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jsantana3044
- Newly Registered
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 12:45 pm
- Location: texas
growing avocado tree from seed.
I got an avocado sent to me from Puerto Rico, ate it and to my surprise after a few days I noticed that the seed started growing roots. so I planted the seed in a pot with top soil and its growing pretty fast. My question is, how can I take care of it cause I love these avocados from Puerto Rico..Any suggestions would be helpful.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7427
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
I have planted avocado seeds several times. You did good to get it started early. The plant is very sensitive to direct sunlight it takes a while for the plant to get use to direct sun light. It is also extremely sensitive to frost or freeze either one will kill the plant.
Put the plant is a 12" pot with good soil. Keep it in full shade sunlight. Set it outside on the north side of your house or under a shade tree so it gets real sunlight but full shade all the time. Bring it inside at night to protect it from cold weather.
About March or after all chance of frost is gone start keeping it outside full time. Move the plant so it gets about 15 minutes of full sun each day. Set the plant under a shade tree or at the corner of your house so as the sun moves the plants gets shade all day and about 15 minutes of full sun.
After about 1 week move the plant so it gets 30 minutes of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 1 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 2 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 4 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 8 hour of full sun.
After another week dig a hole and plant it some place in your yard. The plant should grow about 8 ft tall by October and be a nice tree.
You need to built a WINTER ONLY green house around the tree to protect it from cold weather.
I am not sure how large the tree will get or how long it takes to grow avacados. I had one that out grew the winter green house and cold weather killed it I was living in Tennessee then 30 years ago. If you don't get frost or cold weather the tree will be fine.
Put the plant is a 12" pot with good soil. Keep it in full shade sunlight. Set it outside on the north side of your house or under a shade tree so it gets real sunlight but full shade all the time. Bring it inside at night to protect it from cold weather.
About March or after all chance of frost is gone start keeping it outside full time. Move the plant so it gets about 15 minutes of full sun each day. Set the plant under a shade tree or at the corner of your house so as the sun moves the plants gets shade all day and about 15 minutes of full sun.
After about 1 week move the plant so it gets 30 minutes of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 1 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 2 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 4 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 8 hour of full sun.
After another week dig a hole and plant it some place in your yard. The plant should grow about 8 ft tall by October and be a nice tree.
You need to built a WINTER ONLY green house around the tree to protect it from cold weather.
I am not sure how large the tree will get or how long it takes to grow avacados. I had one that out grew the winter green house and cold weather killed it I was living in Tennessee then 30 years ago. If you don't get frost or cold weather the tree will be fine.
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Gary350
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 7427
- Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
I have planted avocado seeds several times. You did good to get it started early. The plant is very sensitive to direct sunlight it takes a while for the plant to get use to direct sun light. It is also extremely sensitive to frost or freeze either one will kill the plant.
Put the plant is a 12" pot with good soil. Keep it in full shade sunlight. Set it outside on the north side of your house or under a shade tree so it gets real sunlight but full shade all the time. Bring it inside at night to protect it from cold weather.
About March or after all chance of frost is gone start keeping it outside full time. Move the plant so it gets about 15 minutes of full sun each day. Set the plant under a shade tree or at the corner of your house so as the sun moves the plants gets shade all day and about 15 minutes of full sun.
After about 1 week move the plant so it gets 30 minutes of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 1 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 2 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 4 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 8 hour of full sun.
After another week dig a hole and plant it some place in your yard. The plant should grow about 8 ft tall by October and be a nice tree.
You need to built a WINTER ONLY green house around the tree to protect it from cold weather.
I am not sure how large the tree will get or how long it takes to grow avacados. I had one that out grew the winter green house and cold weather killed it I was living in Tennessee then 30 years ago. If you don't get frost or freezing weather the tree will be fine.
Put the plant is a 12" pot with good soil. Keep it in full shade sunlight. Set it outside on the north side of your house or under a shade tree so it gets real sunlight but full shade all the time. Bring it inside at night to protect it from cold weather.
About March or after all chance of frost is gone start keeping it outside full time. Move the plant so it gets about 15 minutes of full sun each day. Set the plant under a shade tree or at the corner of your house so as the sun moves the plants gets shade all day and about 15 minutes of full sun.
After about 1 week move the plant so it gets 30 minutes of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 1 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 2 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 4 hour of full sun.
After another week move the plant so it gets 8 hour of full sun.
After another week dig a hole and plant it some place in your yard. The plant should grow about 8 ft tall by October and be a nice tree.
You need to built a WINTER ONLY green house around the tree to protect it from cold weather.
I am not sure how large the tree will get or how long it takes to grow avacados. I had one that out grew the winter green house and cold weather killed it I was living in Tennessee then 30 years ago. If you don't get frost or freezing weather the tree will be fine.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
I don't think you are going to want to put it in the ground. There are some varieties of avocado that have been bred for more cold tolerance, but that is not likely what you got from Puerto Rico. Even the "cold tolerant" ones are only rated to zone 8.
