Avocado at home: how to grow a tree from a seed. How to plant an avocado seed and grow a beautiful tree? Is it possible to keep an avocado plant at home?

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Hard to believe, but avocados can be cultivated in room conditions.

The tropical tree is very unpretentious and can be easily grown at home from the seed of a delicious avocado fruit purchased at the store.

This overseas beauty not only pleases the eye with lush greenery, but also perfectly purifies the air in the house.

Let's get to know this extraordinary overseas guest in more detail and learn how to grow it in home garden from a not at all small, but very attractive seed.

What do we know about avocados?

Avocado or Perseus americana(Persea americana) is an evergreen fruit tree, belonging to the laurel family.

The plant's homeland is Mexico, where in the wild it reaches 30 m in height.

In room conditions Avocado grows up to 2.5 m, rarely blooms and does not bear fruit. Flower growers love it for its decorative bright green foliage and ease of care.

Persea americana has another name- this is an “alligator pear”.

Choosing a location and lighting

Avocado loves light, but at the same time it grows well in partial shade. Its leaves should be protected from active sunlight. In summer optimal temperature for avocados - from +18 to +20 °C, and in winter - not lower than +12 °C.

Watering and humidity

Water the plant you need to apply it generously, waiting for the top layer of soil to dry out.

During the cold season, it is necessary to reduce watering and allow the soil to remain dry for one or two days.

The house avocado plant needs high humidity air.

You can moisten the space around it or place the plant on a tray with wet filler so that the bottom of the container does not touch the water.

Transplantation and feeding

Avocado prefers loose and breathable soil. Best for avocados priming, prepared from the following components:

1 part humus;
1 part garden soil;
1 part coarse sand;
a little moss, expanded clay or peat.

Young avocados replanted annually, and adult plants - every three years by transshipment in the spring. The tree grows quite large, so you should choose a large container for it.

To combat these pests, insecticides are used: Aktellik, Aktara.
Avocado is susceptible to disease powdery mildew .
If signs of disease appear, the tree must be immediately treated with a fungicide.
Frequent problems that may arise if care rules are violated:
leaves dry out and fall off - low humidity or drought in the soil;
leaves turn pale and discolored- lack of light;
leaves turn yellow and fall off- spider mites may appear.

As we see, avocado is adaptable to room conditions. A little of your work, attention and care - and spreading indoor tree will decorate your home with luxurious foliage and will become the undoubted pride of your home “greenhouse”.
And for the most curious, we suggest you watch the video about avocado

Avocado – heat-loving plant, it is impossible to achieve fruiting at home, but as an ornamental tree this crop can decorate any room. As with all tropical crops, indoor avocado plants require a lot of light. regular watering during the growing season and formative pruning to give the bush a neat appearance.

What does an avocado plant and its fruits look like (with photo)

Avocado (Persea, adligator pear, Persea) belongs to the Laurel family, it is a relative of the laurel.

The plant is distributed in North and South America, on the Canary Islands. Large evergreen tree. Avocados were cultivated in Central America as early as the 6th–8th centuries. But avocados came to Europe only in the 16th century. Now it is bred in many warm countries: Argentina, Brazil, USA.

The tree has dark green, varnished leaves.

Pay attention to the photo - the avocado fruit looks like a large pear:

Their color is varied - from green to purple. These fruits have received another name: “crocodile pear”. They are edible and very nutritious. Their yellowish-green flesh contains a lot of fat and tastes somewhat like butter. But she is “fresh”. There is no sweetness or acidity in the fruits. They have no smell either. These are more vegetables than fruits. No wonder they are usually eaten raw with pepper, vinegar and onions. Most often, avocado fruits are used to prepare a salad, sometimes they are also used as a puree, and even ice cream is made from them (with the addition of sugar and some other substances).

In Mexico, Central and partly South America, avocados are one of the most common food products. Avocado is ancient cultivated plant. Even before the discovery of America, it was cultivated by the local populations of Central America and the West Indies for many centuries.

Leaves are up to 25 cm long, dark green, glossy.

As you can see in the photo, the flowers of the avocado plant are yellowish, collected in racemes:

The fruit is a large drupe, 10-15 cm long. The color of the fruit is dark green. The seeds are large - about 4.5-5.5 cm.

