Anybody else growing an avocado?

By: Alexrussell Jan 06, 2007

About a year and a half ago I left an avocado pit in a bowl of water for no reason in particular. A few weeks later I noticed it had cracked open and a shoot was poking out. I let it grow and kept the bowl full of water until it was a couple inches out of the pit. Then I planted it in a pot and let it grow.

Since then it has died and been resurrected twice. Once through the violent actions of a squirrel, and once through neglect. I like my little avocado plant. Has anybody else had a similar experience in growing one?

Tagged : avocado, plant, pot, gardening

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sherri
Nov 22, 2011

I have grown these little gems many times and they always seem to die. The one I have right now is about 8 inches tall and lives in the same pot as a parsley plantt. I find the pot doesn`t retain water too well so have to water every other day and have forgotton a few times and thought I lost it but it came back. I also recently read that to get fruit you have to have two plants.

Juli from Hollis, NH
Jun 10, 2011

OMGnessss I can't believe I'm not the only one who has an avacado fetish. I love my kids, as I call them effectionately. Now, however, I twelve pits growing and I just braved planting my 4-yr old outside. I hope and pray it makes it. I live in New England and I think it's NEVER been done. So, I hope to get some fruit soon. ... I'll post if anything happens!!

I have been growing an avocado for about two years inside my house, without any trouble, unless you count the cats.

I live in LA and have an avocado plant that I started about a year ago into a pot. I have transfered it 3 times into larger pots. I grew it from a pit. The funny thing is that I call it my twins. I mean by this that is with that one pit i have 2 trunks. They are growing at the same rate and leaf counts. They are growing great and it has been really low maintance. Its great.

i love my 3 avocado trees which were grown from pits. they are my babies along with a huge old jade plant. the tallest avocado tree is 4 feet tall. i actually named it...nuts, huh? the other 2 are in the same pot together and are about 2.5 ft. i do not try for fruit from them as they need to be grafted or pollinated, but they provide great greenery indoors in the winter and on the patio in the summer. even tho i live in sc i bring them in for the winter to keep them protected and stress-free. don't forget to fertilize once in a while. i find those little sticks work great even though i have to use about 10 of them for the large pots. i am not crazy about the liquid fertilizers.

That's a good tip about pinching. I inadvertantly did this by not watering for a month or so. I figured it was moist outside, but the top shoots dried out. I thought that was it, but then more shoots sprouted from the nodes along the stem, so it's kind of like I did pinch it. Go figure.

oh my...i just read your story of this little tree.....wow! that is an evil squirrel! you know what's funny though, you're supposed to pinch back the plant after it's grown to 6 inches. he did the exact right thing!

I think it takes 10 years to get fruit... but would be worth the wait. Working on a meyer lemon tree myself.

I guess I'll have to grow an avocado plant - since I've been known to kill every living plant I've ever owned. I'm in serious need of a plant who's will to live is stronger than my black thumb.

It's actually an outdoor plant, I just brought it in so it doesn't freeze in the winter. I'll start putting it outside in spring.

beccajo's right about its chances of ever producing avocados. But the thing has so much tenacity to stay alive, I can't help but admire it. Violent squrrel attacks and a dry pot for months, and here it goes sprouting up again. An amazing plant.

that's so funny, i'm growing one at work right now!

i found information that says that they hardly ever produce fruit, it takes from 5-13 years and even then it's not really that tasty. i guess most avocados are grafted onto fruit trees to make them yummy. :(