Avocados from seeds? Any tips?

[Shystev99]

Hi all, I am going to try to plant an avocado from a seed. I have searched websites and found 2 main ways of doing it, First let the seed sit in water pointed end up till it sprouts.(I've tried this method once before and all that happened was the seed split in half after about 2 weeks or so.) The second method I have found on the web was just planting it in soil, I found a site that suggested to cut the pointed tip of the seed off about 1/4 inch or so and plant the seed with just the cut part exposed above the soil. Has anybody had any success with either method and any tips? I read today that if you try the water method it helps to add charcoal to the water to "Sweeten" it. Would this charcoal idea also work with soil? And would a regular charcoal briquette work? I live in southern Ca about 30-50 miles from where Avocados normally grow, It may be to cold here but just not sure, Still like to try. Also not sure about what type of Avocado seed I have to plant, A friend brought some over a few weeks ago and there were mixed varieties. I am soaking the seed completley submerged in tap water for the moment, Just to keep from drying out till I figure out which method to use. But will decide either way by tomorrow (Tuesday). I had 4 years of horticultre back in highschool but that was years ago and we never really started things from seed. Thanks for any advice Steve

[H Hornblower]

My mother would stick toothpicks in them so that they would rest on top of a glass of water with just the bottom of the seed wet.

[Shystev99]

I tried that once before about 4 - 5 years ago and the seed split in half, I did have it submerged about 3/4 of the way up the seed though, with the pointed end up. Maybe I just had to much water in the glass and instead of sprouting the seed just drowned and deteriorated? Steve

[Dwayne]

Steve, Not every seed will sprout. I usually only get about half of them to do anyhing. Try the three toothpicks again on about 4 of them in bottles. Change water every week or so if it is starting to get dirty or smelly.

My uncle used to live in LA and we found people with trees that did OK near where he lived. I dont know where you are from there, but use that as a guide.

Dwayne

[TCS]

...

step 1: learn how to use a web search tool like google. go to

enter search string like "grow advocados"

[Henriette Kress]

Once you've gotten it to grow: snip every 20 cm or so. That way it'll divide. If you don't snip you'll end up with a 2 m broomstick with a couple leaves at the top.

Hetta, BTDT.

[Katra]

While I agree somewhat, and have finally learnt to google most of the time, what good are these discussion lists if we can't discuss questions like this?

Sometimes websearching can be frustrating, and it's nice to talk directly to other folks that have had first hand experience!

The pineapple thread is a perfect example. It's motivated me to give planting those seeds a shot! We do find them from time to time when skinning store bought pineapples. :-)

I've never had much luck personally growing an avocado from seed. I had one once that got to be about 3 ft. high, then died.

I finally sprang for some grafted ones on ebay. They were reasonable.

K.

[Shystev99]

I agree, Isn't the purpose of newsgroups like this is to have a forum people with certain interests can go to share information, talk to other people, share successes, share failures, share ideas for how to avoid problems, and most importantly have a place where we can learn and teach? I apologize to the entire board for snapping at the poster who told me to learn how to use google. I don't honestly know if the person meant it as a personal shot or attack but the way it was worded

To me looked more as a remark that was meant to imply I was either lazy or stupid. If I was I would have never listed or explained the 2 ways of planting a seed the way I did, Had I been to lazy or to stupid to use google I would have simply came to the board and in a 1 sentence question I would have asked

I have an Avocado seed, How do I get it to grow?

I didn't do that, I researched, Shared what I had found in that research and then asked people who may have had hands on experience if there were any successes or failures with either method I found through that research. If I was wrong to ask a question then I truly apologize to everyone. But my view has always been when you stop asking questions you stop learning.

I apologize to the group for snapping back at the poster, But I don't appreciate being talked down to. If I feel someone is taking a shot at me, I'm gonna shoot back. Steve

[Lynn Smythe]

I've started quite a few avacados successfully from the seeds of store bought avacados. I've used both the smooth skin and rough skin varieties. I place 3 toothpicks towards the top of the pit. Then I susupend the pit in a glass of water making sure the top inch or so is above the water. I placed the glass on my kitchen windowsill until it was ready to be planted outdoors. I changed the water in the glass every few days. I don't remember how long they took to sprout - a few weeks at least. I waited until they had a strong stem and a few leaves growing out of the top before planting into my garden.

