Pinching an avocado at home. Avocado at home

18.07.2023 | Hobbies and entertainment

At first glance, it may seem that growing an avocado tree from a seed at home is difficult, if not completely impossible. But that's not true. Everyone can afford to grow this ornamental tree without much effort, and in the future enjoy its fruits. True, you need to know some secrets. We will reveal them for our readers in this publication.

Avocado seedling. © Jeffrey Schwartz

The first step is to buy an avocado at the store.

The avocado tree has wide leaves and flexible stems, which makes it possible to form various decorative compositions from it. Typically, three trees are planted in pots, from which braids are formed as they grow. There is a belief that having an avocado tree in the house harmonizes relationships and creates a romantic atmosphere.

To do this, you need to purchase a ripe avocado from the store. To check for ripeness, you need to press the fruit with your palms on both sides and then release. The ripe fruit will restore its structure, so you can safely buy it. But even if the avocado is not yet fully ripe, you can also buy it - it will ripen over time.

To make the fruit ripen faster, you can place it next to apples or bananas, since these fruits emit ethylene gas, which promotes faster ripening.

Sprouting an avocado seed

The avocado fruit must be peeled, pitted and sown on the same day. Usually the seed germination rate is 100%. There are three ways to plant a seed.

The unpeeled seed can be planted directly into the ground, leaving a third on top. The blunt end must be in the soil. We leave the seed in this state and need to water it once a week.
The uncleaned bone can be pierced in three places with toothpicks 3 mm deep, and then placed in water with the blunt end. The lower part should be in water, and the puncture sites should not be immersed in water.
The peeled avocado pit should be placed in water, leaving a third on top. A cleaned seed germinates faster, and in this case you can observe how the root system and stem are formed.

Avocado seeds, germination in water. © KVDP

Germinating avocado seeds in soil. © skyseeker

Avocado sprout from seed. © Cayobo

It is better to choose a large seed for planting, since it has more energy for growth. Water for soaking should be used at room temperature (23-25°C). You can add charcoal or activated carbon to the water, but this is not necessary, since the seed is unpretentious and will germinate well without these additives.

The seed may sprout in a week, or maybe in two months. It depends on the season. It is best to plant it in the spring, as it will germinate faster at this time.

Planting a seed in the ground

As soon as the sprout grows 3 cm, it can be planted in the ground. The soil must be loose and well-drained so that the seed can breathe. Avocados do not like stagnation of water in the roots, so drainage is required. You can take a small pot for planting; later, after a year, the plant can be replanted.

The drainage should be 2 cm high. It is necessary to make a small depression in the soil, plant a seed in it so that a third comes out of the ground, and then water it with ordinary settled water, preferably with a small amount of salts, preferably filtered.

Next, the pot needs to be placed in the brightest place in the room; it can be fertilized once a month or once every two weeks; any mineral fertilizer will do for this. In this case, the plant will grow and develop quickly.

If the tree is stretched due to lack of sunlight, then it needs to be pinched. To determine whether a plant requires watering, it is necessary to dig your finger into the soil two phalanges. If it is wet, there is no need to water it.

Avocado flowers. © Cayobo

To give the tree a more decorative look, you can sprout several avocado seeds, and then, while they are growing, weave a braid from the stems. In this case, the braid should not be very tight. It is imperative to leave gaps between the segments, because the trunk grows over time. Otherwise, the decorative effect of the plant will be lost. When there is a gap, the weave can be fixed due to the flexibility of the stem.

Starting from the third year of life, yellow-green flowers may appear on the tree. In order for the tree to start bearing fruit, it is advisable to have two or more avocado plants. This is necessary for cross-pollination of trees.

It is advisable to take the plant to the dacha in the summer and place it under the crowns of trees in a sunny place. Then the avocado will begin to bear fruit in the third year.