Avocado can reach a height of 20 m, but it is a very fragile tree, so during fruiting it needs special care. It has long, leathery leaves similar to laurel leaves, and is quite large fruits weighing up to 800 g. Avocado roots are very sensitive to lack of air in the soil. Avocados bloom in late winter. Flowering is rarely observed in culture

Avocados begin to bear fruit at 4-5 years of age. From each tree you can collect 150–200 fruits. Some varieties have a rough skin that looks like alligator skin (hence the second name). Inside the fruit is a yellow-green poisonous seed.

Look what an avocado plant looks like in these photos:

Types and varieties. The most popular: A. American (R. atepsapa), A. most pleasant (P. gratissima).

Usage. In winter gardens, for food purposes.

How to care for a houseplant avocado at home

Avocado is a rather heat-loving plant. Its frost resistance is low. In this respect, it is equivalent to an orange and a lemon. Therefore, it can be successfully grown only in the warmest areas of our humid subtropics - where citrus fruits are grown.

The plant is light-loving, but summer time afraid of direct sunlight.

When growing an avocado tree at home, it is placed in a well-lit, sunny, warm place. Avocado is a heat-loving plant, so even in summer, if the weather is not very hot, it is better to keep it indoors. During the dormant period, the plant is transferred to a bright room with a temperature of at least 15 °C.

The shoots are pinched to give the tree a bushy shape. Watering is plentiful, moderate in winter. In summer, avocados are watered abundantly, additionally cross-pollinated and fertilized two to three times a month. You need to care for your avocado plant at home as carefully as possible. In winter it is significantly reduced and no fertilizing is carried out. After winter rest during care when growing avocados, the plant is replanted and the ends of the stems are pinched. A commercially available universal flower soil can serve as a substrate for avocados.

Plants up to 3-4 years old are replanted annually, then once every 3-4 years.

Avocado is under attack spider mites and scale insects. Insufficient air humidity causes the tips of the leaves to dry out.

Propagation of homemade avocado by seed and cuttings

Seeds and cuttings. Avocados have very large seeds. Seeds for germination are planted one at a time in pots with soil mixture.

When sowing, the seeds should protrude halfway from the soil. When propagating an avocado, the pit is planted with the blunt end in the ground, and the sharp end is left sticking out above the soil surface. Until the leaves appear, the pot with the plant is kept in a warm place and watered occasionally, preventing the earthen ball from drying out.

Avocado seeds should not be germinated in water, as they do not tolerate transplantation well.

Cuttings take root very poorly, so it is better to treat them with a growth stimulator.

What are the benefits of the fruit of the avocado plant?

The vegetable fat of this tropical fruit consists mainly of monounsaturated fatty acids, which lower cholesterol levels and have a beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels.

100% natural vegetable oil Avocados are obtained by cold pressing. The product is a yellowish oily liquid with a characteristic aroma. What are the benefits of avocado oil? The oil is rich in lecithin, histidine, polyunsaturated acids (oleic - up to 82%, palmitic, linoleic, etc.), vitamins A, E, C, B1, B2, B3, B9, D, as well as phytosterols, phosphoric acid salts, and microelements. Avocado oil has good penetrating ability, has regenerating, moisturizing, improving skin structure properties and the ability to reflect UV radiation.

Just a couple of decades ago it was impossible to buy avocado fruits in stores in the CIS countries. The fruit, long familiar to Western buyers, was exotic in our country, occasionally brought from abroad by tourists. There were even debates - is it a fruit or a vegetable?

Nowadays, the avocado fruit will not surprise anyone. What about a plant? Avocado plants are rare guests of our flower collections; they are extremely rarely seen in florist stores. But the persistence of amateur flower growers is sometimes surprising! They manage to grow avocados themselves, at home! We will share the secrets of this difficult matter in this article.

What kind of plant is this?

Botanists have identified the avocado as a species from the genus Perseus, the Laurel family. There are more than a hundred species in the genus, including several types of avocados. But we are only interested in one of them, Perseea americana , the fruits of which we buy in the store called avocados. In the future, for convenience, we will simply call it avocado.

