It’s hard not to love avocados with all of the amazing benefits these delicious fruits have to offer. I love avocados for everything from improving my skin with an Avocado Honey Facial to enjoying it in my favorite guacamole avocado recipe, and for the many Avocado Oil Benefits. If you are using fresh avocados, you are left with the pits. Why not grow your very own avocado tree? It is actually very easy to grow avocado from seed. Here are the simple steps to growing avocado from seed with photos to show you how.
Grow Avocado From Pit- An Easy Tutorial With Photos
Supplies Needed For Growing Avocado From Pit:
- an avocado seed (pit)
- 3-4 toothpicks
- glass or mason jar
- water
Steps For Growing Avocado From Seed In Water
This makes a fun little project to do with kids or without. You will learn how to sprout an avocado seed with toothpicks in water. It is cool watching the avocado seed send out roots and then split and send out a shoot. You start off growing the avocado in water and then transfer it to a pot with soil once the root and shoot have emerged. It is a great way to witness the transformation of seed to young plant.
1. Remove Avocado Seed
Cut and remove the pit or seed from your ripe avocado. Rinse and wash the seed with water only. Leave the brown skin undisturbed on the seed. It acts to protect the inside. Set it aside to dry while you enjoy your favorite avocado recipe!
Will a cracked avocado seed grow? If you use a lot of avocados, you will sometimes get a seed that is cracked and has already got a bit of a root shoot coming out. These avocado pits are already started so they even easier to grow.
2. Insert Toothpicks into Avocado Seed
Here’s how to sprout an avocado seed with toothpicks. When the avocado seed is dry carefully insert 3 or 4 toothpicks into the bottom of the pit. You’ll want the toothpicks to go in at the widest part of the seed so that it will be easy to suspend over a jar or glass of water. The broad end of the seed (or the flat end) is the part that goes down into the water and that will grow the root. The pointer end should point up and will eventually yield the little avocado sprout.
The benefits of the toothpick method and the avocado seed growing in a glass or glass jar are that you can watch it. Because the clear glass allows an easy view, you will know if it has enough water. As needed, refill with fresh water so that you keep just the bottom of the seed wet. It will also allow you to see as the root grows and develops.
3. Suspend Avocado Seed In Water
Fill a glass or mason jar with water and suspend the seed over the glass using the toothpicks. Place the avocado pit so the pointed, narrow part is facing up. The seed needs to be submerged in the water approximately 1/2″ to 1″. Place the seed jar in a sunny, warm area and maintain the water level.
I used filtered water. Though not required, plants just tend to do better without the chemicals in tap water.
After you suspend the avocado seed in water, this is actually the step where you begin to grow avocado from seed. The hardest part is the waiting for the seed to begin to grow!
How long does it take to grow avocado from seed? Within 2-6 weeks you should start growing avocado from seed. First, you will see the seed send out a tiny taproot from the bottom half of the seed. This will proliferate. If the seed does not sprout by 8 weeks, it is probably a dud. You will need to try again with a new avocado seed.
4. How To Grow Avocado Indoors
After the initial root growth, the top half of the seed will begin to crack open a bit as it sends out a stem. Don’t worry about the avocado seed splitting open. That just allows room for the avocado seed to sprout and send up new leaves. The seed should still hold together as the plant begins to grow. (If it does break, that just means it is time to plant it.)
The avocado sprout does very well growing indoors in a warm place. I keep mine in the window seal where it gets partial sun for most of the day. On nice days, I bring it outside to get some additional direct sunlight exposure.
I let my avocado sprout grow for about 2 months in the jar before planting it. The avocado pit itself is food for the plant as it begins to grow so you don’t have to worry about getting it into the soil in any hurry. Avocados do enjoy a sunny spot so be sure to place them near a sunny window.
5. How To an Plant Avocado Seed In Soil
The stem will leaf again and when it does you can transplant the avocado seedling, root down into a pot of loose, sandy potting mix soil. Just dig a hole to drop the root into and fill in the soil around it. Leave the top half of the pit sticking out above the soil. Keep the avocado plant in a sunny location and water lightly often. I use a small cup of water about every 4 days. You don’t want the seed to rot so be sure the pot has good drainage. Also, if your water runs out into a saucer and the base of the pot is sitting in water, that is too much water! Pour off excess water.
One your avocado tree is well established, you can pinch back a few sets of leaves to encourage new growth and to encourage the plant to thicken. Growing avocado from pit is pretty easy and you have already done all the hard work. Just set the pot in full sun and enjoy it as it grows. It makes a unique houseplant and has and the large waxy leaves that are pretty. Additionally, live houseplants offer lots of benefits, like fresher air.
6. Planting Your Avocado Tree Sapling
If you plan to plant your avocado outside you’ll want to acclimate it by taking it outdoors for a short time everyday. You should do this for 1-2 weeks before transplanting it outside permanently. It will need plenty of indirect sunlight, well-drained soil, and to be watered regularly. In addition, they need warm weather year round to survive well outside. If you don’t have year round warmer climate, you can transfer your avocado sapling to a large pot and bring it outside during the growing season and back inside over the winter.
Do avocado trees grown from seed produce fruit?
You should be aware that while growing avocado from seed is easy, avocado tree plant can take 5-13 years to become mature trees and bear fruit. Some never do! Whether your avocado tree produces fruit or not you’ll have a beautiful plant to enjoy for years to come!
We live in Tennessee so we just keep our avocado tree indoors in a pot for the pleasure of growing them and having a shiny, beautiful houseplant. If you enjoy house plants, check out this great list of 15 rare houseplants!
You can see a pic of my sprouted avocado seed about 3 months after I planted it in soil on my instagram. They are a great decorative indoor plant, but my house is very shady so I bring mine out regularly for an extra dose of sunshine.
This makes a great educational project to do with kids. I have a funny story though on that subject. My daughter and I grew an avocado tree from a seed and when it was pretty big, we had it outside in a big pot. While we were sitting on the deck a squirrel came right up and plucked out the little seed and ran away with it! After that, my daughter disliked squirrels for a long time. In conclusion, beware of hungry critters stealing your avocado pit!
Conclusion
To grow avocado from seed, you may want to set up 4 seeds in water jars as per the instructions. This improves your odds so that if one seed doesn’t grow, at least you will have back ups. Besides, it is fun to watch as the avocado seeds grow and compare the rates at which they sprout and grow. Every seed is different!
I hope you enjoyed these tips for growing avocado from seed. Have you ever tried to grow an avocado from pit? Do you want to grow an avocado tree for fun or fruit? What is your favorite way to enjoy avocados?
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Alana says
When I first saw a friend doing this I had never heard of it before! This would be a great activity to do with kids when learning about plants… (and it’s surprisingly easy)