by Beverley Francis

Created on: August 24, 2009   Last Updated: September 03, 2009

The avocado plant has cascading, long, broad leaves and if cared for properly will become quite large. The avocado plant's fruit is black or deep green and pear-shaped and the skin is shiny or dull and bumpy. Inside the fruit is a large, heavy stone which can fall out by itself when you cut the fruit in half. If you plant the stone in soil, it will germinate and become a big, beautiful long-lived plant.

Many people give advice about how to get an avocado stone to germinate, a lot of people try different methods, quite a few of them give up because they just can't get them to grow. It isn't difficult if you put the stone in the soil with another plant.

Take the stone out of the fruit and clean all the flesh from it then let the stone sit in direct sunlight until the husk starts to split. Remove the dried husk and then plant it with the tip of the stone visible above the soil with a host plant that has extra room in its pot and similar water and light requirements. If you let the stone lodge with the other plant, it's almost guaranteed to sprout. Other methods, such as securing the stone with toothpicks to keep the bottom portion in water so it will sprout, are troublesome and don't always work.

You need to be patient because the avocado stone takes a long time to germinate, usually four to six weeks and sometimes up to two months. It's worth the wait when you see that sprout pop its head through the soil. When the sprout has grown a few leaves in the hosts pot, carefully dig the avocado up and plant it in its own pot. A plastic spoon works well for this. Take as much soil and roots as you can so you stress the sprout as little as possible.

As the plant grows transfer to a larger pot that will accommodate it and promote further growth. An avocado will continue to grow for a very long time if they are transplanted into a larger pot with fresh soil every year.

Avocado's like water, but too much water will turn the leaves yellow, so keep the soil moist but not soaking wet. The avocado plant likes light but not direct sunlight, so a sunny room away from the windows is best. A warm room could cause the avocado to grow too quickly and get tall and gangly looking so try to keep it in a cooler spot if you notice this happening. If your avocado is starting to get streatched out and sparse looking pinch back the top leaves to encourage bushier growth further down the stem.

Doesn't seem that hard does it? Give it a try, just remember having some patience while the avocado stone is working hard to sprout helps in the growing process. Another word of caution, don't forget that you planted it and yank it out once it has started to sprout. You realize a few minutes after you do this what it was. Good luck.

Sources:

The Plant and Grow Project Book by Ulla Dietl p.20

www.growit.com/bin/KnowPart.exe?MyKnow=43

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