The plant is native to Mexico and some areas of Central America. Here it is a big tree, up to 18 meters high, producing up to one and a half hundred fruits. The nutritional (as well as medicinal) properties of avocados were known to the Aztec tribes a thousand years BC! The Indians called its fruits “forest oil.”

Avocado has beautiful elliptical leaves, up to 40 cm in size (in nature). Small, inconspicuous, greenish flowers bloom in the axils of these large leaves. Well, there’s no need to describe what a ripe berry looks like; we’ve seen it all in stores.

Nowadays, avocado is a valuable agricultural crop, plantations of which can be found in many countries of the world with warm climates.

Selection of planting material

But we're not talking about agriculture, but about the indoor flower. Lovers have long wondered whether it is possible to grow avocados at home? And we received a positive response a long time ago! Moreover, how indoor culture Avocado is a relatively unpretentious plant.

There is only one problem - fruiting. In an ordinary room, even if all care recommendations are followed, avocados bear fruit in rare, almost exceptional cases. You need to be prepared for this when deciding to grow “forest oil” at home.

Buy a ready-made plant from flower shop It’s quite problematic, but it’s easy to buy an avocado at a grocery store! Therefore, amateurs usually germinate avocados at home from the seed.

For the success of the business, the avocado fruit must be ripe. This is easy to check: you need to press its side with your finger. If there is a small dent left, it’s ok, the seed inside is already mature! At home, carefully cut it out of the pulp (as a rule, it separates well), wash it, and dry it for two to three hours. Avocado is ready to plant!

Methods for germinating avocados

There are two ways to grow an avocado from a seed at home.

Germination in water

We are accustomed to the fact that rooting or germination in a glass of water is considered an outdated, “grandmother’s” method. In the case of our overseas exotic, it turns out to be the fastest and most convenient, and almost trouble-free.

The essence of the method is to place the wide part of the seed in water so that it barely touches the seed itself (maximum, covering it to a quarter of its height).

Important! Below, in the water, the wide part of the seed should be.

How to accomplish this task is up to everyone to decide for themselves. Classic version- drill (with an awl or using a drill) three small holes in the upper part of the bone and insert toothpicks into them. Place this structure in a narrow glass so that the seed hangs in the air, resting on the edges of the glass with toothpicks inserted into it.

Pour water into a glass: soft, boiled. Its temperature should be between +22°C and +24ºC, and never lower it lower during the germination process!

Important! Make sure that the seed is not above the water. It should always “feel” moisture underneath. Therefore, water must be added regularly, remembering that it should cover only the most bottom part bones.

If everything is done correctly, roots will appear in about a month, or even earlier. When they grow a couple of centimeters, the sprouted seed can be planted in a small pot of soil.

Many flower growers advise, in order not to fool around with toothpicks, to simply place the seed on the bottom of the glass, having previously placed 2-3 large pebbles there. The idea is to leave a gap of 1-2 cm between the bottom of the glass and the seed. This gap is filled with water, exactly as in the previous case: so that the seed lightly touches the water surface.

As soon as the root appears and touches the bottom, transplant the seed into the soil.

Germination in substrate

When choosing how to plant an avocado seed at home, you can choose standard version using a substrate. Peat, coarse sand and humus, taken in equal proportions, are suitable as a mixture. To them you need to add slaked lime (a pinch per glass). It will be very useful to heat the mixture in the microwave, or pour boiling water over it in advance to remove possible infectious agents.

Fill a small pot, about one and a half liters in volume, with the mixture and plant the seed.

Attention! It is also necessary to plant with the blunt end down, leaving about half of the seed on the surface.

Cover the glass with the planted seed with film or another transparent glass, observe temperature regime, similar to germination in water.

You should know that in this method, germination sometimes ends in the rotting of the seed. In addition, the germination time may be longer than in the first case. But, on the other hand, a sprouted avocado will no longer need to be immediately planted in the ground; it will begin to grow in its own pot, and at a tremendous speed - up to 1 cm per day. This rate of development is typical for avocados in the first months of life.

Avocado conditions and care

Let us remember that in nature avocados are real large trees, so an adult plant will also need a lot of space in an apartment. And this applies not only to the crown.

