Avocado from a Pit: How to Grow a Tree at Home, Step by Step

Growing an avocado from a pit is a simple and fascinating experiment. After 1–2 months a root and a shoot appear, and within a year you have an attractive little tree with large glossy leaves. Don’t expect fruit, but as an ornamental plant the avocado is very striking.

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Illustration 1. To sprout, take the pit from a ripe fruit and make sure it is undamaged.

Preparing the pit

1. Carefully remove the pit from a ripe avocado without cutting it.
2. Rinse off the flesh with warm water.
3. Work out which end is the top and which the bottom: the bottom is broad and flattish, the top slightly pointed.
4. You can peel off the brown skin so the pit sprouts a little faster, but this is optional.

Method 1: in a glass of water

The most visual method. Push three toothpicks 3–5 mm into the pit at the same height and rest it on a glass so that the bottom third is in water.

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Illustration 2. The bottom third of the pit should always be in water.

• Change the water every 3–5 days.
• Keep the glass in a warm, bright place out of direct sun.
• The pit splits after 2–6 weeks, then a root appears, followed by a shoot.

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Illustration 3. The root grows first, then the shoot heads upwards.

Method 2: straight into soil

Plant the pit broad end down in a pot of light compost, leaving the top third above the surface. Water to keep the compost just moist. This method is slower, but the plant won’t have to adjust from water to soil.

Potting up and the first months

When the root is 8–10 cm long and the shoot 10–15 cm, move the avocado into a 15–20 cm pot with drainage. Don’t bury the pit completely: half of it should stay above the soil.

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Illustration 4. A young avocado grows upwards fast; pinch out the tip to make it bushier.

When the shoot reaches 25–30 cm, pinch out the tip. The plant will then produce side branches and become fuller.

Caring for the tree

• Light: bright; a south-east window is best, with extra lighting in winter.
• Watering: generous, once the top layer of soil has dried; never let water stand.
• Humidity: it likes humid air, so mist the leaves, especially in the heating season.
• Temperature: 18–25 °C, no lower than 12 °C in winter.
• Feeding: once a month from spring to autumn with an all-purpose fertiliser.
• Repotting: every spring into a pot 3–5 cm larger.

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Illustration 5. In a year or two the avocado becomes a striking indoor tree.

Will it fruit?

Indoors, an avocado grown from a pit almost never fruits. The tree would need to grow several metres tall, and flowering requires special conditions. Even outdoors, seedlings start fruiting after 5–13 years, and the fruit may taste different from the parent variety. So grow your avocado for its handsome leaves.

In short. A pit on toothpicks in water, potting up when the root reaches 8–10 cm, bright light and pinching out the tip, and in a year you will have your own avocado tree.