How to Grow Avocados

The avocado tree – a plant that produces smooth, greasy and rich fruit that is indispensable in dishes such as guacampe sauce – can be grown from the seeds left after eating the fruit. Although avocado trees grown from seed take a long time to bear fruit (sometimes 7-15 years), it is well worth the fun as you will have a pleasing looking avocado in the meantime. . Once the tree is established, you can either wait for it to grow or speed up its growth by grafting branches from a high yielding plant to yours. Whichever method you choose, you can grow your own avocado tree by starting with step 1 below!

Table of Contents

Choose good conditions to plant trees

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Find a warm area with partial sun. Avocado is a sun-loving plant because it is a subtropical tree. Native to Central America, Mexico and the West Indies, the avocado tree thrives in hot, humid environments. ^{[1] X Trusted Source University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Go to the source} Although avocados have been bred and grown in remote areas like California, they still need plenty of sun to grow well. However, it is a paradox that young avocado trees can be damaged if exposed to too much direct sunlight (especially before the tree has time to grow large leaves). Therefore. If you’re going to grow an avocado tree from seed, you’ll need to choose a planting site that gets some sun during certain times of the day but doesn’t get full sun throughout the day.

A sunny window sill is a great place to grow avocados. In addition to partial sunlight, indoor window sills allow you to control the temperature and humidity around the plants.

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Avoid cold, windy and frosty places. Normally, avocado trees do not do well in extreme weather. Snow, cold winds and sudden drops in temperatures can be harmful to even harder trees, ^{[2] X Source of research} can kill avocado trees. If you live in a tropical or subtropical climate with relatively mild winters, you can grow avocado trees outdoors year-round. However, if your area has winters that drop below freezing, you’ll need to be prepared to move your grown plants indoors during the winter to protect them.

Different avocado varieties have different cold tolerances. The following are some common avocado varieties that will suffer significant frost damage at the following recorded temperatures: ^{[3] X Research Source}
- West Indian — 28-29 ^o F (-2.2-1.7 ^o C)
- Guatemalan — 27-29 ^o F (-2.8-1.7 ^o C)
- Hass — 25-29 ^o F (-3.9-1.7 ^o C)
- Mexican — 21-27 ^o F (-6.1-2.8 ^o C)

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Choose fertile and well-draining soil. Like many other garden plants, avocados grow best in fertile, fertile soil. In addition to providing good nutrition for avocado trees to thrive, this type of soil also reduces the risk of waterlogging and increases aeration in the soil. For best results, you should have prepared soil (such as soil rich in humus and organic matter) for planting once the avocado tree has taken root and sprouted.

You do not need to prepare the soil for planting from the beginning, as the avocado seeds will be incubated in water before planting in the ground.

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Choose soil with a relatively low pH. As with many other popular crops, avocados grow best in soils with a low pH (in other words, soil that is more acidic than alkaline). For best results, you should try to choose a soil with a pH between 5 and 7. At higher pHs, the ability of the avocado tree to absorb essential nutrients like iron and zinc can significantly reduce these nutrients. Essential nutrients such as zinc and iron lead to hindering plant growth. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

If the pH in the soil is too high, you can lower the pH by applying organic fertilizers or growing alkaline-tolerant plants in your garden. You can also get good results with chemicals like aluminum sulfate or sulfur applied to the soil. For more tips on reducing soil pH.

Nurturing avocado trees

Seed incubation

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Remove the avocado seeds and wash them. Getting the seeds from a ripe avocado is also easy. Use a knife to cut around the avocado lengthwise on both sides, then twist the avocado halves to separate. Remove the avocado seed that is still stuck in half of the fruit. Finally, wash the avocado flesh that is still attached to the seeds until it is clean and smooth.

Don’t throw away the avocado flesh — try making guacampe, spread it on toast, or use avocado as a delicious and nutritious snack.

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Hang the avocado seeds in the water. Don’t plant avocado seeds straight into the ground — you need to plant them in water until the roots and shoots have developed enough to support the plant. A simple way to hang avocado seeds in water is to stick 3 toothpicks around the seeds and place them over the top of a cup or bowl of water. Don’t worry — the avocado seeds won’t be harmed. Pour water into a cup or bowl to cover the bottom of the seeds.

Make sure the avocado seeds are positioned correctly. The top of the seed is rounder or more pointed (like an egg), while the bottom that is submerged in water will be slightly flatter and may have a different coloration than the rest of the seed.

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Place the seeding cup next to a sunny window and change the water as needed. Next, place your cup of avocado seed germination water in a place where there is occasional (but rarely direct) sunlight, such as on a windowsill that receives only a few hours of sunlight a day. Once a week, empty the cup and replace it with fresh water to keep it clean. Add more water after a few days if the water level drops below the bottom of the seed. Within a few weeks to a month and a half, you should see roots starting to descend at the bottom of the seed and a small sprout starting to emerge at the top of the seed.

The initial phase of inactivity can take about 2-6 weeks. ^{[5] X Research Source} Your avocado seed may look unresponsive, but be patient — eventually, you’ll see roots start to grow and shoots will emerge.

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Cut the stem when it is about 15 cm tall. As the roots and stems begin to grow, continue to monitor the growth of the plant and change the water as needed. When the stem reaches a height of about 15 cm, cut it back so that only about 8 cm is left. Within a few weeks, the plant will grow new roots and the trunk will grow into a larger and fuller tree.

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Plant avocado seeds in the ground. A few weeks after the first pruning, when the roots have thickened and the trunk has sprouted new leaves, you can finally plant the plant in a pot. Pull out the toothpicks and place the roots in soil that is rich in organic matter and has good drainage. For best results, it is recommended that you use a pot with a diameter of about 25-30 cm. Pots smaller than this can cause the roots to stagnate and impede growth if you don’t re-pot.

