How to grow avocado from pit is easy as long as you use ripe and fertile pits. Dip almost an inch of the bottom of the tree pit in water, and only in eight weeks, will you see sprouts.Grow Avocado From Pit

To ensure that the pit stays suspended, use toothpicks to hold it. To learn the whole guide for growing your fresh pits, read this article to have a better grip how this process is accomplished.

How To Grow Avocado From its Pit?

To grow avocado from its pit, collect the pit of a healthy and mature avocado, clean the pit, pierce toothpicks into the pit, and then place the pit in water. After eight weeks, you will see signs of life in the pit and then transfer it to a nutrient-rich substrate.

1. Select Your Avocado

When searching for an avocado seed or pit to grow, go for mature and ripe fruits because, with those, you will be able to have a healthy development. The larger and riper the fruit, the better, as larger fruits have higher chances of having fertile fruits, to see proper maturity. Ensure that the fruit looks fine. If you do not like the look of the fruit, don’t collect its pit because this is a key determining factor to help you in the process.

2. Collect the Pit

After enjoying your avocado, it is time to start an avocado tree. You can use some paper towel to help you wipe the pit, so it becomes clean; However, don’t wash or rinse it so that you do not damage its delicate protective covering, as you will be exposing it to microbes if you do. When you collect the pit, keep it in a dry location until it is relatively dry.

Don’t keep it in direct sunlight so that you do not damage it as the sun would be harmful for it in this stage. Also, avocados love high humidity, so leave the pit in a place with humidity levels above average.

3. Prepare the Pit

Now, it is time to plant your avocado seeds, and so the method you choose to use depends on you. However, the most popular method is the toothpick method. For this method, you need at least three toothpicks to help suspend your pits so that they do not fall into a glass cup of water. The toothpicks also keep the pit dry.Fertile Pits of Avocado

When you are ready, poke the three toothpicks into the pit so that there is equal space between each toothpick. Don’t pierce the toothpicks far into the seed so that you do not damage the embryo inside, so long as each toothpick is firm, that’s okay.

Note that you can grow avocado pits directly in the soil; however, the soil method might be frustrating, as eight weeks to wait before the pit roots. After the pit roots, you might not know because you cannot see the roots. This is why people prefer suspending pits, and you should also note that if you wonder, how to grow an avocado seed without toothpicks, simply bury one to two inches of the bottom end of the pit in soil.

4. Place the Pit in a Glass of Water

Before you do this, carefully observe the pit if you haven’t already, and this way, you will start to notice that one end is pointed while the other is broad. You will keep your pits so that the broad end faces the glass cup while the pointed end faces the sky or ceiling. The embryo of avocado trees is closer to the broad end of the pit than the pointed ends.

After locating both ends, fill a glass cup almost completely. Keep the avocado just above the water so that 1 inch of the pit is covered in water. If your toothpick position is causing the pit to go too deep into the water, reduce the water volume so that only 1 inch of the pit is covered in water.

5. Keep the Pit in the Right Location

Now that your pet is in contact with water, keeping it in the right location is the next step. You can use the same place where you kept the pit initially. However, ensure that the pit gets at least four hours of direct sunlight, as the increase in temperature can help kickstart the germination process. Also, high humidity is important because it will help the pit to start rooting/

Don’t keep the pit in a windy place because the wind can carry microbe spores, and these microbes can attack your avocado embryo. If possible, block sunlight from reaching the water, which is below the pit, so that it does not get too hot for the pits. Also, it will prevent algae from growing in the water and attacking your avocado embryo.

6. Check the Water Level and Clearness

Congratulations, you have started the avocado germination process. However, you still need to be done. Now is the time to pay close attention to the water. Keep the water clean. You can do this by regularly replacing it. Also, when the water level goes low, add more water so that one inch of the pit can be constantly in contact with water.Avocado Seed in Water

Be sure to change it before the water gets murky, so you must start changing the water every two or three days. You don’t need to add anything such as nutrients or rooting hormones to the water. Just keep it clean and clear, and ensure to be changing it when you feel that there is any form of bacterial development.

7. Wait Until the Pit Sprouts

Now, you have to be patient and wait, because take into consideration how avocados can take as many as ten weeks to sprout. However, you can see the sprout as early as eight weeks, and before you see a sprout, you will surely see roots growing below. The presence of roots is just what you need to believe that your avocado will grow because these are clear signs that the pit has been established well.

Keep the soil moist and never too wet or dry, and you will see how in ten or more weeks, you will see signs of sprouting so long as the pit is fertile. If you still need to, you have to start after. To increase your chances of having young trees, grow more pits than you need.

If you see no sign of growth after ten weeks, start the process afresh with a fertile seed. When the roots are now in contact with water, you no longer need to cover one inch of the pit with water. Instead, just keep the roots fully covered so that they can stay hydrated and grow.

8. Plant the Pit in a Pot

Plant the sprouted avocado in a pot with a substrate when you finally see it, and you will now feel like the young tree needs nutrients to grow optimally, especially in its early life stage. Therefore, ensure that the substrate in this pot is nutritious and has a lot of nitrogen. You can use organic nutrients. Just make sure that they have readily available nutrients, so it wouldn’t weaken.