I live in planting zone 10 in hot and humid SE Florida. The last avacado pit I planted out in the yard had to be removed - the tree was getting too big and it was too close to our septic tank. I guess a fully grown avacado tree can get to be over 60 feet tall - way to big for my tiny yard. But the kids get a kick out of seeing the seeds sprout. I guess I could try growing one in a very large container - not sure if it would set fruit but they also make a nice ornamental plant.

[Shystev99]

Thanks, I planted it today using the pot method I found on a website.

paragraph, It says to cut the top 1/4 inch off the top of the seed, place it in moist soil and wait. I'm gonna give it a try and see what happens. I do have one more uneaten avocado lying around, It will have a much smaller seed so what I may do is do the toothpick thing again with it. I tried the toothpick and water thing before and it split in half and nothing happened so I was kind of dissapointed with it. I'll have the potted seed and water method side by side as soon as we decide to cut into it. I'll give em both 6 - 8 weeks if nothing happens by say mid April, I may just chuck em. Steve

[Kawika]

i soak them in water for a day or two, then i plant them directly in the soil...like dwayne stated, not every one will sprout, i'd say roughly about 50%, more or less.

[Katra]

You don't owe anyone an apology... ;-) In my book, he was being rather rude! If he'd wanted to help, he'd have posted a few useful links from google to prove his point.

Now back to your question, even tho' the one I finally got to grow died, I planted it directly in a pot and stuck it out on the north side of the house where it got east and west sun in the morning and evening. I left the top exposed and gave it good drainage. It eventually got planted in the ground but we get freezes here so that is probably why I lost it. I tried to protect it with leaf filled cages but that apparantly was not good enough...

And no, this browser has no spell checker so please forgive.

Mom and dad sprouted many of them with the toothpick and water method, but I don't recall them ever getting a tree out of them. :-)

Planting a whole, rotting avocado would probably work better. That really is the whole point of a plant making fruit! Not for us humans to eat, but to either provide fertilizer for the new seed, or, to encourage animals to eat the fruit, thus spreading the progeny when the animal drops the non-digestible seed out on the ground in a pile of animal fertilizer. ;-)

K.

[Katra]

When it split in half, did it fall apart? :-) If not, that is usually the first sign that it's gonna sprout!

It takes awhile...

K.

[Shystev99]

Well the first time I tried it it did split in half and fell apart into 2 pieces, It fell apart after maybe 2 weeks, I tried to keep it in the water for another 2 weeks but wasn't very successful, Everytime I turned around the toothpicks had slipped or broke free and it always sank to the bottom of the glass totally underwater. There was no sprouting, not even any sign of sprouting so after a month or so I finally gave up and tossed it. But it broke right down the center of the seed. Steve

[Katra]

Just asking, because mine always sorta split before they sprout... even in the dirt.

If you are having bad luck with toothpicks, you may try turkey skewers??? Mom never seemed to have a problem with the toothpicks breaking off, but they stuck them in pretty deep.

K.

[Shystev99]

Well I may try the toothpick thing with the other avocado, The seed is much smaller than the one in the pot. It will probably be so small I am wondering if I just couldn't find a metal screw, I'd only need one an inch or so long. Wait till it breaks in half then try to screw it back together. Or just use a nail to pound my holes for the toothpicks just to make sure they are deeper than last time. I'm sure one of those tiny nails used for picture frames may work.I just have to be careful not to shatter the seed when I pound them in. Steve

[Hane]

Don't screw it back together when it breaks in half... that's how the stem comes out of the middle of the seed! At that point it's growing into a tree. My toothpicks often come out. I start with 3 and usually two remaining will keep it at the right water level.

h-

[Katra]

Agreed. ;-) Splitting is a GOOD thing, not a bad thing! It's the first stage to sprouting.

K.

[Shystev99]

No I meant just to hold it together so it doesn't constantly collapse back into the glass and sink. I didn't mean very tight just enough to help hold it up out of the water. Plus the screw would give more support to the toothpicks.Breaking in half will help it sprout but I don't think it will sprout if its fully submerged underwater. Thats why I like the pot thing so far, If it sprouts the seed won't go anywhere or drown, It may or may not sprout but I don't have to constantly babysit it and fix it 5 times a day either. Just gonna take a few weeks to tell if it works. Steve

[The Watcher]

We have 2 of them we planted about 7 years ago. We just planted them in pots of dirt with the tip of the pit showing, and watched them grow. We put them outside for the nice weather then bring them back inside for the winter, but I'm not sure if we'll ever get any fruit from them.