Avocado is an exotic evergreen plant. Many lovers of floriculture know that it is not easy to grow avocados at home, much less wait for the harvest. Its fruits, unique in taste, could please more than one grower. But, unfortunately, avocados with fruits at home are rather an exception to the rule. Although they don’t always plant an orange or persimmon seed, hoping for quick results. You can wait for more than one year, hope and at the same time enjoy a fruit bush or tree.

If you really want to, you can plant an avocado seed and patiently follow all the necessary rules for growing and caring for it. What if your dream comes true and you wait for the harvest at home?

To grow this unusual overseas plant, you will definitely need a ripe avocado fruit. Only the seed of such a fruit has a great chance of germination. This process can be carried out in two ways:

The first method (closed) is simple and simple. The avocado seed needs to be inserted into the soil with its wide bottom side to a shallow depth (approximately 2 centimeters). If favorable conditions are created, it should germinate in about 30 days.
The second method (open) is interesting and even, one might say, exotic.

Before planting in the ground, the seed must be germinated in water in a suspended position. First you need to thoroughly wash and clean it. Then, approximately in the middle of the bone along the circle line, you need to carefully drill three or four holes, into which you then need to insert thin wooden sticks (for example, matches or toothpicks). They will act as a support when the wide lower part of the seed is lowered into a container of water. These sticks, like clamps, will hold the bone at the required height. The main thing is to constantly monitor the amount of water in the container. The bottom of the bone should always be in water.

Instead of water, special polymer granules (hydrogel) can be used to germinate avocado seeds. This polymer material can hold large amounts of water for a long time. In this method it is very convenient; you do not need to monitor the level.

Only 20-30 days will pass, and the first young roots will appear, and then a sprout. The seed will be ready for planting in the ground when the roots reach 4 centimeters in length.

First you will need a small flower pot with large holes. The earth should not be dense. It needs to be loosened well to ensure the necessary air and moisture exchange. The seed is planted in the soil so that two-thirds of its part is on the surface of the soil. There is no need to remove the shell on the bone.

Avocado - growing and care at home

Location and lighting

Avocado is a light-loving plant, but partial shade is also suitable for it. It needs to be protected from direct sunlight. If your house or apartment has a room with west-facing windows, then such a window sill will be the ideal place for this fruit.

Temperature

Since the avocado is native to the tropics, it naturally loves warmth. In the event of a sharp drop in temperature or the slightest draft, the plant will begin to show its dissatisfaction - all the leaves will fall off immediately. Therefore, even in warm summer weather, it is not advisable to take it outside.

And the room must also maintain a constant temperature. In the warm season, high room temperature will be favorable for avocados, but in the cold winter, 20 degrees Celsius will be enough for it.

The plant also has a dormant period in winter. If in winter the temperature in the room drops to 12 degrees, then the avocado will immediately react - it will drop its leaves and switch to “hibernation” mode. But with proper care and constant temperature balance, this cannot happen. This tropical plant is considered evergreen.

Watering rules

Avocados at home should be watered regularly and abundantly, but taking into account the temperature and time of year. Excessive watering can be harmful. In summer it is watered more often than in winter. After the top layer of soil has dried, it will take another couple of days before you start watering the plant. Only its upper part dries out immediately, and the moisture necessary for the avocado remains inside the pot for about two more days.

Air humidity

Air humidity is also of great importance. The air in the room is almost always dry, and this is very harmful for this plant. Daily spraying will help solve the problem. It is very important that during such water procedures only the air near the avocado is humidified, but not the plant itself. Even small droplets should not fall on its leaves.

There is another way of moistening - this is a special tray for a pot with moistened expanded clay.

Feeding and fertilizers

From September to March the plant does not need feeding. But the rest of the time, once a month, the avocado needs to be fed with fertilizer recommended for citrus fruits or any other complex fertilizer.

Avocado transplant

In nature, avocados grow up to 20 meters in height. Although at home it will not reach such heights, it grows quite actively and requires frequent replanting. Very soon the first small pot will become too small for him. As soon as the tree grows to 15 centimeters, it is time to transplant it into a larger container. At a young age, avocados are replanted every year, and then once every three years.

