Yes, you can grow your own avocado tree from a pit—if you have patience. Here’s how to grow in 5 simple steps! Try it out and let us know if it works!
How to Grow an Avocado Plant
- Remove the pit from an avocado. Eat the flesh. Wash the pit and allow it to dry for 2 to 3 days.
- Stick three toothpicks into the pit’s equator (or middle), equidistant apart and about ½-inch deep. Place the pit, with its fat base down, on the rim of a water glass, using the toothpicks to suspend it so that it doesn’t fall into the glass. Add enough water to the glass to cover about an inch of the pit.
- Put the glass in a warm place out of direct sunlight. Add more water as needed. Roots and a stem should sprout in 2 to 6 weeks.
- When the stem is 6 to 7 inches long, cut it back to about 3 inches.
- When the roots are thick and the stem has grown out again, plant it in potting soil in an 8- to 10-inch-diameter pot, leaving the pit half exposed.
Set the pot in a sunny spot and water!
How to Care for an Avocado Plant
- Water the tree often, lightly, keeping the soil moist but not soaking wet. (Yellow leaves are a sign of too much water.)
- When the tree is about a foot high, cut it back to 6 inches so that new shoots will sprout.
- Your tree can live outside in the summer. Bring it indoors if winter temperatures go below 45°F.
Be patient! It may take 10 to 15 years for your plant to grow into a tree that begins producing fruit! In the meantime, enjoy your avocado plant!
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