Interesting! Avocados have a powerful root that tends to go deep into the ground. Many gardeners believe that the answer to the plant’s reluctant fruiting lies precisely in this. They recommend planting adult avocados in narrow but very deep pots, not deep less than a meter. It turns out that the flower should not stand on the windowsill, but next to it, so that the bottom of the pot is on the floor, and its top is almost at the level of the window sill.

Lighting

Avocados love plenty of diffused light. It is best to keep it near southern or western windows, slightly covering it from direct sunlight. Important feature is that even in winter it needs a sunny day of about 15 hours. Therefore, in such months, additional lighting with special phytolamps is needed.

Temperature

Avocado is a delicate plant; in spring and summer it likes the air to warm up to +22+28ºС. In winter, temperatures down to +18+20ºС are possible. It can survive at +16ºС, but usually loses its leaves, although it is considered evergreen. With subsequent warming, the leaves grow back quickly. Even in summer, it is dangerous to take avocados outside to avoid overcooling them.

Air humidity

It should be elevated throughout the year. At the same time, it is undesirable to spray avocados; unsightly spots remain on the leaves. The best solution is to install a humidifier near the plant tub. You can also use a wide tray with wet expanded clay.

Watering

The substrate should be slightly moist, but not soggy. This is ensured by timely watering, properly arranged drainage, and well-selected moisture-absorbing but light soil. On hot days it is acceptable to upper layer the substrate had time to dry to a depth of several centimeters. In winter, especially when the temperature drops, reduce the frequency of watering by half.

Feeding

When caring for avocados at home, they are necessary during the active growing season. It is recommended to feed the plant 4-5 times from March to September with regular complex fertilizers. Will fit well ready-made fertilizers for citrus fruits. In autumn-winter, avocados are not fed.

The soil

There shouldn't be any problems with this component. Any soil will do, as long as it is loose, nutritious, and not acidic. You can buy ready-made soil mixtures for citrus fruits in stores. The easiest option if you prepare it yourself is to mix equal parts of leaf soil, turf soil, peat and sand. Don't forget about quality drainage!

Trimming and pinching

It has already been said that in the first year of life, an avocado grows, as they say, “before our eyes.” Without timely pinching, its trunk may hit the ceiling in a couple of years, after which the plant will die.

Important! The first pinching is done only when there are 8 leaves on the trunk. Each of the newly emerged shoots is pinched when it has at least five leaves.

You need to strive to ensure that the plant branches as much as possible, and does not stretch upward. Often, in order to achieve greater decorativeness, two or even three plants are planted in one pot at once.

Avocado pollination

The flowers of the plant are self-pollinating, but even in nature many of them remain sterile. If you still manage to get your exotic to bloom, its flowers need to be artificially pollinated. This is usually done early, always on a sunny morning, with a soft brush, when the flowers have already opened well and the pollen in them has ripened. This procedure must be carried out every 5-6 days, all the time while the plant is blooming.

Avocado transplant

Given the growth rate of this plant, it needs to be replanted regularly, especially in the first two years of life. Each time the pot should be taken a little larger than the previous one, and, as already mentioned, pay attention to its depth. When replanting, try not to damage the roots, essentially limiting yourself to transshipment.

Large, mature specimens are difficult to replant, so they usually change the top layer of soil to a more fertile one. In this case, the amount of humus in the top layer can be doubled in comparison with the standard mixture recipe.

Avocado propagation

A specimen grown from a seed, if it begins to bear fruit, will do so no earlier than after 6-7 years. You can speed up the process by 2-3 years with the help of vaccination.

They are vaccinated only by budding, with a sleeping eye. The timing of budding is the second half of summer or early spring.

Avocados can also be propagated by cuttings, but this method is usually not used due to the low rooting ability of the latter (usually only one or two cuttings out of a dozen produce roots). Cuttings must be cut from plants that have reached the age of 2-3 years.

Problems and pests

From fungal diseases the plant is affected by powdery mildew. The disease is easy to detect by the characteristic powdery coating on the leaves. A good remedy from it comes Bordeaux mixture, copper chloride, and other popular fungicides.

If the avocado has lost its leaves, the reasons may be different. Most likely he is cold, he was caught in a draft. Perhaps the water was too cold.

