How to Make an Avocado Seed Into a Tree

An entertaining and educational nature project to do with your child is to use an avocado seed to begin a new avocado tree. After preparing the seed, the child can observe the transformation from inanimate seed to a vibrant plant with roots and leaves. The most difficult part of the project is remembering which side of the seed goes up. It is the pointed side, but one way to remember is to slice the avocado in half (without cutting the seed) and note which end of the seed is closest to the stem area of the avocado, which is the end where the avocado was hanging from the tree--this is the pointed end.

Things You'll Need

• Avocado
• 3 toothpicks

Instructions

1. Remove the avocado seed from the fruit. Do not cut into the seed or remove its skin. Wash the seed.

2. 

   Insert three toothpicks around the middle of the avocado seed, evenly spaced. This will be used to suspend the seed from a cup with water.

3. 

   Fill a cup with water and set the avocado seed in the water so that the bottom half of the seed is submerged in water and the pointed end is out of the water. Choose a cup that will be the appropriate size to allow the toothpicks to hang over the brim of the cup to suspend the seed.

4. Set the cup in a sunny window. Change the water several times a week.

5. Plant the seed in a pot with potting mix after the seed has a root system and top growth with leaves. Do not cover the top end (with the leafy top) with soil. Pack the soil.

6. Keep the plant in a sunny window, and keep the soil moist without overwatering. Do not get the soil muddy or soggy. You now have a small tree that can remain in the house for several years before being transplanted outside.

Tips & Warnings

• Allow the soil to dry out for several days if the leaves turn yellow. Increase the watering if the leaves turn brown.

References

• Growing Avocados From Seed