Avocados are one of the wonderful fruits of summer. High in nutrition and flavor, nothing signals the start of summer like a zesty lime guacamole dip with tortilla chips. The next time you’re making guacamole or slicing an avocado for a salad, try saving your pits to grow into avocado trees. It’s surprisingly easy to grow your own avocado tree from seed, and it makes a great educational project for home and classrooms. Check out our handy-dandy guide below, complete with photos, to learn how to grow an avocado tree from seed.
STEP 1 – REMOVE & CLEAN PIT
You’ll need to start by removing the pit from the avocado carefully (without cutting it), and then washing it clean of all the avocado fruit (often it helps to soak the pit in some water for a few minutes and then scrub all the remaining fruit off). Be careful not to remove the brown skin on the pit – that is the seed cover.
STEP 2 – LOCATE WHICH END IS ‘UP’ AND WHICH IS ‘DOWN’
Some avocado pits are slightly oblong, whereas others are shaped almost like perfect spheres – but all avocado pits have a ‘bottom’ (from where the roots will grow), and a ‘top’ (from which the sprout will grow). The slightly pointier end is the top, and the flat end is the bottom. In order to get your pit to sprout, you will need to place the bottom root end in water, so it’s very important to figure out which end is the ‘top’ and which is the ‘bottom’ before you go piercing it with toothpicks.
STEP 3 – PIERCE WITH FOUR TOOTHPICKS
Take four toothpicks and stick them at a slight downward angle into the avocado seed, spaced evenly around the circumference of the avocado. These toothpicks are your avocado scaffolding, which will allow you to rest the bottom half of the avocado in water, so therefore the toothpicks need to be wedged in there firmly. I recommend sticking them in at a slight angle (pointing down), so that more of your avocado base rests in the water when you set this over a glass.
STEP 4 – PLACE AVOCADO SEED HALF SUBMERGED IN A GLASS OF WATER
And set on a quiet windowsill with sunlight. It’s helpful to use a clear glass so you can easily see when roots start to grow, and also when the water needs to be changed. Many guides recommend to change the water every day, but I found, through trial and error, that it is better to change the water every five days to a week or so. You do want to make sure you change the water regularly, to prevent mold, bacteria and fungus growth, which can doom your little avocado sprout.
STEP 5 – WAIT FOR YOUR AVOCADO SEED TO SPROUT!
Many online guides I have read say that sprouting can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, but in my experience, it usually takes at least 8 weeks to get a sprout, so be patient. Here is the process you will witness:
1. The top of the avocado pit will dry out and form a crack, and the outer brown seed skin will slough off.
2. 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.
3. The taproot will grow longer and longer (and may branch), and eventually a small sprout will peek through the top of the avocado pit.
4. Do not allow your taproot to dry out unsubmerged EVER – doing so will be the death of your plant.
STEP 6 – POT IN SOIL WHEN TREE IS ABOUT 6” TALL
When the stem is 6-7 inches long, cut it back to about 3 inches, this will encourage new growth. When it hits 6-7 inches again, pot it up in a rich humus soil in an 8-10″ diameter pot, leaving the top half of the seed exposed. Place on a sunny windowsill. Avocados love sun – the more sun the better.
STEP 7 – WATER & WATCH IT GROW
Give it frequent waterings with an occasional deep soak. The soil should always be moist, but not saturated. Yellowing leaves are a sign of over-watering; let the plant dry out for a few days.
STEP 8 – PINCH OUT TOP LEAVES TO ENCOURAGE BUSHINESS
When the stem reaches 12 inches tall, pinch out the top two sets of leaves. This will encourage the plant to grow side shoots and more leaves, making it bushy. Each time the plant grows another 6 inches pinch out the 2 newest sets of leaves on top.
STEP 9 – TROUBLESHOOTING BUGS
My avocado trees seem to collect aphids – the nasty critters can’t get enough of the delicious avocado leaves. If you get them, here’s how to get rid of them: Wash all of the aphids off the plant by spraying your plant down with a hose outside or in the sink/shower. Once the little pests are off, spray your plant with a mixture of water with a small squirt of dishwashing liquid and a teaspoon of neem oil. This will keep aphids from returning. Check your plant every 4-5 days and re-clean and spray when necessary.
STEP 10 – WINTERING
Baby avocado trees can kick it outdoors in summer, but if you live anywhere where it gets cooler than 45 degrees F, you’ll need to bring them back indoors in the fall/winter, before the temperatures fall.
WILL MY AVOCADO TREES EVER GROW FRUIT?
Hard to say! Sometimes avocado plants will begin growing fruit after they’re 3 or 4 years old, others take 15+ years to grow fruit, and some never do. It helps to have several avocado trees growing together to aid with pollination. However, don’t expect the fruit to be anything like the avocado that yielded your seed. Commercial avocados are grown from grafted branches to control the outcome of the fruit – a naturally grown avocado may be very different than its parent!
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Another site that covered growing avocado trees from the pits recommended wrapping the bottom of the glass/jar in an opaque material (like aluminum foil) to better simulate the seed’s growing environment before you plant it. My pit has finally sprouted the taproot, but no sprout up top yet. Is wrapping the bottom of the glass a good idea? I think the intent was to help the top sprout emerge? Or should I just leave it alone for now and keep changing the water and let it do its own thing, and the top will sprout given enough time and patience?
Christinearmijo that is a good question. There is a good chance that the flower which in turn produced the seed was cross pollinated, in which case the tree you grow would be a hybrid of the variety of the tree on which it grew and the tree that produced the pollen.
Avocado growers usually plant more than one variety to allow for cross pollination. In order to get the exact same variety you could grow from a cutting from the parent tree.
