I mentioned about sharing my experience on growing avocado trees from seeds back in June in my growing vegetables & fruits from kitchen scraps post. So here it is, nearly 3 months later. Although not much I’ve gained in terms of experience except to see my beloved avocado trees grow bigger and stronger.
Before I divulge more, let me tell you the story about how it got started.
Back around Feb-Mar this year, my sis attempted growing avocado with this peculiar technique of poking the seed with toothpicks and let it half-submerged in a glass of water. If you google ‘grow avocado’, you’ll see many search results using this method. My sis’ attempt was a failure. Nothing grew.
So I told her why not just plant the seed directly to the soil? The most straight forward method. Hah! She followed my advice and wah la…
Precious!!!
Getting taller.
The first leaf.
More leaves!
It grew even more and then started to wilt. All this happened in a shady area (car porch). I moved it to full sunshine at its later wilting stage but it was too late. So there goes our first ever avocado plant from seed.
After witnessing this sort of miracle, do you think I’ll just stop? Nope, I planted even more avocado seeds.
The avocado seed will crack and sprout will emerge from the center.
Of course not every case is the same (example left photo).
Planted four avocado seeds and only three sproutings. Of course, it’s never a 100% success thing when it comes to gardening but this is good enough. Don’t you think so?
I bought and ate a couple of avocados varieties and simply planted the seeds afterwards. So far I’ve seen two distinguished types based on the leaves shapes.
The questions some of us have been asking about growing avocado trees:
1. Can we grow avocado in Malaysia?
The answer is a big YES!!! But I cannot guarantee it will bear fruits (since I’ve not proven it yet).
2. What are the ways to obtain an avocado tree?
If you’re like me (a big fan of avocado) but has no way of getting/buying an avocado tree, try planting it yourself using the leftover seeds, because you’ll surely be eating lots of avocados, right?
Do know that for your avocado tree to bear fruits is pretty slim, especially if you only have one avocado tree. This is because ‘most of the time’ they can’t really self-pollinate (unless you’re REALLY REALLY lucky). They have this male and female flower phases which bloom at a different time/day and also depends which cultivars (types) your avocado tree belongs to. So to increase the chances of my avocado trees bearing fruits I’m planting lots of avocados trees. π
Even if my avocado trees are not able to produce fruits, I’m still okay with it. They make lovely indoor and outdoor plants. And it will remind me always of what miracle is made of – BELIEVE!
If you can source a grafted avocado tree, this is even better. It’s the best way (as in fastest and easiest) for the avocado tree to bear fruits. Another method is to first plant your avocado tree from seeds. You can then graft your avocado seedlings with another avocado that has bear fruits. Meaning, you need to know someone who already has an avocado bearing tree.
3. How long does it take for the avocado trees to bear fruits?
From avocado seedlings, some say 5 years, while some say it can take as long as 10. So we’ll see. Haha For grafted avocado, it can take as little as 2 years.
4. How to plant avocado trees from seeds?
Remove the seed from avocado and wash the seed (to remove those slimy/fleshy bits). Take note which side of the seed is top and bottom. Usually, the bottom is the fat part. If the seed is perfectly round, then you would have to take a guess. Now place the avocado seed into the soil halfway down with the bottom part in the dirt and top part visible from the soil. And then water every day and pray. π
Writing this, I suddenly have a question of my own. Why do I need to place the seed halfway down? Why not plant the whole seed in the soil? Hahaha I cannot answer this except that I follow the half-submerge rule from the peculiar method my sis used and also based on the photos I’ve seen on the web. I will experiment on putting the whole seed in the soil and see if it will sprout (will update here). I suspect it would still sprout. We’ll see.
Hey you sexy thing!
I usually plant the seeds in a pot at my car porch (shaded area). Once it grows bigger, I transfer it outside (full sun) to the largest pot I have. Wish I have an outdoor garden. Alas, all I have is outdoor concrete π which I lined with two long rows of potted plants. :)βοΈ
I water the avocado tree once a day. If it gets too dry, twice a day and if it rains, I don’t water at all. I use organic compost soil (loose) and also some on very dense soil. Avocado plants grow better in loose soil. As for dense soil, I’ve some that made it and some just stuck at the same size.
Do you know that I also grow fig plants from seeds? Check out the post here plus tips on growing them.
These are my two largest avocado trees to-date:
No. 1
Update: April 2017
Here’s my almost 1 year old avocado tree. Its baby photo is the picture before this. I shifted this plant into a larger pot and moved it to my back house.
No. 2
Pretty neat, huh?
I’ve also planted some at the joint-neighbor garden plot and they don’t seem to grow bigger (due to compact/unsuitable soil=mostly were sands!). Think I will have to put new soil in there. Hmm… Update: some of my avocados finally grew wildly at the joint-neighbor garden plot. Unfortunately, I had to relocate them (not one survived after the relocation due to soil different) because my neighbor was using herbicide for the weeds.
Ok, that’s it for now. Till my next avocado post once it starts to flower (about 5 years from now?) π
p/s: Hey avocado lovers, have you ever wondered whether you can freeze avocado? You REALLY NEED to read this post. π
pp/s: Around Oct-Dec 2019, I germinated 4 booth avocados seeds. Of the 4, one seed sprouted four stems!!! You gotta see this miracle.
Post updated: 25th Mar 2020
30 Comments
Wow! You did it!! Let me know if your avocado trees bear fruits π
Hi Foong, yup I did it π Sure will let you know but it’ll be many years later.
How’s your avocado tree now? It’s been three years now? Share the picture please
Hi Alexander, they are now about 7 years plus. They don’t grow very tall since they’re in pots. I’ll see what I can do with the pictures.
