How to Grow an Avocado Tree From Seed

Growing trees and plants from seed is a very rewarding hobby. Unfortunately some types of plants and trees are difficult to grow unless very specific instructions are followed to provide the ideal germination and growing environment. One of those difficult types of seeds to germinate and grow is the Avocado tree. If you dream of growing your Avocado tree from seed and want to be successful at it, follow the below instructions.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An avocado from local farm or grocery store
• Tall glass
• Indirect Sunlight
• 3 Toothpicks

1. 
   Sliced Avocado and Seed

   Purchase an Avocado from your local farm or grocery store. Make sure the Avocado is ripe, or near ripe. Slice around the Avocado with a knife to extract the large seed from the center of the fruit. The seed is roughly the size of a golf ball, and dark brown in color.

2. Once you have extracted the Avocado seed, wash the seed thoroughly with soap and water. The next step is to place the seed submerged in water for 1 - 2 days. Using a tall glass filled with enough water to cover the top of the seed works well.

3. 
   Avocado seed in glass

   After you have soaked the Avocado seed in water for 1 - 2 days, you will need to use 3 toothpicks to prop the Avocado seed on the top of a glass that is partially filled with water. You want to create a triangle shape with the toothpicks by sticking them into the Avocado seed on three different sides of the seed. The purpose is to suspend the Avocado seed on the top rim of the glass container. The picture demonstrates how this should be done.

4. Once you have propped the Avocado seed on the top of the glass container, fill the container or glass with enough water so that the bottom 1/3rd of the Avocado seed is submerged in water. You do not want to cover the entire Avocado seed with water, as it needs air to breath and germinate once it's close to sprouting. Place the glass near a window that gets indirect or semi-direct sunlight.

5. Make sure to fill the glass with water as needed to keep the water level roughly covering the bottom 3rd of the Avocado seed. As several days pass, the water will evaporate, so it is import to continuously fill the cup with water to keep the water level constant. You do not want the bottom portion of the seed to dry out. After 4 - 8 weeks, you should see the seed start to crack open vertically, and small spouts will appear near the top of the seed. Roots will begin to appear at the bottom of the seed and grown downwards into the water. When the sprouts at the top reach roughly 4 - 5 inches and contain 2 - 3 large leaves, it is time to transfer the seed to a soiled pot.

6. Remove the seed from the glass, and remove the toothpicks from the seed. Be careful not to damage the delicate seedling and roots. Plant the seed in a pot deep enough to allow the roots to continue to grow downward into the soil. At this point, the roots may be up to 7 or 8 inches deep. Place the pot in semi-direct sunlight near a window or outside. Be careful not to put the plant into direct sunlight for 1 - 2 years, as the stems and trunk of baby Avocado trees is very sensitive and can burn easily. The baby Avocado tree should be mature enough after 1 - 2 years of being outside in semi-direct sunlight. At that point you can transplant to the ground, or keep in a pot placing the tree in more direct sun or a full sun location.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful inserting and removing the toothpicks to and from the Avocado seed so no damage is done to the seed itself.

Resources

• Growing Trees from Seed
• The Ultimate Guide to Growing Successfully from Seed
• Make trees grow faster
• How to grow vegetable seeds indoors