How to grow an avocado seed

Avocado is one of the most beloved fruits, enjoyed daily by millions of people around the world. To our delight, the introduction of new varieties, diverse cultivation strategies, and advanced storage methods has made avocados available almost year-round.

While commercial avocado cultivation requires expertise and careful fertilization, growing your own avocado plant from seed is surprisingly simple – even indoors – and makes an excellent educational project for home or school. Next time you’re making guacamole or slicing an avocado for a salad, save the pit and use it to grow an avocado plant.

Follow a few simple steps to grow an avocado plant from seed:

Step 1: Slice an Avocado to half carefully and remove the pit. Make sure you clean the pit with water.

Step 2: Some avocado pits are slightly oblong, while others are almost perfectly sphere-shaped, but all avocado pits have a 'bottom' (from which the roots will grow) and a 'top' (from which the sprout will grow). The top is the slightly pointier end, and the bottom is the flat end. To get your pit to sprout, you'll need to immerse the bottom root end in water, so determine out which end is the 'top' and which is the 'bottom' before you start piercing it with toothpicks.

Step 3: Insert four toothpicks at a slight downward angle into the avocado seed, evenly spaced around the circumference of the avocado. These toothpicks are your avocado scaffolding, allowing you to lay the bottom half of the avocado in water, therefore they must be securely wedged in there.

Step 4: Place half seed in a glass of water and put it near windowsill with sunlight. Change the water every 4-5 days, to prevent mold, bacteria and fungus growth.

Step 5: The seed begins to sprout after 6 weeks or so, so be patient.

Step 6: When the stem reaches 6 inches long cut the it back to about 3 inches long. After the plant reaches back to 6-7 inches, then you can pot it in soil. Avocado loves sun so be sure to place it in a bright space.

Note: In general, grafting is required to obtain a fruit-bearing tree. When an avocado plant (like most fruit trees) is grown directly from seed, fruit production and fruit quality are uncertain.