The soil in which it grows is of great importance for the development and growth of a plant. Specifically for avocados, you need any loose and light soil, but not sour soil. It would be good to add wood ash or dolomite flour to such soil.

When replanting a plant into a new pot, use the transshipment method. Carefully carry the tree along with the lump of earth.

You can prepare a soil mixture that is healthy for avocados yourself. For this you will need: peat (or humus), garden soil and coarse river sand. All components must be mixed in equal parts.

Trimming

This tropical plant at home can easily become a decorative decoration for a room. True, this will require a little experience in floriculture. For example, you can grow several plants from avocado seeds and plant them all together in one flower pot. In the meantime, while the plants are young and flexible, their stems can be intertwined with a pigtail.

To ensure that the plant does not stretch in height, but acquires splendor in the form of side shoots, it must be pinched. This procedure can be carried out only when the tree has a sufficient number of leaves (at least eight). First, pinch the top of the plant, this promotes the development of side branches. And after they are sufficiently formed and have their own leaves, you can pinch them too.

Pruning is carried out in early spring. It is necessary to improve the growth and development of the plant, as well as to form the crown you need. It can be completely different. It all depends on the imagination of the gardener.

Diseases, pests and other problems

Avocado, like all indoor plants, is afraid of the same pests - scale insects and spider mites. The voracious spider mite can not only destroy all the leaves on the plant, but can also transmit various diseases to other indoor flowers. The scale insect feeds on plant sap. After its appearance, only dry leaves remain. You can fight such pests with various traditional methods or insecticidal preparations.

Among diseases, the main danger to avocados is powdery mildew.

Other problems may arise during the growing process:

The tips of the leaves dry out. Reasons: watering rules are not followed (lack of moisture), insufficient air humidity. It is necessary to establish regular watering (only after the top layer of soil has dried) and humidify the air in the room using spraying.

Leaves are falling. The reasons are drafts and a decrease in air temperature in the apartment. It is necessary to maintain optimal temperature conditions in the room and avoid drafts.

Pale leaves. Reasons: lack of lighting. It is necessary to find a suitable place for the plant or organize additional (artificial) lighting for it, especially in winter.

Avocado is an exotic fruit that grows on a tall tropical tree. From the seed of this fruit you can grow a strong seedling, which, with proper care, grows up to 2.5 m in height, depending on the volume of the pot.

You will not get fruits from such a tree. In order for it to bear fruit, it is necessary to graft a fruiting branch onto the rootstock, which is why many lovers of exotic plants grow avocado as a green houseplant.

Place to grow avocados

An avocado seedling requires a large amount of sunlight and heat for normal growth and development, so the pot with the plant is placed on a southern windowsill. The avocado root system does not tolerate stagnant water. Therefore, when planting a seed, you need to take into account several conditions:

the pot for planting must be filled with loose sandy loam soil: the basis for the soil mixture is sand and leaf soil;
in order to retain moisture, the soil is mulched;
in winter, watering is reduced so that the leaves of the tree do not begin to turn yellow and fall off.

You can use hay, garden perlite or vermiculite as mulch. To decorate a pot with an avocado tree, you can plant herbaceous plants around the perimeter of the container.

Avocado feeding and processing

The avocado tree responds very well to fertilizing. In the summer, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are applied to the soil, and foliar treatment is also carried out with a solution of hydrogen peroxide. After treatment, the leaves of the plant will acquire a rich green color, and the tree will form new strong shoots.

You should not pick off leaves with dried edges, as the tree may die due to insufficient chlorophyll formation. Such leaves are removed only after healthy shoots have formed.

In winter, add a little nitrogen fertilizer to the soil to maintain normal leaf color. All fertilizers are applied in the form of warm solutions. One part of nitrogen-containing organic fertilizer must be dissolved in ten parts of water. This proportion must also be observed when preparing a solution of hydrogen peroxide.

