Young avocado leaves unfurl with a copper-reddish hue before settling into the magnificent evergreen leafage that makes a sprouted pit such a handsome indoor plant. Outdoors the tree only succeeds in tropical or Mediterranean climates, and fruit asks for patience: the first avocados arrive some seven to ten years after you start the seed.
You’ll need time before harvesting your first avocados, but the growing of this tropical tree is a joy in itself, at the same time simple and comforting. The one featured at the bottom of the page is already three years old!
Let’s see how to plant the seed :
This is when patience may be required.
Depending on the season, it may take from a couple weeks up to several months for the seed to start sprouting! The two to the right are five months apart, with the seed “prepared” in cold, dark February.
Note that in many cases, young avocado leaves have a copper-reddish hue. This stays true as the tree gets older. It’s similar to Photinia in that respect, but the effect isn’t as strong. It also depends on the avocado variety.
Another technique is to simply plant the seed directly in moist soil mix.
You must then water regularly in order for the soil mix to stay moist until first leaves appear.
Even though it is a bit quicker to set up, the outcome is sometimes not guaranteed.
But go ahead and try, it might work! It’s quite common to find avocado seeds sprouting out of the compost area in the garden.
Avocado in the wild or outdoors will grow into a large tree. When in a pot, it still does fine, but you have to give it lots of fertilizer and monitor watering.
Take care to ensure regularity in the watering, but without drenching the plant.
This is especially at the beginning when the avocado tree is most vulnerable.
The older the tree, the less water it will need.
It needs as much light as can be and will savor the summer sun. You can bring it out after any risk of freezing has disappeared (between May and September).
Indoors, always place it near a window. If facing full sun or if in a warm lean-in, make sure to water often so leaves don’t dry out.
No pruning is required at the beginning because it would delay the first bearing of fruits. However, if you haven’t much space, go ahead and snip the tips every time a branch grows 8-12 inches long (20-30 cm). This will make the tree easier to keep in a pot, while.
After a while, only maintenance pruning to clear away dead wood and suckers is relevant.
Sprouting an avocado is mostly a matter of knowing how long each stage takes. The timings below are the ones described above, gathered in one place.
| Stage | When | What it involves |
|---|---|---|
| Pit suspended over water | First days | Toothpicks hold the pointed tip up, base in water, water renewed every 2-3 days |
| First roots | About a fortnight | Roots reach ½ inch (1 to 2 cm), the signal to pot up |
| Sprouting | A couple of weeks to several months | Highly dependent on the season: a pit started in cold, dark February is slow |
| Potted on in soil mix | As soon as roots show | Regular watering so the soil mix stays moist at the beginning |
| Summer spell outdoors | Between May and September | Moved out once any risk of freezing has gone, to enjoy full summer sun |
| First harvest | 7 to 10 years on | Two different varieties grown together improve future crops |
Until then the evergreen leafage is reward enough for the wait.
Since two different varieties grown side by side give you a far better chance of fruit, it helps to know which ones nurseries actually sell and how their flowering groups pair up. Group A and group B flowers open at different times of day, so one of each is the classic combination.
| Variety | Flowering group | Fruit and skin | Cold tolerance | Habit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexicola Grande | A | Small black fruit, thin edible skin | Very hardy | Medium to tall |
| Bacon | B | Thin green skin, mild flesh | Hardy for an avocado | Medium, upright |
| Hass | A | Pebbly skin turning black, rich flesh | Tender | Tall, upright |
| Fuerte | B | Smooth green skin, pear-shaped | Moderately hardy | Tall, spreading |
| Zutano | B | Glossy green skin, light flesh | Hardy for an avocado | Tall, upright |
| Reed | A | Round fruit, thick green skin | Tender | Medium, narrow and upright |
| Pinkerton | A | Long green fruit, small stone | Moderately hardy | Medium, spreading |
The first avocado harvest will take place around 7 to 10 years later.
Meanwhile, its magnificent evergreen leafage make it a magnificent indoor plant.
Try growing avocado trees with your children, it is fun and very easy.
If you have several pits at once, your chances of success increase dramatically!