But if the avocado seed came from a mature avocado tree that was not itself commercial, just a mature tree in a backyard and that parent tree produced LOADS of delicious avocados, will the seed grow into a tree that produces the same delicious avocados?
i am growing an avocado tree and I soaked the seed in water til it split and then I planted it. It is about 18 inches tall and is starting to get leaves.
Looked alot on avacado tree than thought can make gwakamoli and other maybe will buy
that is a lot of good info now i have a huge & pretty it saves youa lot $$$$$$$$$$ money !!!!!!!!!!!!!
i have four small shoots about 12inches tall.you say that all plants dont grow fruit so how do i tell if the ones growing will produce fruit ?
Good sharing stuff
My mother used to have a tree that never bore fruit; but grew so well inside…
It should be noted that a tree grown like this rarely bears fruit. To get avocados one must graft the tree.
It’s a big big tree,..
my tree is about three feet tall but it only has three leaves on top it grows new ones but they drop off. any ideas?
OMG! I just shared how to grow an avocado tree . therefore i just learned something new at 53 years old!!!!!!
Years ago, I used to grow these all the time. Now, they never make roots, so I have assumed these highly commercialized varieties just won\\\’t. Am I wrong? Or should I try organic avocados for better luck? I really enjoyed these plants and would like to grow them again.
You really have to keep on top of the water level if you use this method. However, if instead you use corks on the toothpicks, or use screws through corks and then into the seed, you can float the seed in a container of water and be much less attentive to the water level.
You are great, I got what I just needed Thank you
Hi everyone: One really easy to grow is a tangerine,I have had(never good with verbs) one for about 18 yrs,this small tree do great indoors.
I used to take it outside in summer months after all is a citric.I started it from a tangerine( I ate) …. just put the seed in a small pot and keep it moist and near or in a window. thats all.Super easy super cheap!
Gina.
Thank you for all your information…It was clear and to the point. It will be easy to follow. I can hardly wait to start this project. I have never been successful at growing this tree, but with your instructions, I do not think I can go wrong. Thank you.
Hi, I’m trying to grow an avacado tree and it has three leaves, is about 16 inches tall, but every time the three new leaves come out the three below turn brown and fall off.The soil is damp and I’m very careful not to overwater,its in a southern window wich is sunny from about 10am to 4pm. I read what you said about cutting the stem down to three inches, but I am afraid it will die HELP
I’ve tried growing avocado exactly the same way when I was a kid. I remember it’s a school project back then.
I’ve seen a short article about avocado that it’s dangerous to animals. Just want to share it here: http://www.fruitlush.com/avocado-fun-fact.html.
This is awesome…going to get an avocado today and plant the seed. LOVE IT!
First plant I grew in New York>avocado< I planted a pit in dirt ,really easy thing to do ,I have it for 15 years until it die…..avocado trees like sun/light and water twice a week ,I planted tangerine seeds as well I still have the tree is about 16/17 yrs old…..put it out(make it happy) during spring ,summer,bring it back inside in sept/oct .
Holy cow, this is complicated.
I simply dropped four cleaned pits horizontally into the soil and made sure it’s always moist. Maybe it’s a good idea not to bury them too deep, I just had them covered very lightly. So far, all 4 pits have grown by waiting for 3 or 4 weeks. To aid with keeping the soil moist at all times, I fill a bottle with water and then shove it upside down into the soil. This will slowly but permenently water your seeds. Summer temps were reaching 35°C/95°F, we’ll see how they do during the winter…
Pic: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2732794/20120917_115037.jpg
hi ,, this is wellspan agrotech agribusiness company,, we will appreciate the fruit of avacado in front of mango. specially me MR. M.M.RATHOD AS HEAD OF THE COMPANY ,I will make the dream success of avocado in my state of Gujarat..
up to what temperatures can they stand? Texas gets pretty hot!
Definitely going to try this. Anybody knows about other stuff that will grow from the pit ?
Thanks for the tip, Mudjunky… I have done the toothpick trick with great success before. But I am open to using your way, even though it sort of cuts out the visual if being able to watch the taproot come to life. Now, maybe you would enjoy my tip for you… the word I believe you were searching for is ‘rigmarole’. Your example is not unique to you; it is very often mispronounced and almost always misspelled.
Thanks again for the planting tips.
Great article, avocado trees are such beautiful plants, even if they don’t make fruit it is worth it to grow them. Top Tropical s has a web page on their site that lists varieties and basic information on growing avocados. It is http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/fruit/varieties_avocado.htm
This was very popular when I was growing up. I remember ads in magazines encouraging doing this and also to nip the top to encourage a bushier plant.
I wrap them in wet paper and put them in a jar (with lid) under to sink to get started.
I never had any luck with the toothpick trick. What worked for me was half sinking one in a styro cup of saturated clean kitty litter and putting that into a closed mason jar. Now that I live in a semi-tropical climate, just throwing them on the ground works, too.
Can’t wait to grow my own avocado tree!
We did this, and the tree’s doing brilliantly, although my gardener told me that you cant grow fruiting avocado trees from pits, they have to be a certain type of pit to grow…we shall see! Beautiful tree none the less
Huh?! I just took the pit and jammed it in some soil i had on the window sill and i have an overgrown plant. It resides outside because it’s to big for the kitchen at this point. But you go ahaed with all that riggamorrow.
Avocados are big trees… Find them a large place so they can fully grow!
I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do this and now this how-to makes it easy.
If Amory Lovins can grow bananas in Colorado, I can grow avocados.
My friend actually found a teeny tiny tree already blooming inside of an avocado he bought (and ate). He planted it, and now the tree is about 6 inches tall!
Definitely going to try this.
I’ve totally done this. It’s amazing to watch it grow.
I’m gonna go buy a bunch of avocados and try this today!