GROWING AND PLANTING AN AVOCADO TREE

Avocado plantation

If you buy avocados frequently from the grocery store, you may have considered growing your own tree so you can enjoy the fruit right away. You'll have everything you need to start an avocado tree the next time you cut open an avocado, even though it takes a lot of patience to grow an avocado tree from a seed (it can take up to 13 years before it starts producing fruit).

Locations to Plant Avocado Trees

The large brown seed found in the fruit's center can be used to start an avocado seedling indoors. 

If you reside in one of the warmest regions of the United States, you can grow the tree outside. Avocados only flourish in the southern regions of Florida or California, as well as in Hawaii, despite the fact that they may be grown in plant hardiness zones 8 through 11.

Southern Mexico is home to subtropical species like avocado trees. Plant the avocado tree in a container if you reside in an area where winter lows frequently fall below freezing so you can bring it inside for the winter. To allow for free circulation of air and water, indoor avocado trees should be cultivated in potting soil rather than garden soil.

How to Plant an Avocado Tree and When to Do It

You may have learned as a child that sprouting an avocado seed is simple. Purchase an avocado, savor its lush, green flesh, and then clean the seed. The top and bottom ends of the seed should be kept in mind. Next, insert many toothpicks into the seed's equator and set the toothpicks on a glass of water so that the seed's bottom inch is submerged. Since the seedling will still be indoors at this point, you can plant it anytime of the year.

Place the glass in a warm location away from direct sunshine, adding water as necessary to maintain the water level at the bottom inch of the seed. A seedling emerges after the development of its roots.

To encourage the seedling to focus its resources on new growth, cut the stem in half when it reaches 6 or 7 inches in height, or around 3 inches tall. Plant the seed in potting soil in a 10-inch-wide pot with drainage holes after the seedling has numerous leaves and robust roots.

Care Instructions for Avocados

Whenever it is 45 degrees or warmer indoors, place the pot in a bright window or take it outside. When they are just starting out, young avocado trees in pots should be kept in some shade to prevent sunburnt leaves.

Water and the Soil

If the tree is grown inside in a container, place it in potting soil and give it weekly waterings. Water more often if the container is taken outside in warm, dry weather.

If you're planting it outside, pick a garden soil that drains well and water the young avocado tree every five to ten days with several gallons of water. It is preferable to water deeply less frequently to encourage the roots to expand and reach the water. Mulch to preserve moisture using 3 to 6 inches of coarse bark or cocoa bean hulls, keeping a distance of 6 inches from the tree trunk.

Humidity and temperature

You can plant outside if your climate is warm enough for it. In regions with medium to high humidity, avocados thrive in temperatures between 60°F and 85°F.

Fertilizer

Use a fertilizer with nitrogen, denoted by a higher first number, such as 7-4-2, once a week during the summer. Look for a fertilizer that contains zinc because avocados also require a little amount of it. When growth is at its lowest in the winter, avoid fertilizing.

Pruning

Frequently prune the tree. Trim the top two sets of leaves every time it reaches a new height of 6 inches. Cut the plant back to 6 inches when it reaches a height of 12 inches. Cut it back to 12 inches when it reaches 18 inches, and so on. Thus, bushier growth is promoted.

Planting new avocados

If you cultivate an avocado tree in a container, gently remove it as it gets bigger and put it in pots that are 2 inches in diameter larger and larger as it gets bigger.

Problems and pests

The observant grower can control all of the pests that can harm avocado trees when they are grown outdoors, including borers, mites, thrips, and caterpillars. A manual for locating and eliminating these pests on avocado trees is available from the University of California Integrated Pest Management.