In the fall, you can add wood ash to the soil. After six months of this maintenance, the avocado tree will grow up to 2 m in height. It needs to be replanted into a larger pot every three months. For additional water drainage, you need to pour broken brick, garden perlite or vermiculite into the bottom of the pot with drainage holes.

In the fall, just for fun, I planted an avocado seed (this way I have already managed to get an indoor lemon). The experiment was a success - the seed has sprouted and is gradually growing leaves. Tell me how to care for avocados at home? Does it need bright light or can the flowerpot be placed on a north window?

Recently, lovers of exotic plants have become increasingly common among flower growers. Thanks to them, some cultures living in the wild have safely migrated to our homes and are doing quite well there. Take the avocado, for example, a tall evergreen tree with original green fruits native to distant Mexico. Lovers of indoor plants liked its large bright green leaves so much that the exotic Mexican began to be used for decorative purposes for landscaping indoors.

In nature, avocado grows up to 30 m in height, but indoors it grows in the form of a small tree (no more than 2.5 m), and does not bear fruit.

Growing an avocado is not very difficult. If you create conditions that are as close to natural as possible and properly care for it, you can get a very beautiful and compact plant.

Caring for avocados at home consists of a set of measures, namely:

choosing a suitable location for the bush (with the necessary lighting and air temperature);
proper watering and fertilizing;
formative pruning;
regular transplant.

Where is the best place to grow avocados?

Before choosing a flowerpot with a young bush for permanent residence, it is worth considering that avocados do not tolerate direct sunlight - they cause burns on the leaves. But otherwise it is quite unpretentious and grows well even in partial shade, although it prefers good, but diffused, lighting.

You can put the flowerpot on the northern window sill: there will be enough sun for avocados in the summer, and in the autumn-winter period you can simply install additional lighting.

As for air temperature and humidity, the evergreen bush needs warmth, but is able to winter in an unheated room with a temperature of at least 5 degrees Celsius, however, in this case it turns into a deciduous plant and sheds its leaves.

How to water and feed?

In the summer, avocados should be watered frequently and sprayed regularly. In winter, the frequency of watering depends on the wintering conditions: the lower the temperature, the less often the bush is watered.

The avocado itself grows quickly, so it does not need frequent feeding, but it should be taken into account that the tree has a limited amount of soil in the pot and the nutrients there quickly run out. To replenish them, complex mineral preparations must be applied from spring to the end of summer (but not more than 2 times a month).

How to prune and when to replant?

In indoor conditions, avocados often stretch, so formative pruning is an important step in caring for them. To do this in the spring, you need to pinch or cut off the shoots after the 8th leaf to stimulate branching. Repeat the procedure all summer on each young branch.

Avocados also need frequent replanting because they grow very quickly. Young bushes are replanted annually in the spring, transferring them to a larger pot. If possible, large specimens are transshipped every three years or simply replace the top layer of soil with fresh ones.

Features of growing indoor avocado - video

The exotic avocado plant does not bloom or bear fruit at home, but it has dense foliage of a rich green color and is completely unpretentious in care. You can grow it from an ordinary fruit seed or purchase a young cutting. Proper care of an avocado in a flower pot is the topic of our article.

Landing

If you decide to grow exotic plants such as avocado, agave and others at home, you need to be prepared for the fact that at home they will grow differently than in nature. And you will need to care for them more carefully, protecting them, moreover, from pests and diseases.

Avocado cuttings, unfortunately, are very difficult to find on sale, so home gardeners have become adept at growing this plant from an ordinary fruit seed, which must be ripe. It should first be placed in a suitable container of water so that its sharp edge peeks out of the water. And to feed this bone, charcoal poured on the bottom is perfect. The seed will lie in the water for 1 - 2 months, this period is usually enough for it to develop its first shoots.

Place the bone in a suitable container with water.

Next, it’s time to prepare a special soil for your future indoor avocado, which is a mixture of peat and expanded clay, and select a pot suitable for planting it. The seed is planted in the ground with the blunt end down, after which the pot is covered with polyethylene or a glass jar and placed in a well-lit and warm place. This is necessary to create a mini-greenhouse.