Planted in the ground, they can get to be very large trees, but keeping it in a pot will keep it smaller. It takes about ten years from seed to produce any avocados. That's why I never bother growing out my avocado seeds -- I'm not young, I might not live to ever see an avocado
Planted in the ground, they can get to be very large trees, but keeping it in a pot will keep it smaller. It takes about ten years from seed to produce any avocados. That's why I never bother growing out my avocado seeds -- I'm not young, I might not live to ever see an avocado
Avocado will grow from seed. I don't know about hardiness. It will take a few years before it is old enough to flower. Your bigger problem will be pollination. Avocados are designed so that they need another avocado of a compatible cultivar to pollinate. Male and female flowers on the same tree open at different times of the day to prevent self pollination. Because avocados are always pollinated by another tree, the result is unpredictable.
Most known avocados are grafted onto seedlings. You could graft 2 compatible avocados on the same plant so that the different sides could pollinate each other. Most people in Hawaii have a grafted tree to guarantee they get fruit from a good tree to start with and get fruit sooner. Avocados can get to be 50 ft tall if you let them and most people have small yards and want a mango too, so they only have one tree. Pollination in Hawaii is not an issue since so many people have trees that there is plenty of pollen available from multiple cultivars. Below is a link to the Purdue website all about avocados. We don't get frost, but I know that avocados are definitely not salt tolerant.
https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/mort ... o_ars.html
Most known avocados are grafted onto seedlings. You could graft 2 compatible avocados on the same plant so that the different sides could pollinate each other. Most people in Hawaii have a grafted tree to guarantee they get fruit from a good tree to start with and get fruit sooner. Avocados can get to be 50 ft tall if you let them and most people have small yards and want a mango too, so they only have one tree. Pollination in Hawaii is not an issue since so many people have trees that there is plenty of pollen available from multiple cultivars. Below is a link to the Purdue website all about avocados. We don't get frost, but I know that avocados are definitely not salt tolerant.
https://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/mort ... o_ars.html
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ElizabethB
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 2105
- Joined: Sat Nov 24, 2012 12:53 am
- Location: Lafayette, LA
avocado seeds are easy to start and fun to grow. The problem is keeping them alive long enough to get fruit production. ULL has a couple of trees in the Hort Center Conservatory that are enormous 25'+ and they produce fruit. Unfortunately most of us do not have access to a conservatory. I live in zone 9b and have never been able to grow an avocado to maturity. The least freeze kills the plant. My Mother-in-law lived in Mcallen, TX for many years. She had 3 mature trees that produced wonderfull fruit. One year there was a freak freeze and she lost all 3 of her trees. So plant your seed and enjoy your plant but don't pin your hopes on fruit production unless you live in extreme south or west Texas where it just doesn't freeze.
I also like to start pineapples from tops. I treat both avocado and pineapple plants as novelties. Since I do not have access to a conservatory I have quit beating myself up trying to grow plants that are just not suitable for my region. Too much work and frustration and too little reward.
Just me. There are too many dissapointments in life that I avoid setting myself up for more.
Good luck and enjoy your plant.
I also like to start pineapples from tops. I treat both avocado and pineapple plants as novelties. Since I do not have access to a conservatory I have quit beating myself up trying to grow plants that are just not suitable for my region. Too much work and frustration and too little reward.
Just me. There are too many dissapointments in life that I avoid setting myself up for more.
Good luck and enjoy your plant.
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Meatyallstar
- Full Member
- Posts: 22
- Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:55 am
Shes right, Avacados are best seen as a noviety idem, I plan on trying to keep mine alive and have them be indoor trees taken outdoors in summer. But I live in St Paul MN, WAY to cold for these things year round. My celilings about 8 or 9 foot so one day I will have to part with the trees assuming of course they live that long or even gurmanate.
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applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30550
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Avocados respond very well to pruning. Most novice avocado pit growers who want to keep them as "houseplants" make the mistake of not providing sufficient light especially during the winter months indoors and also of hesitating to chop their "baby" down to size. 
On the other hand, it WOULD be interesting to see how fast an unrestricted avocado plant/tree would grow.
It's certainly true that they may not fruit, but they can take a lot of abuse and IMHO are worth growing just for the experience.
(Says applestar who has 7 containers of seed-grown avocados of various ages and sizes... And has 5 -- really?
-- unsprouted seeds currently in water but will be sown in containers of soil soon {part of I always tell'em to sow the seeds in soil, but maybe it does work just as well to start them in water experiment}, as well as a NEW PROJECT purchased/self Christmas present grafted "Day" avocado plant which will hopefully take off this summer and supply bud/scion grafts for the seed-grown plants. 
)
On the other hand, it WOULD be interesting to see how fast an unrestricted avocado plant/tree would grow.It's certainly true that they may not fruit, but they can take a lot of abuse and IMHO are worth growing just for the experience.
(Says applestar who has 7 containers of seed-grown avocados of various ages and sizes... And has 5 -- really?
-- unsprouted seeds currently in water but will be sown in containers of soil soon {part of I always tell'em to sow the seeds in soil, but maybe it does work just as well to start them in water experiment}, as well as a NEW PROJECT purchased/self Christmas present grafted "Day" avocado plant which will hopefully take off this summer and supply bud/scion grafts for the seed-grown plants. )