat. The avocados you see at the grocery store or farmers’ market took 12-18 months to grow and mature. It’s no wonder they’re so delicious – they’re similar to a nice, maturing wine or tasty aged steak.

Share on Pinterest Researchers have identified a wealth of therapeutic compounds in the husk of avocado seeds. Researchers found that avocado seed husks contain a variety of chemical compounds that could help to eliminate viruses, combat heart problems, and even treat cancer.

Can you plant a dry avocado seed? That depends on how dry it is. It’s a good idea to plant avocado seeds as soon as you can after you remove them from the fruit. If the seed dries out too much, it may not sprout.

Avocado seeds planted in potting soil take longer to germinate but successful germination is more likely. Peeling the seed will speed up germination when you use this technique, the process for which is: Remove the outer flesh and wash the seed in warm water. Let the seed dry for 24 to 48 hours at room temperature.

When most people think of propagating avocado pits, they probably imagine the pit suspended in a container of water. However, you can also propagate the pit by planting it directly in soil, which is thought to produce stronger seedlings.

Growing Avocados in Containers

Avocado growing indoors is fun and easy. Move the sprouted pit to an unglazed terra cotta pot that is at least 10 inches (25 cm.) across and twice as deep as the roots. Use a potting mix with compost blended with sand for a loose, fast-draining composition.

Coffee grounds help avocado plants by adding nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, and other nutrients, which are all good for avocado trees. Additionally, coffee grounds are slightly acidic with a pH of 5.5-6.8, which is pretty much perfect for avocado plants since they prefer a soil pH of 5-7.

Growing to over 20 feet, most commercially grown varieties of avocados are not suitable for growing indoors long-term. For indoor cultivation there are a number of dwarf varieties with mature heights between 8 and 16 feet.

Pollination: While avocado trees self-fertilize and produce fruit, yields should increase if both a Type A avocado tree and a Type B avocado tree are planted in order to increase the chances for successful pollination. The avocado tree has both functional male and female organs.

Suffice it to say that the conclusion drawn from this standard description is that any single avocado tree has very little opportunity for its flowers to be pollinated, especially in California’s climate, and therefore it’s best to plant two trees of different, complementary flower types in order to get fruit.

So one reason why an avocado won’t produce fruit is simply because it is not a mature grafted variety. Also, avocados planted in USDA zones 9 through 11 can bear fruit, but if you are in a chillier region, the tree may survive but never set fruit. Avocados have a unique flowering behavior called ‘protogynous dichogamy.

Avocado Pollination

Avocado trees bear flowers from January to March. The blossoms are prefect, or bisexual. Type A blooms open as female, receptive to pollen, in the morning and then shed pollen, as male, the following afternoon. Conversely, type B flowers open as females and receptive to pollen in the afternoon.

Types of Trees Suitable for Brazoria County:

Joey – Joey is a medium sized Mexican avocado weighing approximately 6-10 ounces with a thin purplish-black skin and egg shaped. It is also known to be a heavy bearer. Cold Hardy Avocado mature trees have withstood temperatures as low as 15-18 degrees.

Type A avocado trees produce avocados that are dark green, with thick, bumpy skin. Hass is a type A avocado, and other Type As resemble a Hass avocado. In fact, many other Type As are descended from the Hass avocado.

Planting two trees of different varieties in one hole is a great option for a yard with little space or for a person or couple who only need one tree’s worth of avocados.