Growing Avocado Plants From Seed

Step 6: Watering & Enjoying

I was lucky enough to come across three Fuerte avocados (the most delicious, in my opinion). Although it can take several years to produce fruit - IF they ever do - I am keeping a watchful eye on these three plants in hopes they someday will. Avocados need a good watering, but do not like being watered small amounts daily. It is best to thoroughly soak the soil and then only water it again when it is beginning to dry. I've stuck to watering them every other day (or less). Watch your leaves carefully!

Good luck on your avocado planting and hopefully you will soon have a pretty, low-maintenance plant to decorate your home/garden. If you have any tips for me, please leave me a comment!

Comments

[joel.r.bradley]

Looking at those leaves, the pale yellow against green veins, is that normal? They look nitrogen deficient.

[astraley]

My sister in law makes guacamole fairly often and i got a seed from her so now i will try this and see if it works. Thanks for sharing this instructable!

[thos555]

I'm not sure if this would work with Avocados, but it might be a neat experiment to try. My friend grows hops for home brewing beer and these have the same "problem" of not yielding anything for a few years. He was able to trick the plants into flowering by putting them in the refridgerator two different times for about two weeks long each time while they were still infants. This fooled the plant into thinking it had experienced two winters and he got a decent yield in his first year.

[bajablue]

I've heard of forcing blooms this way, but a double-whammy is brilliant!

[ngreen1]

My dad actually does that with various plants. The last one I remember was the Christmas Cactus. He didn't get the bloom he wanted so he put it in the fridge for about 3 days, then set it outside. In about 4-5 days, little buds began to appear!

[AlissaSueK]

I'm definitely going to try this out, thanks!

[Sam the Wizer]

Interesting concept. I don't think if it would work with avocados since they're native to tropical climates and really don't like the cold. Perhaps alternating between full light and 60 - 70% light every 2 weeks or months would achieve the same thing. I'll have to try that with my plants.

[Foxtrot70]

That's interesting! I have often wondered how one might go about speeding the maturation cycle of some plants. Have you sampled your friend's product? How is the taste with the locally grown hops vs commercially produced hops beer?

[kine michelle]

 To water my avocado plant, I simply take a plastic bottle, fill it with water and stick it with the opening down in the soil. That way the plants gets water and you don't have to think about watering it all the time. Just fill the bottle when emty. Works great for me, my plant has just past 1 meter:)

[NaturalCrafter]

Thanks so much for this tip. I want to try growing one again.

[jessithepoo]

That's a good idea

[Totysheep]

Uhm, Avocados turn into huge tree's. I don't think you'll be able to get fruit unless you bought a dwarf tree or something from a grower. But it's always nice to have a tree around the house I guess.

[purpleman]

 I grew one about two and a half feet tall in a year.  I recently read though that you must graft to get any fruit, and even then it takes seven years to bear any fruit.  Either way I think they look cool.

[rockstar7600]

*8 inches!

[rockstar7600]

I miss my californian baby avocado plant! I grew one too!! It took me like 6 months to get it to inches, but it was worth it. I took so much care of it, but since you cannot take plants on the plane, I had to leave it to my brother, god knows how its doing. But I will start the process again, this time with an Argentinian one.

[diydept]

5*

[peterlonz]

Here in Queensland (SE Coast), Australia I have also had a bit of fun planting out Avocado seeds in soil. I have noticed a wide variation in seedling vigour & a propensity of the root to quickly outgrow even quite large 250 mm Diam plastic pots. Naturally juvenile plants grow in the leafy topsoli under the shade of larger mature trees so in theory you should attempt to reproduce these conditions. I think that theses trees do not handle water shortage stress well, nor do they like overly moist soil. And they will not bear fruit if container grown regardless of container size. Earlier bearing, improved root rot resistance & an already hardened young tree is likely to be assured if a grafted plant is bought from a local grower. I know this spoils some of the fun but believe me I have a half dozen babies grown from seed & soon I will have to decide if I wish to plant them within my limited space garden, then tend & watch for 5 years never knowing if my time is wasted.