When planting the pit, place it in the pot before covering the roots with the substrate. Be very careful with the roots and treat your young avocado like a delicate egg. Water the young plant after planting it and keep it in a well-lit spot for one to two hours.

9. Care For Your Young Avocado

Provide normal care such as regular watering and fertilization. This step can take three weeks or more, depending on the plant’s growth rate, so you may have to expose the plant to six or more hours of daily sunlight so that it can grow well. Also, mist the leaves with water to keep them fresh and healthy.Young Avocado Care

When the pit reaches six to eight inches in height, cut back three inches of it. Don’t worry, because it will grow back. This will help the stem to become firm. It will be a trigger to encourage the plant to produce branches and note that the earlier you do this, the better.

10. Transplant the Young Avocado to Its Permanent Spot

When your new avocado has a satisfactory number of leaves, it is time to transplant it to its permanent location. Avocado plants can grow well in different locations but in a well-lit and humid place. If you choose to grow them in the garden soil, ensure that the soil is nutritious and well-drained.

If you start to wonder to yourself, “How long to grow avocado from seed,” you can see now that the entire process can take up to three months. Well, it is worth the wait and effort because you now have a beautiful plant that will hopefully produce fruits one day.

The key factor that you should consider before growing an avocado is the USDA hardiness zone preference of the variety. If an avocado is not suitable for growing in your region, don’t grow it. Also, keep the top of the pit relatively dry so that it does not get attacked by fungi and other microbes.

How to Care For Your Avocado Growing From Pit

To care for your avocado growing from the pit, ensure that you do not play with the roots. Also, dab the top of the pit with a towel to keep it dry so that you can prevent fungal attacks. Grow the pit in the right environment, considering light and temperature.

– Be Very Careful With the Roots

The roots of a young avocado tree need as much care as you can provide. Ensure that you do not break any so that you do not lose the young plant. Carefully remove them from the glass cup and transfer them to the first pot.

When the young plant is mature enough, wet the substrate first before you remove the roots. And then you may rinse the roots and then transplant them to the permanent location. Only handle the roots with care.

– Keep the Pit Dry Above

If possible, use anything dry, such as a towel, to dab the top surface of your pits. Keep the top surface dry so that microbe spores do not stick to it. After pouring water into the cup, ensure that you dry the top of the pit. A dry pit above will prevent fungi from attacking your avocado embryo.Dry Pit of Avocado

Avocados from pits will grow fruits, but it will take a very long time, so with the right care, this is possible to attain in a successful way. This is because new avocado trees need to mature first before they start fruiting; you may also remember how thee avocados that you buy from nurseries will grow fruits in less than five years.

Nursery avocado trees grow fruits quickly because the gardeners grafted the branch of mature fruit-bearing trees to the new plants. This means you do not need to wait until the new trees mature before they fruit, as they already have mature branches.

– Give the Pit a Sufficient Amount of Light Exposure

The exposure to light needs of your pits differs according to your stage, and when drying the pit, and this is before poking them with toothpicks, keep the pit away from direct sunlight. After placing the pit in water, give it at least four hours of daily sun. When you transfer the pit to a substrate, give it six or more hours of daily sun.

Moreover, you must also think about the right way to keep them thriving, which is why you can grow avocados indoors, as they are very beautiful trees. You would be proud of germinating your avocados by yourself. When growing avocados, consider the needs of the trees, such as light. Keep the trees in a room with access to at least six hours of daily sunlight.

For how to grow avocado indoors, remember to grow them in consistently moist substrates. Also, make three or more holes in the pot, you must also regularly fertilize your indoor trees so that they can have optimal growth. Lastly, keep them safe from pests, as pests are very disastrous to avocados.

– Grow the Pit at the Right Temperature

So long as you are growing your avocados in their preferred USDA hardiness zone, you don’t need to worry about the temperature in the spring and summer months. However, if you are growing your avocados in an unsuitable region, grow them in a controlled environment. The preferred temperature for avocados is in the range between 60 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

– Provide Nutrients To Speed up the Growth

Some people wait until the sprout is 10 inches tall, and even taller at times, before transferring the young plant to a substrate. To help your plant grow optimally, transfer it to a substrate as quickly as possible. As soon as you see roots, start preparing the pot and substrate. Also, ensure that the substrate is richly nutritious.

– Prevent Pests and Algae

You can prevent algae from disturbing your avocado by blocking sunlight from reaching the water. As for other pests, such as insects, prevent them by always removing and killing them as soon as you see them. Grow your avocado in a room where pests cannot reach it. Pests are harmful to these plants, so don’t give them a chance of harming your plants.

Some problems you might face when growing avocados with pits are fungal attacks, growing infertile pits, contaminated water, growing the pit in unsuitable spots, and failing to top the water, and that is how fungi would develop. Most of these errors can cost you your avocados, so grow the pits carefully.

Conclusion

Now, you know how to plant an avocado seed in water, so you should remember these points before you get started on the task:

  • You can only grow the pits of ripe and healthy avocado fruit.
  • When the avocado tree has grown to some extent, transplant it to its permanent location.
  • If you start with pits, your trees may only bear fruit for a few years.
  • Keep constant moisture off the top of the pit so that fungi do not attack your pit.
  • Ensure that you feed your young avocado plant with nutrients so that it can grow without problems.

Go search for ripe avocados and plant their pits right away, and remember to stick to the growing tips in this article.

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