Growing avocado from seed

Avocado seed growing roots

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

I get itchy in the winter for something to watch grow.  My mother told me how as a child when she lived in Florida they had avocado trees in the backyard and she grew baby trees from seeds all the time and it was easy!

She explained all you had to do was to stick toothpicks into the avocado to support its top above the water in a glass and wait for it to sprout.

I had tried a few years back to grow avocado from seed.  I waited, waited, and waited but my poor seed never sprouted.

I decided to try again this year...........

I stacked my odds by trying 3 seeds at the same time, each in their own glass.  First, you need to use only ripe avocados.  I used the ones that were more than ripe just to be sure!  You clean them up really good, then insert the toothpicks.  Keep the tops of the seed above the water with the bottom always submerged.  Make sure the water stays clean.  Then, wait patiently for a couple of weeks.

All three of my seeds are cracking and sprouting!  The root comes down first then the top makes it way out.  The pic above is of my seed that is the furthest along.  Its top is starting on its way up.

Some say that chlorine free water works best.  I am using water from our reverse osmosis system.

A last tip, the big part of the seed is the bottom and should go into the water.  They are very similar looking to tulip  bulbs.