How to Grow an Avocado Tree

Growing an Avocado Tree with Toothpicks

Remove and clean an avocado seed. Cut your avocado in half, so it exposes the oval shaped seed in the middle. Use a utensil like a knife or a fork to extract the seed out of the avocado. Once the seed is removed, rinse it under warm water to remove all of the avocado fruit from it. Do not remove the brown skin or "seed cover" from the seed. Read Cut-an-Avocado if you're unsure how to cut an avocado.

Determine the top and bottom ends of your seed. The top of the seed is the pointed end, while the lower part of the seed is rounded. It's important that you're able to identify the top and the bottom of your seed. The roots will grow out of the bottom and your tree will sprout from the top of the seed.

Insert three toothpicks into the seed. Insert three toothpicks on a slight downward angle in the middle of the seed. The toothpicks will enable you to suspend your seed so that the roots can get enough water while the top of the seed stays dry. The toothpicks should be an equal distance apart from one another. Make sure that each toothpick is inserted firmly but not too far.

Place your seed on the brim of a cup filled with water. Use the toothpicks to balance the seed on the brim of a cup, ensuring that the bottom half of the seed is under water. The other half of the seed should be above the water's surface. Place the glass in a warm spot where it can get some sun. Remember to replace the water as it evaporates. Change your water once a week to prevent mold from growing in your glass. Use room temperature water for your avocado tree.

Wait for your avocado tree to sprout. In two to six weeks, you should see your avocado tree start to sprout. You'll notice that the seed will crack and roots will begin to grow from the bottom of the seed. If your avocado tree does not sprout in eight weeks, consider starting over with a new seed.

Transfer your plant to a pot with soil. Once your plant grows to 6 - 7 inches (15 - 17.7 centimeters), you should move it to a pot with soil. Remove the toothpicks from your seed and place it in a 8 - 10 inch (20.3 - 25.4 centimeter) deep pot filled with humus soil or a multi-purpose potting soil. The seed should be half exposed on top of the soil. Humus is loose and crumbly soil. It includes organic material like leaves, grass clippings, and peat moss. Avocado trees thrive in fast draining organic soil.

Growing an Avocado Tree in Dirt

Remove and clean an avocado seed. You can use a paper towel or run your seed under water. Remove all of the avocado pulp from the seed before you continue. If your seed is giving you issues during cleaning, you can submerge it under water for one to two minutes to loosen some of the stuck on avocado.

Carefully remove the brown seed cover from your seed. Once you've extracted your avocado seed, you'll need to peel back the brown layer over the seed, sometimes referred to as the "seed cover." Use a sharp knife and cut away at the brown cover to reveal the tan seed under it. Light scratches on the seed will not prevent growth but avoid puncturing or cracking the seed while you remove the cover.

Fill a pot with moist soil. Fill a pot with loose soil that has good drainage. Some options include sandy loam or humus. You can find these specialty potting soils online or at a home and garden store. Good drainage is essential for growth. A healthy pH level for your soil is between 6.0 and 7.0. If you're using soil from your garden, make sure you sift through it and remove any weeds or roots are in it.

Bury your avocado seed into the soil. Bury your avocado seed so that the fat rounded end is under the soil while the pointed end is exposed. An avocado grown this way may take up to two months to sprout. Return to the soil daily to make sure that it's wet enough to promote growth. It's important that your soil doesn't dry out during this period. The best times to plant your avocado tree are March through June. Planting your avocado tree during the hottest parts of the summer increases the risk of sun damage for your tree. Burying more than one seed may increase your chances of a tree sprouting.

Wait for your avocado tree to grow. Avocado trees can take 2-8 weeks to sprout. Once your taproot begins to grow, you'll know you're on the right track. The taproot will be thicker than your tree's other roots. After your avocado tree sprouts, it can take anywhere from 5-13 years for it to bear fruit.

Caring for Your Avocado Tree

Trim the tree to promote growth. Once your avocado tree grows to be about 6 - 7 inches (15 - 17.7 centimeters), cut it back about 3 inches (7.6 centimeters). Cutting the top of the stem will promote more horizontal growth on your plant. Trim the tree when using both the toothpick and potting method. Regular pruning after the first year of growth should be limited but is useful for maintaining a healthy avocado tree in some cases.You can prune smaller branches as your tree matures to limit its growth or to balance the tree. The best times to prune your tree is in the late winter or early spring. If you don't cut your avocado plant, the stem may grow too long. Do not cut the roots on the bottom.

Water your tree every two to three days. Watering your tree too much can hurt the plant. A good indication of overwatering is if the plant's leaves become a light green or translucent color. Check the soil every couple of days to make sure that it isn't dried out. You can do this by pressing a finger into the soil about an inch (2.5 centimeters) deep. A fully matured avocado tree will need about 20 gallons (75.7 liters) of water per day during the irrigation period.

Bring your avocado tree in for the winter. If you live a place where the temperature doesn't dip below 24 degrees Celsius, (75.2 degrees Fahrenheit) then you can keep your tree outdoors all year round. However, if you live in a place where it gets cold, you'll need to bring it indoors, or it will die.

Make sure your tree can be pollinated. For your avocado to grow fruit, it must be pollinated by insects. If you have had your plant for a long time and it hasn't grown fruit, consider moving it to an outside garden or keeping a window open so that bees and other insects can pollinate it. You will have to maintain your tree for many years before it starts to produce fruit, and in the end, it may never produce fruit.