How to Grow an Avocado Vine Indoors

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Things You'll Need

  • Avocado

  • Plastic wrap

  • Potting soil

  • Flower pot

Avocado trees are generally tropical plants, requiring warmer weather and lots of sunlight, but you can grow your own avocado plant indoors even if you're in a more temperate climate. Using the seed from any store-bought avocado, you can easily grow a leafy green avocado plant inside your home.

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Step 1

Buy an avocado.

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Step 2

Remove the seed (the big, brown, round pit) from the avocado. Enjoy eating the avocado.

Step 3

Place the seed in a very sunny, warm spot indoors and wait for it to start to split open (this could take weeks or even a few months).

Step 4

Plant the avocado seed in rich potting soil with the top part of the seed exposed (not fully buried in the dirt).

Step 5

Water the soil and cover the flower pot loosely with plastic wrap.

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Step 6

Place your pot in a sunny and warm location.

Step 7

When the seed starts to grow (you can see a plant sprouting), remove the plastic wrap and continue to water it. Keep it in a sunny spot.

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Step 8

Prune some of the leaves and stem when it reaches about a foot in height, to encourage fuller leaf growth.

Step 9

When the roots fill up the pot, re-pot into a larger container.

Tip

Avocado plants can live for years if you continue to water, prune, and keep them in a warm and sunny spot.

Warning

Avocado trees are attractive houseplants that are almost free and relatively easy to grow, but you will not be able to eat any avocado fruits that grow on your tree. It takes decades and cross-pollination to produce delicious (or even edible) avocados. Instead, growing an avocado tree is fun as a science experiment, a home improvement project or a gardening challenge.

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