The easiest way to start an avocado.

[Demelza]

We all know you are supposed to stick some toothpicks in the bottom part of the avocado & suspend it over some water. I have successfully started them that way in the past, but with cats around now it just doesn't seem to work. I had a really nice avocado pit when I was out at the lake in the fall. I wanted to bring it home to try to start it. I wrapped it in some damp papertowel, tossed it in a ziplock bag, brought it home & forgot about it. Well when I did remember it there were some lovely roots on it, it had split & was ready to plant. I wasn't sure if this was just luck or not, so have tried it again recently. I washed the pit, wrapped it in the fairly damp papertowel, into the ziplock sandwich bag & left it on the kitchen counter. A few weeks down the road & I have some roots on it. Another week or 2 and it will be ready to plant.

[KeyWee]

Sounds like a MUCH easier way to do this than the old toothpick method. Thanks for the tip ~ I am going to try it. We love guacamole! Are you in an area where you can grow the trees outdoors? I would have to bring inside for the winter.

[Demelza]

I wish we could grow them outdoors. Unfortunately I live in Saskatchewan & it is -24C right now. Mine tend to live indoors all year, till I murder them off due to underwatering

[Kerfuffle-Upon-Wincle]

I've had success in the past by letting the pit dry until the outer brown surface begins to crack slightly, then stick it into a flower pot filled with dirt ~ sometimes it takes months to begin to grow, and sometimes they don't sprout, but it's a wonderful surprise when it does! Makes a pretty plant ~

[Demelza]

They are quite a nice plant. I have never tried letting them dry & then just potting them up. One thing I have found is that once they have been in the fridge they don't seem to sprout for me. I am not sure if they get too chilled, or if it is just luck of the draw.

[SarasotaCook]

Rather than me writing my method out Here It Is Online by someone else.
A nursery gave me this method years ago and it does work.

http://rebeccascudder.hubpages.com/hub/An-Almost-Foolproof-Way-to-Grow-an-Avocado-from-a-Seed
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How long and does growing seeds inside or in dirt work?

It could be a very long time.

If you’re talking about a tree that you started from a seed, then don’t expect your plant to bear fruit, because ungrafted trees (like those grown inside from seeds) rarely produce fruit. In order to have an avocado tree that produces fruit, you have to graft the seedling. Grafting involves mixing the tissues of the seedling with those of a producing tree. Once grafted a plant grown from seed can take anywhere from five to 13 years to flower and bear fruit.

Avocado grafting requires precise weather conditions and therefore a successful graft yield is often low - even for professionals. Which is why, it is often just easier to simply buy a grafted tree from a reputable nursery.

Your tree will also need to be fed. Nutrients needed by avocado trees are Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium (NPK) in a 7-4-2 fertilizer and Zinc. You should feed young trees 1/3 to 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per tree per year, It can be spread out over several applications if you like.

When watering, it is best to soak the soil well, then allow it to dry out somewhat before watering again. At planting, the tree can hold about 2 gallons of water. Depending on the weather, your tree may need a gallon of water a day along the coast. Typically, trees need to be watered two to three times a week. A mature tree will take about 20 gallons of water a day.

If you have patience and follow the guidlines you may be lucky enough to be graced with a tree that may produce an abundance of Avocados.

[Demelza]

Pretty much the same concept, but in dirt instead of in papertowel in a plastic bag. Planting them point down is definitely a different way, I always went point up as the root comes out of the fat end. I would never expect to get avocados off a plant I started, & now know that they need to be grafted so they really are just for show. I have a friend who's Dad used to stick orange seeds into plant pots with other houseplants & end up with orange trees growing all over the place. I have had really good luck starting Meyer Lemon seeds in peat pellets. Time to go browse the garden seed catalogues & dream of spring.

[Hypnosis]

Thanks for this tip. Can you tell me how long it takes until you have an edible avocado?

[Demelza]

Hypnosis wrote:
Thanks for this tip. Can you tell me how long it takes until you have an edible avocado?

I would love to be able to answer that, but I have never managed to get one to that stage. Living in Canada doesn't help. If you live in zone 9, 10 or 11 you can plant it outside & I have read it will take from 7 to 10 years to produce fruit. I don't know if one grown in a pot indoors will ever produce, although I suspect it likely wouldn't. I hope someone else will stumble upon this & be able to tell us
Good luck with yours.

[Hypnosis]

Demelza wrote:

Hypnosis wrote:
Thanks for this tip. Can you tell me how long it takes until you have an edible avocado?

I would love to be able to answer that, but I have never managed to get one to that stage. Living in Canada doesn't help. If you live in zone 9, 10 or 11 you can plant it outside & I have read it will take from 7 to 10 years to produce fruit. I don't know if one grown in a pot indoors will ever produce, although I suspect it likely wouldn't. I hope someone else will stumble upon this & be able to tell us
Good luck with yours.

Thanks I guess it's going to be supermarket avocado for some more time

[Demelza]

Hypnosis wrote:

Demelza wrote:

Hypnosis wrote:
Thanks for this tip. Can you tell me how long it takes until you have an edible avocado?

I would love to be able to answer that, but I have never managed to get one to that stage. Living in Canada doesn't help. If you live in zone 9, 10 or 11 you can plant it outside & I have read it will take from 7 to 10 years to produce fruit. I don't know if one grown in a pot indoors will ever produce, although I suspect it likely wouldn't. I hope someone else will stumble upon this & be able to tell us
Good luck with yours.

Thanks I guess it's going to be supermarket avocado for some more time

You are welcome. If you live in an area where they would be hardy you could try to get one from a nursery, that likely would be grafted, as they are supposed to produce truer fruit to the parent. There are apparently some that will survive to 25F, but I am not sure how easy they are to find. I would love to be able to go out in my yard & pick my own avocados.

[Zeldaz]

Avocados rarely flower indoors, as that requires loads of sun, and even if it did you'd have a better chance of getting fruit if you had two trees blooming at the same time for pollination purposes. The most you can expect is a nice, big houseplant.