Exotic crops are worthy of your plot, greenhouse or ornamental garden. One of them is the avocado (Persea) tree. It is distinguished by its height (reaches almost 20 m) and the presence of pear-shaped fruits, half of which are grains. Summer residents can learn how to grow avocados from seeds from the recommendations of gardeners and agronomists. Experts note the unpretentiousness of the plant, easy germination and the peculiarities of the formation of compositions.

Conditions to be observed

A deciduous tree is characterized by wide foliage, plastic trunks that intertwine like braids. Growing avocados is simple: start by finding a good, ripe fruit. Use a simple method: press down a little with your hands and release. The ripe fruit will take on its previous shape. An unripe avocado is more difficult to grow because you have to wait until it ripens. To speed up the process, place it in the same box with bananas or apples - the ethylene released from the fruit stimulates ripening.

Preparing the place and lighting

It is important to plant the seed correctly. Gardeners recommend:

plant the plant in an open sunny area, but light partial shade is possible;
try not to give direct streams of light access to the culture;
At home, place the sprout on the windowsill.

The ideal place for the tree is the western side of the property, a windowsill or balcony.

Temperature selection

The tropical plant is thermophilic. If thermal indices decrease, growing an avocado yourself from a removed seed will not bring success. A draft will cause leaves to fall quickly. To create optimal conditions for hardwood, you need:

maintain the desired temperature. Enough in summer room temperature, and in winter it is better to set the temperature to +20 degrees;
take into account the dormant period and the risks of dropping leaves at +12 degrees.

An evergreen tropical plant requires a balance of temperature - control it carefully.

Organization of watering

The tree is accustomed to heavy tropical rainfall, so it needs regular watering. It is worth caring for the crop correctly: avoid waterlogging the soil and increase the amount of water in the summer. Make sure that the top layer of soil dries out (2-3 days), and then add some moisture. It remains inside the flowerpot for another 48 hours.

Maintaining normal air humidity

Avocados need to be grown in humid places, because... its foliage suffers from dry air. The following activities will help create a normal microclimate:

carry out regular spraying;
humidify the air, not the stem itself;
Avoid getting drops on the leaves.

An easy way to achieve suitable for the tree humidity - install a tray with expanded clay filler and periodically moisten it with water.

Application of fertilizing and fertilizers

Growing an avocado from a prepared seed according to all the rules does not require feeding in March - September. In other months, apply fertilizers for citrus fruits once every 30 days. Fertilizers based on sodium, phosphorus and potassium are fertilized twice a year.
Proper care of the avocado contributes to the rapid growth of the tree with a beautiful lush crown that saturates the air with oxygen.

Current germination methods

You can cultivate the avocado seed yourself by planting it in the ground or in water. You can grow Mexican Persea at home. Germination in the ground takes a long time; shoots form in 2-3 months. The tropical tree grows faster in water, which makes the work of amateur gardeners easier.

Preparing the pit

Buy a ripe alligator pear, without rot. Before planting an avocado, prepare the seed:

Carefully cut the fruit down the center. Try to cut the flesh 1 cm deep and, carefully rotating the knife, cut out the bone.
clean the core. Be sure to rinse it under water without a brush so that the brown shell remains intact.
When germinating the plant in water, make holes for toothpicks. Lift the sharp end of the bone up and insert several toothpicks into it, deepening them by 5 mm.

After preparing the grain, you can solve the problem of how to technologically correctly grow an avocado at home.

Use of the aquatic environment

Planting the seed is done in a container with water, with the blunt side. The liquid should cover the grain halfway. To get an avocado to take root, grow it like this:

Carefully, using a thick needle, pierce the surface of the shell.
Place several toothpicks into the resulting holes.
Place the thick side of the grain in a glass of water, placing toothpicks on its edges.
choose the right liquid - boiled, cooled to room temperature.
Watch the water evaporate and add it gradually.

Primary roots appear in 14-21 days. A shoot grown up to 3 cm can be placed in the ground.

Landing in the ground

Before planting the seed, prepare the soil mixture. You will need peat, soil, sand and humus in equal proportions, to which 14 portions of lime will be added. To germinate persea, you need:

To plant an avocado seed correctly is to choose one for it clay pot suitable size. The optimal vessel would be one with equal depth and diameter – 10 cm.
Make small holes in the container so that the liquid will not stagnate.
Prepare drainage - expanded clay or foam pieces.
The previous method will tell you how to plant an avocado seed - with the blunt end down to the middle.