It will take about 6 months for the seed to germinate, but after the first sprout appears on the surface of the soil, it will very quickly become stronger, begin to gain strength and begin to grow.

First avocado sprout

This method is quite slow, but sure. With proper care and choosing the right pot, a modest avocado sprout will soon turn into an ornamental plant that will wonderfully decorate your interior. In winter, an indoor avocado can shed all its leaves; there is no need to be afraid of this; in the spring, young leaves will appear on its trunk again.

It is recommended to place the avocado pot in partial shade so that it is not in direct sunlight, but at the same time receives a sufficient amount of light. A year after planting, the young plant will need to be replanted.

Avocado care

Avocados grown at home also require constant care. This is especially true for young plants grown from seed. When caring for them, you need to take into account all the following nuances, which provide this plant with comfortable conditions for development and growth:

lighting;
temperature;
watering;
air humidity;
feeding;
circumcision.

When caring for them, you need to take into account comfortable conditions for development and growth.

As mentioned above, avocados love partial shade, but at the same time require a sufficient amount of light. That is why in the autumn-winter period you need to take care of the normal illumination of the room in which the pot with this exotic plant is located, and, if necessary, equip it with lighting, using special phytolamps for this purpose.

In summer, avocados feel comfortable at high temperatures, which may even be slightly above room temperature. In winter, the optimal temperature for its growth is +20 degrees. If for any reason the temperature in the room drops below + 12, this southern plant will shed its leaves.

As for watering, it should be plentiful during the growing season, and moderate in winter and autumn. The humidity of the room in which it grows is of great importance for its beauty and decorativeness.

Avocado loves humidity, so during the heating season it will need regular spraying and additional moisture.

In the autumn-winter period, this plant does not need feeding, but during its vegetative growth it needs to be fertilized every 2 - 3 weeks, using mineral fertilizers and organic matter. In addition, to give it a decorative appearance, pruning should be done every spring - pinching the tops of the shoots.

Pest and disease control

Avocado or, as it is popularly called, alligator pear is very susceptible to pests and diseases. As for this tropical plant, the following will be dangerous for it:

Shchitovka;
Spider mite;
Powdery mildew.

Fortunately, there are a huge number of modern remedies that will quickly help cure the plant and prevent it from dying.

In addition, the sickly appearance of an alligator pear may indicate improper care for it or a lack of light or moisture. Recognizing them, taking into account our recommendations, is quite simple:

the tips of the leaves dry out - insufficient watering, dry air in the room and too high a temperature;
the leaves turn pale - the plant does not have enough light;
leaves turn yellow and fly off - possible infection with spider mites;
the leaves dry out and fly off completely - the air in the room is not humid enough.

But, despite all this, avocados grow quite well at home and quickly adapt after transplantation. Proper care and regular care of it will provide you with a chic indoor tree with a beautiful and spreading crown, which will become your pride and will surprise your guests.

Since ancient times, people have been familiar with such an evergreen fruit plant as the avocado tree. Thanks to its oily, pear-shaped fruits, it is also called alligator pear, agacat, and American persea. Today, many people want to grow such a miracle fruit at home, but to do this you need to know some secrets for caring for it.

What does an avocado tree look like?

In nature, an adult avocado tree, which belongs to the laurel family, grows up to 20 m. It has a wide crown, a trunk up to 60 cm in diameter, sharp leathery leaves with a shiny dark green upper surface and whitish lower surface. Sometimes a tree sheds its leaves, but then grows them back. It is found in tropical and subtropical regions of India, America, and Africa. The avocado fruit is a large, single-seeded, dark green berry, shaped like a pear.

An adult avocado tree whose flowering does not look very attractive can be grown at home. Its inconspicuous flowers have a greenish tint. They bloom twice a season. Initially, their stamens are pollinated by pollen from other trees, and after about a day the anthers ripen and insects transfer their pollen to other plants. Experienced gardeners recommend planting several avocado trees nearby, whose flowering times overlap.

