Avocado Tree
Growing from a pit.
The pit is the seed of the avocado, and most of the time the pit will produce a new tree. However growing from a pit can take up to 4 to 5 months to get even a small sprout from the pit.
1. Clean the pit with water only, no soap or other cleaners. Remove any flesh from the pit and make sure its free of any flesh. Allow to sit and dry for a few hours this will make it a little easier for the next steps.
2. Choose a bowl or cup that is slightly larger then the pit itself. We use small salsa bowls and mason jars as the pit begins to grow. Starting in swallow is good until the roots begin to come out. Then a much deeper one will become important.
3. Look at the pit, Haas avocado pits are egg shaped, you want to insert toothpicks in the top third of the pit. So that a large part of the pit sits below the water line. Florida avocado are more rounded and heavier, so you want to start closer to the middle.
4. Place the pit in the bowl and glass with water up just below the toothpick. Every other day change out the water to prevent mold from growing. In about two months the pit will start to crack from the bottom to allow the root to extend out.
5. As the root starts to grow you will want to keep the roots free of mold, rinse carefully and pat dry with paper towels should the root get mold on it.
6. Once the pit cracks at the top the first sprout will start to form. Once the sprout reaches about 6 inches in height it can be transferred to a pot or the ground.
The avocado tree care
Pot : you will want a pot that is big enough for the avocado tree itself. As it gets older and bigger you will want to transfer to a bigger pot. A clear way to know if its to small, the leaves will start to brown and new leaf growth will stop. As long the leaves are green and starting to see new leaves, the pot is the right size. At about a year old you can transfer to outside but you can continue to grow in a pot as well. As a rule bury the pit so the majority is below the soil line, as the tree gets older you can start to bury the whole pit below the soil line.
Soil : standard potting soil works well, however you can get soil that is balanced to help avocado trees. However this is not 100% needed. Having grown 6 trees so far, only one has grown with this and the rest are growing at the same rate.
Watering : If kept as an inside tree, you can water it as little as twice a week. For a healthy tree you should water the tree 3 to 4 times a week when inside. As the tree moves outside you should be watering the tree based on the weather, warmer and dryer water 4 to 5 times a week, colder and wetter you can reduce the watering schedule
Trimming: When trimming dead leaves and branches always do so with clean scissors as to not expose the tree to any disease. As the tree grows, trimming is important, the young tree will grow branches until its about a year old you will want to trim the limbs that grow. You can allow thelimbs to grow during this first year but allowing them to grow to long will slow the overall growth of the tree. Always prune browning or chewed on leaves.
So the biggest question how long from the time you start growing the tree will you get an avocado itself from the tree? It can take any where from 4 to 5 years depending on the growth and environment that the tree is in. Once the tree begins to flower, the first time through you may only get 1 or 2 avocados from the tree, as the tree matures the more avocados will be produced.
Our Trees
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