If you’ve been trying to root avocado seeds by suspending them over a glass of water with toothpicks, there is an easier way. I’ll show you a no-fuss way to root avocado pits to create new houseplants.
For more, also see How to Grow Happy Houseplants.
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Grow
Quick Links – Growing Avocadoes
1 Different Ways to Grow Avocado from Seed
2 Free Printable Instructions
3 Easy Method to Grow an Avocado Plant from Seed
4 How to Plant a Sprouted Avocado Seed
5 Caring for Your Avocado Plant
- Growing Conditions
- Watering
- Fertilizer
- Pruning
Different Ways to Grow Avocado from Seed
Forget the toothpicks and water! Or the plastic gizmo on Amazon that suspends the seed over water. This method (below) works better.
I have tested this easy method on a lot of grocery store avocadoes, and the germination rate is quite good.
I don’t like the toothpick method because it’s fussy, requires more effort, can rot the seed, and is not as reliable.
You can also try sprouting avocado seeds directly in moist potting mix, but that too can be hit and miss. I’d rather know the plant is going to succeed before going to the bother of planting it.
Before You Start
A little reality check.
No need to rush out and buy chips for your homegrown guacamole.
Odds are, your avocado plant is not going to produce fruit, or, if it does, it will take many years and may not produce good fruit.
Growing an avocado from seed is the slowest and least reliable way to get true (same as the parent) fruit.
Commercial growers use grafting methods to ensure fruit quality and quantity that are not really possible for home growers.
But, starting a plant from the seed/pit is an easy way to grow a free houseplant. If it does fruit, it could take as long as 8-20 years. Grafted avocadoes produce fruit in 2-3 years.
The actually pollination process in rather unusual and intriguing and worth further reading if you are interested.
So, start saving those pits and get growing.
Easy Method to Grow an Avocado Plant from Seed
It takes 4-6 weeks for avocado seeds to be rooted and ready for planting.
1 Remove the seed (pit) from a fresh, ripe avocado. Avoid using a knife so there is no damage to the seed.
2 Gently clean the seed under warm, running water using a soft brush or cloth ensuring all flesh is removed.
3 Wrap the seed in a sheet of damp (not dripping wet) paper towel or flannel cloth.
4 Place in a plastic food bag (do not zip shut) and store in a dark cupboard.
5 Check on it every 4 days or so. I put a reminder in my phone calendar so I don’t forget.
At first you just need to ensure the paper towel stays damp. After a few weeks you’ll start to notice signs of germination.
- When the seed is germinating, it will gradually crack open, revealing a deep split, and, eventually a root (or roots) will grow from deep inside the seed.
- Do not break the seed apart: the seed body feeds the root growth, and the roots are delicate, so handle with care and do not break them.
6 When the root is 3-inches long, your seed is ready for planting in a flower pot.
- If your root (or roots) are longer than 3-inches and they won’t fit in your pot, you can cut them back to 3-inches in length with sharp scissors cleaned with rubbing alcohol or bleach solution (1-part bleach: 9-parts water). I have read this can help produce a bushy rather than a tall, leggy plant but have not tested it myself.
How to Plant a Sprouted Avocado Seed
- 8-inch flower pot with drainage holes (for a 2-inch avocado seed)
- indoor potting mix for houseplants
Avocadoes like good drainage so you can also amend the potting mix with perlite or sand if you like.
Can you tell the top of your seed from the bottom? The top is (usually) tapered or pointy. The bottom is often broader and flat with a round, scaly marking. The roots will (usually) grow out the bottom). We plant the sprouted seed with the bottom and roots aiming down into the pot.
Here’s the same seeds after a month in the damp paper towel. Notice how they germinate at different rates. Some are just getting started. Two are doing well. One is refusing to budge. I will give these ones another few weeks and then plant the strongest ones:
To plant, fill the pot half way with potting mix and gently place the seed in the pot.
Handle with care so the roots do not break.
While steadying the seed, gently press down the potting mix and add more as needed, leaving the top inch of the seed above soil level. The plant stem will grow from there.
Water (room temperature distilled water) until moist, not damp. Top up the potting mix as needed.
Place in warm, draft-free location with strong, indirect light. Or that’s the ideal.
Caring for Your Avocado Plant
Growing Conditions
- Avocadoes are tropical plants. They like warm, fairly humid growing conditions, and cannot be left to dry out.
- Moderate, consistent watering with tepid water is best. If the air is dry, you can spray mist once leaves have formed.