My teacher once told me that he has an avocado tree in his garden and bears fruits for him to eat as he has heart problem. (In K.L)
So all the best to you and your plants!
Hi Joanne, thank you so much. May my avocado trees grow up well and strong. π
Awesome! I was told avocado trees needs a lot of space to grow. Pray pray it will flower down the years and bear fruits….save so much $$. Over here the cheapest on sale at Walmart for 88cents. If it’s not on sale $1.18. And also the fruits are not that fantastic either because of the drought in Mexico.
Hi Dawn, ya I think they’ll grow as big as mango trees. I’ve seen some bush-sized avocado trees bearing fruits (online) so I have BIG hope. Hehe My latest avocados purchase also not that good. Most ripe ones has brownish flesh.
How’s your tree growing?
I too have just planted one, and its about 2 ft tall now.
Can’t wait till it fruits…. !
Hi Jerry, they are growing up ok. Not bushy… I guess that’s the con of planting in pot. I have an updated picture in this post. Scroll up to see it. Try to plant another one or two more to have higher chances of getting fruits… unless if yours is grafted then okla.
Wow avocado from seed. The last time my neighbour plant on ground and it took her 15 years to bear fruits. It fruit less than 10 fruit a year and its not edible (too hard). They rather bought it from shop.
If possible and really interested please get a grafted plant. You only need to wait 2 to 3 years before it fruit plenty and large size. These trees are plenty in thailand, so do arrange your nursery to import some for you.
Cheers and happy planting.
Hi Eric, I will get a grafted avocado plant if I ever have the chance but I won’t go into importing them as this is just a hobby. Growing avocado from seed on the other hand is really exciting. That feeling of seeing ’em sprout, getting bigger and taller and eventually & hopefully bear fruits. I don’t mind waiting over a decade. Haha
By the way the grafted plant could bear fruit just like any 5 footer potted mango trees. And on ground grafted plant grow like a longan trees. Planting from seed you could see it grow like 2 storey before it start fruiting. That is what I witness before although sometime your garden and nurturing technique does make a lot of differences and turn out brilliant.
Unfortunately I don’t have a large enough garden to grow them on the ground. They are all potted and I trim and feed them with yummy DIY feeds. Hopefully they feel the love and will grow up (mature) faster.
I just planted a few seeds from big avocado bought from Sandakan 80%. My friend got a better bigger variety more fleshy and smaller. Follow Eric Fang advice-waiting to budgraft it. Maybe worth to buy some Thai Avocado fruits eat them and plant the seeds or just buy the bud grafted seedlings, from what i gather from you all i have to prepare the soil in my vege plot which is too hard and laterite clay. Should be well drained soil sandy loam?
Hi Bob, This year I sprouted couple of avocado plants from seeds which I got from US. The fruits are really creamy. I think weather plays a big part. I’m not sure what soil is the best. I use organic compost soil + laterite.
Hi! How is your avocado plant now?
Hi Joanne, they are doing great. π I trim them from time to time, so they grow new leaves but not taller.
How’s your Avocado tree doing? Mine has grown to 20 feet so I’ve to prune it with ladder to keep it manageable. I got it for MYR40 from local grower at mudah.my. I was told it’s grafted version but he failed to inform me the species of the avocado. Currently I tried grow Mexican Hass from seed using the toothpick technique like you. I see the seed cracking and eagerly anticipate the sprout grows like in your picture which is really nice by the way.
Hi Tunku, my potted avocado trees are doing great. I trim them from time to time so they don’t grow so tall and are able to branch out new leaves. You can simply put the seed in the soil. No need to use toothpick. Our avocado trees will flowers and bear fruits AND give us abundance of avocados! π
Wow. Can we have more update please? Thank you!
Hi Fitri, they are growing bigger and taller in pots. To prevent them from going taller, I will trim them from time to time. Also, after trimming, they will grow more branches. That’s it. π Not flowering yet.
Hi,
Normally it will take 8-10 years (depending on how to manage the plants) in order for avocado to bear fruits, if you plant it from seed. What nursery normally does it they plant it from seed, then at certain age, grafted with scion from a mature/already fruit avocado.
Hi Asri, yup if grafted, it’ll almost guarantee will fruit and fruit faster. If there’s a chance to get a scion, I would be happy to marry it to one of my avocado plants. π
Hi, Im currently trying to grow an avocado tree in my house. I did lots of research on how to plant one, and finally found out how. There was one person who told me his avocado tree starts to sprout a bit in 8 weeks instead of 4. I believed it was a very long period of time to make it sprout. Unfortunately, my avocado that I’m trying to grow now is slicing into half before my seed sprouts and is almost falling apart. Please tell me why this is happening, thanks.
Hi Rou, do you mean it’s sliced in half in the soil? If yes, just let it be. Sometimes when the sprout is coming out, it will slice the seed in half. Just allow the seed to take whatever time it needs to sprout. There’s no hurry in nature. π
Hi all,
Interesting avocado sharing.
I have mine planting from seeds on 2 pots at my balcony. I trimmed them twice over 2 years. I also have a fig tree which growing more brunches and healthier after pruning. I fertilized them by my home made garbage enzyme and hoping for fruiting. Any idea for fast fruiting?
Hi Lin, you can also trim them every few months. For fruiting, I believe when the time is right, it will start to fruit.
I have a fruiting Avocado tree. I planted it from a seed. It started bearing fruits after 5 years.
Hi Paul, this is so awesome to hear. Of all the wonderful news I’ve heard so far regarding planting avocado from seed, yours is the fastest to fruit. Congratulations! You must be over the moon. Is the avocado tree planted on the ground or pot? Do you fertilize the tree?