Many novice gardeners are interested in what an avocado tree looks like at home. This exotic plant can be grown at home on a windowsill. However, its height does not exceed 2.5 m. Often its growth is limited by the size of the pot. In areas with a warm climate in the summer, the plant can be taken outside, avoiding drafts. Avocado fruits at home grow smaller in size compared to garden specimens.

Planting avocados at home

Do you love exotic plants and would like to grow avocados at home? Then you need to find out everything about this tree: how to plant and care for an avocado, whether it can bloom at home and bear fruit. Only after this, having gained patience and armed with the necessary knowledge, can you begin the long process of growing this unusual alligator pear. An avocado tree can be grown at home on a windowsill, in a heated greenhouse or in a winter garden.

How to prepare an avocado seed for planting?

To grow an avocado tree at home, you must first select a ripe fruit. You can buy it in the store, but first check the selected avocado for ripeness: hold it between your palms, squeeze lightly and release. A ripe fruit will quickly restore its original shape. This means that it is ripe and you can safely buy it. You can also buy an unripe avocado, but before removing the pit from it, you need to let it ripen among bananas and apples, which emit ethylene gas, which accelerates the ripening of the fruit.

Cut the ripe fruit in half lengthwise and carefully remove the seed using a spoon. We thoroughly rinse it to remove any remaining pulp. There are three ways to plant an avocado seed:

We stick toothpicks 3 mm deep into the cleaned bone on three sides, and place it with the blunt side in a glass of water. In this case, you need to make sure that only the bottom of the bone is in the water, and the puncture sites are above the water.
We plant the peeled seed immediately in a pot of soil, leaving a third part above the surface. Its blunt end should be buried in the ground. We water once a week.
Peel the avocado pit and immerse two-thirds of it in water. It will grow faster, and through the glass you will be able to watch the roots and stem grow.

Water for germination must be settled. You can add activated or charcoal to it. As it evaporates, water must be added. It is better to choose a large bone, which contains more nutrients. It can germinate in different periods - from a week to two months. The best time for this is spring. After the seed cracks and splits into cotyledons, roots appear from it and soon it can be transplanted into the ground.

Avocado pot

To plant an avocado seed, it is better to choose a plastic pot with a diameter of 9-15 cm and a height of about 15 cm. The container must have drainage holes to drain excess water. As soon as the sprout grows 3 cm, it is transplanted into a pot. We pour a 2 cm layer of drainage onto the bottom of the container. We make a small depression in the ground, into which we plant the sprouted seed so that its third part is above the surface of the soil.

The sprout grows very quickly at first. The avocado tree is heat-loving; growing it at home largely depends on the temperature regime. In cool summer weather, you should not take the pot with the plant outside. In winter, when the temperature drops below +10ºС, the tree can shed its leaves, and new ones will grow only in the spring.

Avocado soil

This crop does not grow well in heavy, clayey, acidic soil, so for planting it is better to prepare in advance an earthen mixture consisting of peat, coarse sand, humus and garden soil in equal parts. You can add a pinch of lime here. The day before planting the seeds, boiling water should be poured on the ground to disinfect it. In such a soil mixture you can grow an avocado tree from a seed.

Planting avocados outside

In areas with a temperate climate, you can plant an avocado tree in a special hole, which will protect the plant from freezing in winter. To do this, in a sunny area, you need to dig a trench 1.5 m deep and 1.2 m wide. The fertile top layer of soil is thrown in one direction, and the rest of the soil extracted when digging the trench is thrown in the other. The wall on the north side is made vertical and sheathed with plywood or brick. The opposite slope is made flat and covered with black film.

A drainage layer in the form of pebbles, crushed stone or gravel is laid at the bottom of the pit. The excavated top soil is poured on top of it and a plant is planted in the trench, and a polycarbonate shelter is made on top. In such a shelter, an exotic avocado tree can comfortably overwinter. Those who live in the southern coastal areas can try to grow avocados in open ground.