Don’t bury the entire avocado seed in the soil — you should just cover the roots with soil and leave half of the seed above the ground.

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Water the plants regularly. Immediately after planting the avocado tree in a pot, water the plant a lot. Lightly water the soil so that it is soaked with water. From now on, you will only water enough so that the soil is slightly moist but not soggy.

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Train the avocado tree to be stronger. Every time you bring the plant outdoors, it will be gradually exposed to outside conditions. Start by placing the potted plant out in direct sunlight most of the time. Gradually move the plant to a brighter area. Finally, your avocado tree will be ready for constant and direct sun.

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Cut off leaves after each growing segment increases 15 cm. Once the plant has been planted in the soil, continue to water and sunbathe the plant. Use a ruler to periodically monitor the progress of the tree. When the stem reaches a height of about 30 cm, remove all the new leaves from the top of the branch and leave the rest intact. As the plant continues to grow, you will cut off the newest and topmost bunches of leaves each time the plant grows 15cm taller.

This will stimulate the plant to grow new shoots, which will develop into a lush and healthy avocado tree in the long run. Don’t worry about the tree getting hurt — the avocado tree is sturdy enough to recover from pruning with no problems.

Tree grafting

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Grow seedlings to about 60 – 90 cm tall. As mentioned above, avocado trees grown from seeds may not necessarily grow as intended by the grower. Some trees can bear fruit after several years, ^{[6] X Research Source} , while others take years longer, or never even bear fruit. To shorten the time and ensure the tree bears good fruit, you can use a specialized technique of gardeners — grafting. To perform the grafting technique, you will need a fruiting avocado tree and a seedling that is at least 60-75 cm tall.

If possible, you should choose a tree that gives a strong and disease-resistant graft in addition to the advantage of good fruit. Successful grafting techniques will help you bring two plants together, so you’ll want to choose as healthy a plant as possible to avoid problems later on.

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Start in spring. The easiest time to transplant is when the tree is growing vigorously and before the weather gets too dry. Start in the spring and prepare the grafting process in about 4 weeks.

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Make a T-shaped incision on the seedling. Use a sharp knife to make a T-shaped incision on the trunk, about 20-30 cm above the ground. Cut a horizontal line 1/3 of the diameter of the stem, then turn the tip of the knife and cut vertically down about 2.5 cm. Use a knife to separate the bark from the stem.

Of course, you need to avoid cutting too deep into the trunk. Your goal is to “open” the bark along the trunk so that new branches can be grafted in, rather than injuring the tree.

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Cut a graft. The next step is to find a graft in the fruit tree you have chosen. Take the graft by cutting a diagonal line 1.2 cm below the bud and ending about 2.5 cm below it. If the graft is in the middle and not the tip, you will cut the top to get the graft.

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Transplant the new shoot into the seedling. Next, you will thread the newly cut graft into the T-slit in the stem of the seedling. You need to graft so that the green underneath the bark of both the graft and the tree are touching — otherwise, the grafting process may fail. Once the graft is in place in the incision, you can secure it with an elastic band or special grafting cord (available at most garden supply stores).

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Wait for the graft to be accepted. If the grafting process is successful, the grafted shoot and the seedling will gradually fuse together, forming a tree. After transplantation, this process usually occurs within 1 month. Once the tree has fully recovered, you can remove the elastic. If desired, you can carefully cut the host stem about 2.5 to 5 cm above the new shoot to make a new “host” branch.

Remember that avocado trees grown from seed can take 5 to 13 years to flower and bear fruit. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Avocado tree care

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Water regularly, but avoid over-watering. Compared to other garden civets, avocado trees have higher water requirements. However, you need to keep in mind that over-watering is a potential problem for nearly all plants, including avocados. Avoid watering too often or too much which makes the soil look like mud. Use well-drained soil (nutrient-rich soil is usually appropriate). If the plant is grown in a pot, you need to be aware that the pot must have a drainage hole in the bottom to allow excess water to drain. Follow these simple tips, and your avocado tree won’t be at risk of waterlogging.

If the leaves are starting to yellow and you are watering too often, this could be a sign that the plant is being over-watered. Stop watering immediately and only water again when the soil dries out.

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Fertilize the plant from time to time. Avocados can grow healthy without needing to be fertilized. However, if used properly, fertilizers can help seedling growth. Once the plant is established, you can apply a balanced fertilizer to the soil during the growing season according to the instructions on the package. Don’t over-fertilize — when using a commercial fertilizer, it’s best to be a little cautious. Always water after fertilizing to make sure the fertilizer soaks into the soil and goes straight to the roots.

As with many other plants, in general you should not fertilize avocado trees when they are too young because they are very susceptible to “burning” due to overuse of fertilizers. Try waiting at least 1 year before fertilizing.

Advice

There are specialized fertilizers for avocado trees. When used as directed, these products are nearly always effective. Other fertilizers can also be helpful, especially if the soil is less than ideal for avocados. Since you will be eating the fruit of the tree, consider buying an organic fertilizer instead of a synthetic one.

Warning

Although you can grow an avocado tree from seed, be aware that a seed plant is sometimes very different from the parent tree and can take about 7-15 years to begin to bear fruit. Avocados grown from seed may taste different from the fruit of the parent tree.
If the leaves are turning brown and the tips of the leaves are burnt, it is possible that too much salt is accumulating in the soil. Let the water run into the pot and out for a few minutes.

Things you need

Avocado seeds
Container for seed germination
Toothpick
Pot to plant seedlings when budding
Fertilizer
Knife
Rubber bands/bandages for tree grafting
Organic pesticides (optional)

Steps