The plant is planted only in a clay pot filled with soil up to 2 cm from the edge. Instead of soil mixture, you can mix equal parts of soil and coconut fiber.
Constantly moisten the soil and after 2-3 months the first shoots may appear.

Growing process

How to grow properly homemade avocado? Start by carefully removing the cracked pit from the container of water. It is placed in a pot with a special soil mixture with the blunt edge down. Water the plant moderately, organize drainage and lighting. Correct procedures will speed up the growth rate of Persea up to 1 cm per day.

Transfer

The tropical tree reaches up to 20 m in height. By cultivating the Mexican avocado variety, gardeners will not get the same result. Avocados can be grown quickly only with frequent replanting:

A 15-centimeter shoot is placed in a large container.
Young stems are replanted once every 12 months, and then once every 3 years.
The soil is prepared in a special way - you need loose soil, with low level acidity, fertilized with wood ash or dolomite flour. A peat-based composition is prepared as a soil mixture, garden soil and large river sand in equal quantities.

How to plant a plant correctly without damaging the soil? Agronomists advise using the transfer technique - the tree is transferred with a clod of earth from a container that has become small.

Shaping and sanitary pruning

Gardeners who are thinking about how to plant an avocado are guided by its decorative properties. Several persea plants are planted in one container, and then the stems are intricately intertwined. To reduce the intensity of growth, pinching is carried out. The optimal number of leaves for the procedure is from 8 pieces. First trimmed top part trunk to form lush branches on the side, which are subsequently pinched.
Formative pruning can be done in March. The procedure will improve appearance culture, will accelerate its growth and create a beautiful crown.

Why are there avocados in the house?

The fruit, the alligator pear, is unique: from a biological point of view, it is a fruit (it grows on a tree, has a seed), and in terms of sugar content it resembles vegetables. The pulp of a ripe avocado is needed for culinary purposes - it is used to prepare salads, appetizers, cold dishes, sushi and the Mexican dish guacamole.
Vegetarians know how to grow persea while preserving the taste properties of the fruit: in terms of potassium content, vitamins and oleic acid, it is a great alternative meat and eggs.

Tropical culture is valued not only for its decorative qualities, but also for its beneficial properties:

strengthens memory, increases concentration and resistance to stress;
eliminates the risks of heart and blood vessel disease;
normalizes metabolic processes and blood pressure;
strengthens the digestive system;
carries out the prevention of periodontal disease, eczema and Paget's disease.

The beneficial properties of the fruit last for 5 days - that’s how long it can be stored in the refrigerator.
When thinking about how to easily grow healthy avocados, keep in mind that proper care does not always guarantee the formation of fruits. Thanks to patience and hard work, you will grow a beautiful tree with an unusual crown that will decorate your room, greenhouse or winter garden.

Where does avocado grow? Mexico is considered the birthplace of avocados. Central America And South America, where it grows best in rich, evenly moist, well-drained soils in full sun.

1.What does an avocado look like?

The genus name "Avocado" comes from the Aztec word meaning testicle for the shape of the fruit. It is a multi-stemmed tropical evergreen small fruit tree or shrub. Branches abundantly, forms a crown.

The leaves are simple elliptical, up to ovate, leathery, usually glossy with pointed tips 10 - 20 cm long and 2 - 12 cm wide, dark green in color, arranged in a spiral, alternate, may be slightly corrugated.

How an avocado blossoms. The flowers are inconspicuous, small, collected in short bunches - umbrellas at the ends of the branches, greenish-yellow in color

The avocado fruit, when ripe, is a pear- or ovoid-shaped drupe with one seed surrounded by an oily pulp, topped with a tough, dark green skin. The size of the fruit varies depending on the variety, approximately 5 - 10 cm long and 0.05 - 2 kg. The taste of ripe fruits is light creamy, slightly oily and slightly sweet.

Height.Avocado grown at home reaches a height of 1 - 2 m; in greenhouses and winter gardens its height is 3 - 5 m, in natural conditions about 18 m., grows quickly.

