The avocado, with the scientific name Persea americana , is a tree that has a bad reputation among gardening enthusiasts for, supposedly, being very difficult to care for. And while it is true that you have to be careful with some things, growing an avocado is not at all impossible. In fact, planting an avocado to bear fruit will ensure you have a large quantity of these rich fruits for a very low cost.
If you want to learn how to plant an avocado at home , keep reading this article in which you will see a gardening guide with the steps to plant this tree from a young age or from its bone and with advice on the season and more.
When is the avocado planted
Avocado is quite a demanding tree when it comes to climate and temperature, especially when it comes to planting it outdoors.
If you are going to plant and germinate your avocado indoors, the time of year is not very important, since you will be able to control the temperature to which the plant is subjected. However, when it comes to planting directly outside or transplanting a small tree, the ideal is to do it between late spring and early summer , roughly between March and June in the northern hemisphere.
If you do it in winter, it is likely that your young avocado will not survive the low temperatures, while if you wait for the summer your tree may not be able to absorb the water well enough due to its young age and it will dry out.
How to plant an avocado in a pot
If you do not want to wait for the avocado seed to germinate, you can speed up the process of having your avocado tree by directly planting a small tree that you can buy in a specialized gardening and horticulture store or from someone you know who already has these trees on their land. The process of planting an avocado tree is much simpler than doing it from the seed, and it will allow us to obtain the fruits somewhat earlier. When it comes to knowing how to plant an avocado tree , there are several especially important points.
- Choose the variety of avocado you are going to plant: one of the most important weaknesses of the avocado is that it does not withstand low temperatures, especially during its younger stage. If we choose any of the avocado varieties that are more resistant to cold, we will have a better chance of success in temperate or less warm zones. Some of these are the Stewart avocado, the Mexicola and the Zutano.
- Prepare the pot: once you have your small avocado tree, prepare the container. You will need a large pot, with a depth of at least 50 cm. It is important that the pot has drainage holes and that we prepare a slightly acidic substrate. The mixture of peat, coconut fiber and earthworm humus with perlite will be suitable for this, and it is very rich in nutrients.
- Plant the avocado tree: make a hole in the substrate that is wide and deep enough for the roots to fit well. Spread substrate over the roots and the base of the stem, making sure to gather and squeeze the soil around the base of the stem a little to secure the plant.
- Locate the pot: keep the plant in a bright area, with sufficient clarity and indirect light, or place a shading mesh that protects the leaves if we expose it to direct light.
- Fertilize the avocado tree: in spring and summer, the avocado will need an additional supply of fertilizer. The ideal is to apply a new layer of worm humus to the pot, so that we will keep our avocado tree totally ecological.
- Water the tree: watering should be frequent but not abundant. If you are not sure if your avocado needs water, touch the substrate with your hand. If you notice the dry surface, give it a good supply of water, always without flooding. As is logical, in the warm months the waterings will be more frequent.
- First pruning of the avocado tree : when the avocado is about 60 cm high, it will be time to prune it in its first pruning, in order to favor branching and prepare a simpler harvest, or the tree will become very tall.
How to plant an avocado from the bone
Planting an avocado from the bone itself is a longer process, but it certainly has a lot of charm. If you want to learn how to do it, at this point we explain how to plant an avocado with the pit step by step .
How long does an avocado pit take to germinate?
The avocado seed takes a while to germinate. You will see how between 15 and 29 days the outer and dark layer of the seed dries and wrinkles, until it ends up falling off. Afterwards, it will open both at the top and at the bottom, and approximately a month after the start of the germination process, you will see the main root appear.
Steps to plant an avocado from the bone
- Extract and wash the seed.
- Stick four toothpicks in it so you can attach it to the edge of a container.
- Fill the container with water so that the lower half of the bone is submerged.
- Change the water every 24 to 48 hours.
- When the main root is around 10 cm, transplant it into a pot or outside soil.
How long does an avocado tree take to grow?
Avocado trees can take a long time to produce their first harvests. If you have planted a graft, you may be enjoying your first avocados for 3 or 4 years , but if it is a pure avocado, it may take 6 to 10 years to receive these first harvests. Keep in mind that weather and varieties still play a role, and especially optimal conditions could speed up the process, just as poor conditions will slow it down a lot.