Signs of Under-Watering
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Signs of Over-Watering
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Fertilizer
- Once leaves have formed, you can add a balanced houseplant fertilizer (7-9-5) every 3 months, following directions on product label. My preference is to use a fraction of the recommended dose on an ongoing basis from late winter to late fall. Or, use a slow-release fertilizer on the surface of the soil.
Pruning
- Avocados can grow as tall, leggy trees that don’t stand up nicely. To avoid this, you may wish to train or prune. I haven’t tried it myself, but, others say once there is a foot of growth and leaves, you can pinch off top leaves or cut back top stems to encourage branching out.
- As the plant matures, you will want to prune just after flowering to avoid disrupting new flower buds.
Flowering
- Avocado plants are self-fertile with two main types. One produces male flowers in the morning, and female in the afternoon. The other does the reverse. Pollination can occur when the two flowers overlap. Professional growers have many trees of both types to ensure pollination.
- It is unlikely your indoor, homegrown avocado tree will flower or fruit. But if it ever does, please send photos.
Repotting
- As the plant grows, the roots will need more room and you will need to repot it into the next size up.
- By the time the plant fits a 24-inch wide pot, it may be ready to start fruiting.
Avocado Trivia
- The word ‘avocado’ originates from a word meaning ‘testicle’. Yes, that’s the first time that word has come up in my garden writing.
- The fruit of an avocado (the part we eat), is actually a large berry and the pit is a seed.
- Avocadoes are considered a healthy food choice, providing (primarily) monounsaturated fat, vitamins B6, C, E, and potassium, magnesium, and folate.
- Avocados are much richer in potassium than bananas (which are always heralded as potassium-rich).
Bananas have 358 mg per 100 grams. Avocados have 485 mg per 100 grams. - Avocados must be left to mature on the tree, but then ripen after harvesting. The hard, green fruit can take two weeks to ripen, although this is faster if exposed to ethylene gas.
- Grafted avocado plants produce fruit with a few years compared to germinated seeds (8-20 years).
- The pollination process for avocados is interesting: on day one female flowers open; on day two they are male and shed their pollen.
- There are three species of avocados and many varieties. Fruit sizes and tastes vary.
1. Guatemalan (Persea nubigena var. guatamalensis L. Wms.)
2. Mexican (P. americana var. drymifolia Blake)
3. West Indian (P. americana Mill. var. americana) - If you do not live in a growing area, the avocadoes in your grocery store probably always come from the same few sources (depending on import/export laws).
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt ♛
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Munga Mukali says
Hi,
I totally agree I tried the tooth pick method it never worked. Then I decided to put the seed into the ground with the pointy part above the ground & kept watering – just to experiment. After sometime the seeds split. When I was about to give up & on the day I was complaining how difficult it is to grow avocados I saw the the 3 seeds had started germinating. I couldn’t have bumped into your site at a better time. The information will be so useful as the tiny stems grow into plants. I don’t have to experiment that much with this kind of information now available to me.
Patti Irish says
I have tried both methods. No luck with the tooth picks but love the paper towel. My problem now is that I get the plant to about 6 inches tall, plant it, then set it outside and some thing (mouse or Squirrel) is biting the tree off and stealing my seed. Do you have any suggestion for this.
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Patti, Yes, keep it inside. Or, put a chicken wire cloche over it. I grow my avocado plants indoors all year-round.
peter franzen says
Hi
I have grown avocado plants here in the UK lots of times always from seeds suspended in water. Some of them grew quite big (2-3 feet) but eventually died due to being left outside over the winter. I have got one presently growing in a pot and its about 1 foot tall. I’ll bring it into the conservatory in a few weeks time and hope it survives the winter. I’ve also got one that has been growing in water for about three weeks and its already 7 inches tall. However the surprising thing about this one is that it has got two stems. Has anyone seen this before and is it possible to separate them?
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Peter, There’s lots of discussions online about double stems but nothing about successful division. I see mentions of plants dying when the seed is split completely apart. If you try it, let us know how it goes.
Robin Gibbs says
I have just recently been diagnosed with CML (Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia) & I eat avocados at least 4-5 x daily. They are so healthy & I have finally gotten a seed that I had put the toothpicks in & put it in water. It now has at least 6 white roots on it, the middle one is at least 6 inches long & is cracking pretty good. When I pot this seed after the green leaves appear, can I pot it in a pretty big pot so I will not have to keep putting it in a bigger one…my health is not that great & constantly changing pot sizes would be a bit much. I am really excited although the leukemia will probably get me before I ever get the 1st avocado, but at least I tried..lol. Thank you so much for your site. Lucky I found it.