Photo: Eran Finkle

2.Avocado - care at home

2.1.How to grow an avocado from a seed on a windowsill

Houseplants are often grown from seeds, which can be sprouted in water or directly in soil. Multiply better in spring. Highest percentage fresh seeds have a survival rate - only from a ripened fruit - but how to determine it? The fruit should sag slightly to the touch and immediately restore its shape. Unripe avocados can be wrapped in thin paper and sent to a dark place for 1-2 weeks to ripen. It’s a good idea to put a ripe apple or banana nearby - they release acetylene gas, which speeds up the ripening of the avocado. In ripe ones, even slightly dried avocado seeds have difficulty germinating. For germination to be successful, you need to wash the seeds to remove the pulp. Sometimes the fruit pulp adheres too tightly to the seed and in order to separate it, it is worth soaking the seed in water for several hours. It is also worth peeling off the brown shell from the stone - this way the halves of the stone will become visible. First, you can lightly cut the seed from the sides with a sharp knife along the halves of the seed - later it will split along this line.

When germinating in soil, the seeds are deepened with the blunt end down so that they stick out by a third from the substrate, which must be kept constantly moist.

When germinating in water, the seeds are placed with the wide end down 1/3 of the height into the water or wet soil. If a seed sprouts in water, you can strengthen it with toothpick, which will rest on the edge of a glass or jar of water. Activated carbon can be added to the germination water. The bone placed in this way should be covered on top with glass or a transparent plastic cap to maintain humidity. Without such shelter, the seed can only split from the bottom and the sprout will have nowhere to develop. The water is changed regularly - approximately every week. At a temperature of about 20 ° C, after 6 - 8 weeks the seeds will split and roots will appear, and then a sprout.

So, germinating an avocado is not difficult at all. Once the sprout and roots appear, the seed is planted in the ground so that the top of the seed protrudes slightly from the soil. Crops also need to be covered with a plastic cap or even a simple plastic bag for supporting required level air humidity. Every day, remove the bag and ventilate the plant for about 2 hours.

The third way to germinate seeds is to germinate them in a paper towel or gauze. Gauze is soaked warm water and place an avocado pit inside. Place the bundle in a plate and cover it with a plastic bag to maintain moisture, place it in a dark and warm place. Do not let the gauze dry out and after 3 - 8 weeks you will see the first roots, when they reach 7 cm in length. The plant can be planted in the ground. For faster germination, you can cut off the thin caps from the flat and sharp ends of the seed with a sharp knife. Young plants are pinched for the first time when 4-6 leaves appear - this is how they form larger number side shoots.

Sometimes they try to use vegetative propagation or cutting an avocado using semi-lignified stem cuttings - but this is rarely successful; the bush is difficult to grow even with the use of growth hormones. If you want to try, cover the cuttings with a clear bag or glass and place them in a warm place out of direct sunlight.

Photo: B.navez

2.2.How to care and trim

Growing a tree indoors is quite a troublesome task, since this plant can hardly be considered an indoor plant. In order for the tree to branch well, its shoots need to be pinched several times. The first pinching is carried out when the sprouts have reached a height of about 25 cm. The top 2 pairs of leaves are removed. When formed side shoots stretch another 12 cm. - also pinch them. Branches of the third, fourth order, etc. are pruned in the same way. A plant can gain more than 1 m in height in one season, so it will constantly need formative pruning. Avocado or alligator pear will appreciate staying on fresh air during the warm months, but the bushes should be returned indoors if night temperatures drop below 7° C. Young plants may need support.

2.3.How to replant a plant

Can be planted in fresh soil and container bigger size annually, in the spring. The signal for the need for replanting will be the roots that appear in the drainage holes of the pot. Be sure to place a layer of drainage at the bottom of the pot; make sure the pot has large enough drainage holes. Carefully shake off the roots from the old substrate and dry with a paper towel. When planting, the roots should not be bent or pointing upward. Avocados will grow better in unglazed clay pots so that their walls allow moisture and air to pass through to the roots of the plants. Since the plant has a very modest root system, it would be better to plant it in small pots.

Photo: Les and Kim Starr

2.4.When the avocado tree blooms

It usually blooms only in nature, usually in spring - summer. In culture to meet blooming home tree Avocados in a pot are rare.

