How to Grow an Avocado Tree from a Pit

Go to your local Grocery Store and purchase a Nice size Avocado. Depending on how cold the season was could determine whether the Avocado is 50 cents or 3 dollars. That is ok though. You are investing in a tree.

My favorite Avocado is a Haas. You have to make your own choice though.

Find a Sharp knife and cut the avocado in half along the longest circumference. You will feel the pit in the center of the Avocado with your knife. Just cut around it.

Twist the two halves of the Avocado and separate them. Pop out the pit with a spoon, set it aside, and then scoop out the flesh of the Avocado with that same spoon.

Cut the flesh of the avocado into bite size chunks. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. Enjoy. I love these thing all by themselves. mmmmmm.

A lot of directions say to use toothpicks to hold your pit above the water. I have found by trial and error that toothpicks are extremely difficult to get into the pit. They tend to break, hence driving me insane.

Take 3 long nails and stick them into the sides of the pit about 2/3rds of the way up the pit. The point should be on top. I like to angle the nails upward slightly. This will allow as much of the pit as possible to sit into the water. The more contact with the water, the better.

Find a nice quiet spot for your Tree to begin to grow. I find that a window sil or your desk at work is a great place to keep them.

As for a container to put them in, I found that vienna sausage tin cans are the perfect size. You can keep it full of water rather easily and it is free after you eat it contents.

The picture shown is not very practical. The glass can be knocked over fairly easily.

You will need to keep the water level up. It will evaporate. If the waterline drops below the pit, the pit could die. So keep the glass filled to the top.

After three to four weeks the pit should split on one side and a root should shoot down into the water.

Another week or two after the root shoots down into the water a stem will start to grow from the top.

Get excited. Keep toping off that glass. It will use the water now as it continues to grow.

When the Tree get about 6 inches tall, pinch it back to about 3 inches. Do this two or three times. It will promote more than one branch.

It is good to do this early while the tree is still young. If you do it later, the tree could die.

After a while you will see a nice root ball starting. When you see this, it is time to move it to a pot.