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Robin, I haven’t been able to find any info on directly planting the avo in a larger pot. The advice is always to plant in something 2-inches bigger than the seed/roots. But that doesn’t mean it won’t work. Why don’t you just try it? If you’re good at watering, it may just work. Sorry about your illness. I wish you better health and happy avocado plants.
mrudula narra says
Hi,
I am trying to grow avacado tree from seed in dallas, tx. It grew a foot tall but leaves are turning brown and falling off after a new set of leaves grown. So i am always having 2 or 4 leaves at most. They are in miracle gro potting mix. Anybody know whats the problem? They are in shade in patio.
Thanks for any response. Appreciate it.
Melissa J. Will says
Check if your potting mix contains fertlizers. These can be a problem. I only use plain potting mix for an avocado seed. Water evenly, do not over-water, do not ever let the soil dry out. When there are several leaves, you can introduce small amounts of liquid, organic fertlizers suitable for tropical houseplants in the watering can. Also, too much heat could cause this. Maybe your plant is better off indoors (if you have AC).
mrudula narra says
Thanks for your reply. Appreciate it. I am using miracle gro and it has 6 months supply of fertilizer in it. Could be the problem. So i need to find a potting mix without a fertilizers. Any suggestion on that brands?
Thanks
Melissa J. Will says
You can use anything like this one: https://amzn.to/2wH9oQs. And yes, it sounds like the fertlizer is the problem.
mrudula narra says
Ok thank you.
Esther Kartodjojo says
Hallo
I’ve tried both ways(with toothpicks and just in dirt)
Both are succesfull.
But how can i keep the tree short and how to let it bloom in 2 or 3 years
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Esther, If you want the plant to bush out, you need to pinch off the top growth to encourage lateral shoots. Take out the top growth just above a leaf set.
I have no tricks for quick blooming.
Valorie Steel says
I want to grow a garden in containers on or near patio all on South West side of house. Have lots of ants and snakes and mice. Love to learn love to grow. My motto is if you can’t eat it or use it as medication persay then don’t plant it. I know tons of flowers and wild things are but love to learn more.
Deborah Kupferberg says
Today I read your article on Pinterest about growing avocados from the seed. Thank you for posting this very informative piece of information. I have tried many times to do this with the cocktail stick method as suggested, thinking that in no time at all I would have an abundance of avocados, having read your article I have discovered this is not the case. Now I know it’s not me but the actual process that is a timely thing. Thank you 🙂
Linda says
Regarding the shoot coming up so far from the pit, the obvious answer seems to be to dig one up (carefully) and see where the shoot originates. Seems to me it must sprout from one of the roots. I am curious, but don’t want to dig mine up as it seems to be growing pretty good. I have another plant that I pruned once, it just kept on growing straight up until the plant was so heavy it started tipping over. I hope this new one has a sturdier stem.
Linda says
I germinated several avocado seeds using the damp paper towel method you suggest above. I planted the seed with the most roots after about a month. Interesting for me is that the stem came up about an inch or two from the pit. I notice in your pictures the same thing happened. In the past, (toothpick method) the stems came up from the center of the pit. Do you know why the stem comes up so far from the pit?
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Linda,
Funny you would mention this. I’ve been observing this over the past year or so. Sometimes I get a shoot coming up away from the pit, that is woody. Other times, I get a shoot from the seed that is white. I have not found information on the difference but I do see with the ones I have that the woody shoot has created a stronger, taller plant. This could be coincidental though. All of them are sprouted using the paper towel method. If I find more info, I will post it here. If you learn anything about it, please let me know.
Mary Brett says
I must try it! it’s been years since I did it using the toothpick method. I wonder if you could plant say three seeds in a larger pot for a fuller plant?
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Mary, I would keep them in single pots, otherwise it would be three plants competing for root space and soil resources.
Sharon says
My mother just put the seed in her ivy and they grew like they loved it!
Mary Gilleran says
How often should the seed be watered. I want to try both ways.
Melissa J. Will says
Hi Mary, Do you mean when it is in paper towel? There, you keep it damp but not dripping. Once planted, you keep the soil moist, again not soaking wet, nor allowing it to dry out.