How to plant an avocado seed: features of growing a tree

An evergreen tree of the Lavrov family is called a beautiful exotic word "avocado". The avocado tree can grow up to 18 meters in height. Its wood is used to make furniture, and its beneficial fruits are used in the food and cosmetic industries. Avocados, which the British call the "alligator pear", are healthy and contain a lot of vitamins and minerals.

Content:

• How does avocado grow?
• Sprouting a bone at home in water
• Germination in the ground
• Avocado care features

How does avocado grow?

A feature of avocados is their very fast growth. Young trees literally grow before our eyes. In 3 months, seedlings can grow by 50 cm. Growth slows down in mature trees.

The avocado has a straight trunk, rather branched.

The leaves are large, elongated, can reach a length of 35 cm. At home, the avocado does not bear fruit. You can try to refute this fact if you know how to properly plant an avocado seed, grow a tree and care for it. In their natural habitat, avocado blooms in small greenish flowers, and then produces large fruits, similar to green pears... Avocado fruits can reach 1.5-1.8 kg in weight. Their green skin turns black as it ripens. The pulp is green or yellowish, rather oily. The stone is large, takes up almost half of the fruit.

Avocado has been known for a long time. Even the Aztecs in the 3rd millennium BC used avocados for medicinal purposes. They were used to make ointments and rubbing, but they were not given to pregnant and lactating women, so as not to cause intestinal upset. In modern times, avocados are grown in countries with subtropical and tropical climates.

Avocado fruits are very popular, but you need to remember that its leaves are toxic.

This is especially important for those who grow this tree at home. Avocado leaves contain a toxin that can negatively affect the digestive system and cause severe allergies. If you have pets or small children, make sure none of them chew on the leaves.

Sprouting a bone at home in water

To plant an avocado seed at home, you need to go through the preparatory stage, that is, sprout a bone... To do this, select a bone from a mature, intact fruit and remove it. Be careful not to damage the bone when you cut the pulp. Do not make an incision deeper than 1 cm.

The stone is covered with a brown peel, which can be removed, but it is better to leave it anyway, it will fall off itself over time. Rinse the pit gently under warm running water to remove any remaining pulp.

There are 2 options for seed germination. You can simply place the bone on the bottom of a plastic cup with a little water so that half is above the water. But more often the method using toothpicks is still recommended. Insert 4 toothpicks into the bone no deeper than 5 mm and place them on the surface of a glass of water. There should be only half of the bone under the water, the blunt part should be in the water, and the sharp part should be above the water. Place the glass in a well-lit area and prepare to wait. Water needs to be added and changed periodically, as it becomes contaminated with dust and microorganisms.

Pour fresh water about every 2 days, so your seed will germinate faster.

Most likely it will take a long time to wait, from 3 weeks to 2 months. First, the brown peel will crack, and then a crack will appear on the bone itself, a root will appear, and then a sprout in the upper part.

After the sprout appears, the seed can be planted in the ground, very carefully so as not to damage the root. The pot should be medium-sized right away. The soil can be purchased at any gardening store. Don't forget drainage. Avocados do not tolerate drought or excessive moisture and standing water. It should be planted with the blunt side down, so that the top of the seed with the sprout is not covered with earth. If the whole bone is covered, the sprout will begin to rot and you will not wait for the tree. While the tree is small, it needs to be watered daily, but in small portions. It will give you a sign that you are over-watering: the leaves will turn brown.

Germination in the ground

There is an opinion that a seed planted in the ground will grow stronger and more branched and may even bear fruit, which cannot be said about seed germination in water.

The growing process is as follows:

1. The bone must be carefully removed from the fetus. To do this, cut it lengthwise, deepening the knife by about 1 cm, in a circle. Then gently rotate the halves of the fruit until they are free of the bone.
2. Rinse the pit under running water.
3. Choose a landing site. If you are planting in a pot that will grow at home, then the place does not matter. You will simply move the pot based on its needs. You can plant avocados in open ground if the temperature in your region does not drop below +10 degrees. It is not easy to find such a climate in Russia, therefore, they are more often planted at home.
4. Deepen the pit completely into the ground and moisten the soil a little, but not so much that the ground turns into mud.
5. Sometimes it is recommended to cover the sprout with a glass or film to create a greenhouse effect.
6. Plant the avocados in pairs whenever possible. They grow better this way.
7. The soil should be fresh, with good drainage at the bottom of the hole or pot.
8. Don't fertilize the soil until you see the first shoots. This can disrupt the proper development of the root system. Therefore, you should not rush to feed. At first, watering is enough.
9. Immediately take a pot of large or medium diameter, avocado does not like tightness. The diameter of the pot should be about 25 cm. It is best to prefer an earthenware rather than a plastic one.
10. Pour the soil into the pot almost to the edge, leaving only 2 cm of empty space. Level the soil and make a small hole, but large enough to mark the entire pit.

Don't expect to see fruits right away. With proper planting and proper care, fruits can only appear for 3-4 years. They are usually picked green, not ripe, put in a paper bag and allowed to ripen there.

Avocado care features

Avocado is an unusual plant for our climate and soil. Therefore, you need to know some of the features of caring for him in order to surprise friends and loved ones with useful fruits in a few years:

• Avocado - tropical tree, but this does not mean that dryness and heat are good for him. Most often in tropical countries, the climate is humid. You need to create the same moisture for your homemade avocado. If the leaves turn yellow, then the air humidity is too low. In order to achieve the desired result, you can spray the leaves or use a humidifier that will regularly maintain the required level of humidity.
• Try to place the pot where there is ample light. But beware of direct sunlight, they leave burns on the leaves. In winter, when there is little light, you can use special phyto-lamps, but you should not use fluorescent lamps.
• The tree grows very quickly. At home, the foliage is not too thick.To stimulate the growth of more lush foliage, prune the crown when the tree reaches the length you want. If this is not done, it will grow further and, having reached the ceiling, will die.
• If you want to grow your avocado tall, change the pot and soil in it every year. Moreover, the diameter of the pot should increase every year.
• Sometimes the avocado sheds its leaves. This can happen due to a sharp drop in temperature or for other reasons. There is no need to worry that the plant has died. Keep grooming it and the leaves will reappear.
• Do not use acidic soil for planting avocados. Sand, lime, moss, peat can be added to the soil.
• If you want to grow avocados in the garden, but the temperature does not allow, plant the trees in containers. In warm weather, you can take them outside, and when it gets colder, put them in a house or greenhouse.

Avocados can be grown at home and on your windowsill. tropical exoticism will appear... You can even get fruit over time.

More information can be found in the video.