Avocado? & 3 Questions

[fallenfaun]

1) We made guacamole last night and I now have three pretty avocado seeds that I want to try growing. I've always been unsuccessful before so any tips/tricks

Comments

[bailey36]

I set my avacado seeds aside in a window until they are dry, then place them in moist soil until they sprout, when the root is about five inches long I trim it in half, the more times I do this the more 'trunks' will sprout from a single seed. I try to keep the soil moist while growing but when the leaves begin to droop I know they are getting dry, if the leaves turn brown on the edges they are getting a draft.

[fallenfaun]

How do you know when they're "dry"? Mine have been on the windowsill for about 36 hours now but I think it takes longer than that. Do you dig them up to check and cut the root?

[bailey36]

the cover cracks when they are dry, yes, I dig them up to cut the root, It takes weeks to dry them. wash them off then leave them alone.

[liminalia]

Why would you encourage a tree to have more than 1 trunk?

[fallenfaun]

:D I don't eat them but I like trying to grow things and if I can manage to grow them in a five gallon pot they'll make good gifts for gardeners/avocado lovers in a few years.

[amarook]

My mom was mexican... I guess they grew them often. She would stick 4 tooth picks in it, and suspend it in a glass of water that way. Then the pit would sprout a long root into the glass of water. That was how she started them.

[fallenfaun]

I've seen people start them that way but I've never succeeded at it. Maybe I'm not submerging them enough.

[virginiadear]

A lot of avocado pits rot this way

[sixdemonhag]

I was looking into growing an avocado tree, and I read that fruiting trees will not grow from a pit? Or is that just bad info from sites that want to sell you avocado trees?

[fallenfaun]

I've heard that the fruit will taste different but not that they never fruit... They can also take much longer to fruit than some trees do too so who knows?

[chevyanna]

They may produce but the fruit will be a hybrid of the root stock and fruit stock...not too palatable. Fruiting trees and vines rarely produce delicious specimen on their own root stock unless grown in their perfect climate.

[glamsith]

When I moved into my house, the meyer lemon tree was covered with fruit. It bloomed three times and set no fruit before I started giving it more water and several shots of fish emulsion. It is now, once again, covered with happy yellow.

[fallenfaun]

Fish emulsion? How/where do you get that?

[glamsith]

Fish emulsion is a liquid fertilizer made of fish and time. (side note: I love that gmail recommended links to organic fertilizer and to Febreeze on this one. Very appropriate).

It's a standard all-purpose fertilizer. You should be able to get it at most nurseries/garden centers. Or get a citrus fertilizer.

I don't know of any citrus that require cross-polination, and most lemons will fruit grown in containers. But the do need enough food and water.