Where is the best place to plant an avocado?

For planting avocados, an excellent option would be a place protected from cold northern winds, for example, gentle coastal southwestern and southeastern slopes. Areas with high humidity, where cold air can stagnate in winter, are not suitable for growing trees. A large avocado tree will do well in the company of another similar species, but single plantings are also possible.

How to care for an avocado tree?

To grow an avocado tree at home, you need to provide it with careful care. This plant loves light, but will develop normally in partial shade. In summer, it should be shaded from the bright rays of the sun, and the best option would be to place a pot of avocado on a western window. The tree does not tolerate sudden temperature fluctuations, and in a draft it can lose all its leaves. The same can happen when the room temperature drops to +12ºС and below.

The street avocado tree is replanted once every three years. If you decide to leave the avocado tree outside in winter, then it must be carefully insulated using any covering material. When grown in a greenhouse, it must be provided with additional heating, and the trunks must be wrapped in foam rubber. It happens that a tree blooms in winter, but the buds cannot withstand the cold and fall off, although with the arrival of spring, flowering will occur on time.

How to pinch an avocado tree?

To make the avocado a real decoration of the room, you can initially plant three plants in one pot. As they grow, their flexible branches can be intertwined with each other in a pigtail. To form a lush, beautiful crown, the tree must be pinched. This is done after eight leaves appear on the stem. As a result, the side shoots of the plant will begin to grow, and as soon as they grow, their tops also need to be pinched. This is how you can get an adult avocado tree grown indoors.

How to water an avocado?

When growing avocados at home, you need to monitor the air humidity, which should be at least 70%. To maintain it, you can spray the plants with a spray bottle. In summer, an avocado tree in a pot should be watered generously; in winter, watering should be reduced. It is better to follow this rule: the warmer the air in the room, the more frequent and abundant the watering should be. This plant is especially sensitive to both drought and overwatering because its roots do not have small root hairs. During prolonged drought, the tree stops growing, sheds leaves and even fruits.

How to fertilize avocados?

When growing avocados at home, they are fed only during the period of active growth, in the spring and summer. Do this once every 2-3 weeks, using a special organic fertilizer for avocados or a balanced fertilizer for citrus fruits. In autumn and winter, the plant does not need supplements. Before fertilizing your home avocado tree, you should carefully study the instructions for using fertilizers.

How to shape an avocado tree?

For fast and uniform growth, a mature avocado tree must be pruned. It is better to do this in early spring or autumn, after harvesting. The work should be carried out very carefully, since the branches of the tree are brittle and can be easily damaged. The side shoots are cut off by about half, this should stimulate branching of the plant. On trees, all dry, damaged branches and those that grow into the middle of the tree are removed, thereby thickening its crown and preventing air exchange.

Avocado diseases and pests

The exotic avocado tree in the country and indoors can be affected by various pathogens and insect pests. Avocados that are grown in home conditions different from natural ones become especially vulnerable in this regard. The following diseases and pests are especially dangerous for this plant:

If you really want to, you can plant an avocado seed and patiently follow all the necessary rules for growing and caring for it. What if your dream comes true and you wait for the harvest at home?

How to grow an avocado from a seed

To grow this unusual overseas plant, you will definitely need a ripe avocado fruit. Only the seed of such a fruit has a great chance of germination. This process can be carried out in two ways:

The first method (closed) is simple and simple. The avocado seed needs to be inserted into the soil with its wide bottom side to a shallow depth (approximately 2 centimeters). If favorable conditions are created, it should germinate in about 30 days.
The second method (open) is interesting and even, one might say, exotic.

Instead of water, special polymer granules () can be used to germinate avocado seeds. This polymer material can hold large amounts of water for a long time. In this method it is very convenient; you do not need to monitor the level.

Only 20-30 days will pass, and the first young roots will appear, and then a sprout. The seed will be ready for planting in the ground when the roots reach 4 centimeters in length.