2.5. Soil for growing

Rich soils, garden soil, humus, loam, coarse sand, well drained, with the addition of moss, peat, pH 6 - 8. Loose soil is preferred, the mixture can be made up of coconut fiber, nutritious humus and perlite.

2.6. Avocado diseases and pests

A houseplant dries out and turns black if the roots were damaged during replanting or root system rots due to excess moisture - and the avocado loses lower leaves. The foliage turns yellow when there is excess moisture in the soil. If this happens to a young plant, remove it from the pot and blot the remaining soil on the roots with a paper towel and leave it to air dry for several hours. Trim the rotten roots with a sharp sterile knife and sprinkle the wounds with powder activated carbon. Plant such plants only in new soil. The leaves of the plant, when grown at home, may dry out due to a lack of nutrients in the ground. Shrubs are vulnerable to bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. With the onset of hot weather, the tips of the leaves may dry out. Plants become elongated and loose if they lack light. The edges of the leaf blades turn black and become dry when there is insufficient air humidity. Light green or yellow leaf blades with dark green veins indicate a lack of trace elements such as iron and magnesium. When exposed to direct sunlight, the plant can get burned - the leaves curl. From pests indoor plants Mealybugs, scale insects, whiteflies, and aphids appear. The appearance of pests such as spider mites can be prevented by simply increasing the air humidity.

2.7.Fertilizers

From spring to autumn about 2 times a month, preferably organic. Mineral fertilizers must contain sufficient potassium. Young trees require a large number of nitrogen for rapid growth of green mass. During the dormant period, the tree should not be fed.

Photo: M. Clara Salviano

2.8. Temperature conditions

This indoor tree is a lover of heat, but avocado wintering should take place in a cool room at a temperature of about 18°C, but not less than 16°C, the optimal temperature is about 25°C.

2.9.Lighting for indoor avocados

The plant, when grown as indoor flower, in a pot can tolerate some shade, but is best grown in sun and warmth.

Photo: Meneerke bloem

2.10.Spraying

Growing a tree at home is not so difficult, but at elevated air temperatures you also need high humidity. The plant needs spraying, but if the tree is kept cool, it can tolerate dry air. You should not allow large drops of water to fall on the bushes in the evening - this can provoke the appearance of rot.

Photo: B.navez

2.11.Watering

Watering during cultivation should be thorough, until the earthen clod is completely wetted, in summer period water frequently, and in winter - just to prevent the leaves from drying out and falling off. Turgor will indicate the need for regular watering. upper leaves. During the period of active growth, the top layer of soil must be dried between waterings to a depth of about 2 cm. Excess water from the pan is drained approximately 15 minutes after each watering. The plant needs to be watered soft water room temperature.

Photo: B.navez

2.12.Purpose

Evergreen pot plant, for example for winter garden. Several plants grouped in one pot look interesting - since young avocados have thin, flexible trunks - they can be woven into a beautiful braid.

2.13.Note

Avocado in a pot is perennial– its life expectancy is up to 25 years. In indoor conditions it does not bloom and, accordingly, does not bear fruit. Avocado oil has a mass beneficial properties and is used in medicine in the treatment of arthritis, and is also used as food; it contains essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It is believed that products prepared with this oil contain a minimum of carcinogens - after all, it has high temperature smoking. The avocado fruit is used in cooking more as a vegetable than as a fruit. The second name of the plant - alligator pear - is given for the pear-shaped shape of the fruit, and the slightly uneven surface of the fruit's skin resembles the skin of a crocodile.

Hydroponics.Avocados grow well hydroponically.

3. To summarize - 7 secrets of success:

Growing temperature: summer - 25°C, winter - 16 - 18°C.
Lighting: desirable sunbathing daily - morning and evening, autumn and winter - maximum possible lighting.
Watering and air humidity: watering abundantly during the growth period, in winter in accordance with the temperature, in spring and summer at elevated temperatures is needed high humidity air.
Trimming: needs formative pruning, young shoots are regularly pinched.
Priming: Avocado is able to adapt to most types of soil, pH neutral or alkaline.
Top dressing: from spring to autumn 2 times a month, organic is preferable.
Reproduction: seeds - seeds, less often - stem cuttings.

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