Growing an Avocado Plant from Seed

INSIDE : Learn the trick to growing an Avocado Plant from seed that finally worked for me! And once you have a sprouting plant, see the best care tips like their watering needs and light requirements. Let’s grow big healthy Avocado Plants together!

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This post has been updated since it’s original publish date.

First thing, first. Is there anything more wonderful than a bowl of guacamole? I think not. In our home, we are huge avocados lovers. They are high in nutrition, flavor and go great on just about everything.

I often have tried growing my own Avocado plant from the pit after munching on that delicious dip. Unfortunately, after about 6 failed attempts I decided I would never figure out the magical method of growing them. Then, I realized that I had been doing it wrong. I’ve since tried this new method twice and had a 100% success rate.

Growing Avocado in Water

One tip I learned was propagating your Avocado pit in a jar of water instead of putting it right into soil. I have had much success over the years water propagating plants and it seems that Avocado plants are no different!

Plus, I like being able to keep an eye on the roots and see how far along they have grown.

Ok, let’s dive into how to get them growing!

How to grow an Avocado plant from seed

Start by removing and cleaning the pit from your Avocado. The pit can by pretty slippery when it’s still covered in the avocado flesh, so it’s helpful to soak it in a small bowl of water for a few minutes and then give it a good scrub.

Next, get a damp paper towel and ring out of any excess water. You want the paper towel to be wet but not soaked. Fold your paper towel in half and place your acvocado pit inside. Place the seed and paper towel inside a plastic baggie (Ziplock snack bags are what I use). Close about 80% of the bag, still allowing just a small portion of it open for airflow.

Finally, place your plastic bag and seed in a sunny warm spot and leave it for about six weeks. It seems like forever, but I have learned this process is pretty slow going unlike many other plants.

Every other week or so, I would take a little peek at my seed. I only occasionally needed to rewet the paper towel. Another issue you might run into is the seed getting a little moldy growth on it. If this happens, don’t stress at all. Take your seed out of the bag, give him a quick wash down, get a new damp paper towel and place him right back in the bag.

How to plant an Avocado seed in water?

After about six weeks or so, you should start to see some substantial growth happening for your avocado seed. First, the seed will crack or split in half. Secondly, you’ll notice a tap root starting to grow.

Once you see a decently sized tap root and even possibly a sprout coming, you know it is time to get your Avocado pit into water.

At this point, remove your seed from the plastic bag and give it one last clean off. Be extra careful around the new plant growth. If there is any remaining brown see covering, you can now remove it entirely.

Next, turn your pit so the tip is facing up and the flatter side is facing down. Using three toothpicks, push them evenly around the seed so that they are slightly at an angle pointing up. This will allow the bottom half of your seed to sit in a glass or jar of water.

I kept poking myself on the toothpicks, so once my plant was all situated I took some hand pruners (or scissors) and cut off the sharp tips of the toothpicks.

Be sure to keep the water level high so your seed’s new roots are always submerged in water. I noticed about once a week when I was watering my other plants, that I would need to fill up the jar just an inch or so.

Place your new Avocado seed in a bright indirect sunshine location and let those roots grow grow grow!

When to plant an Avocado seedling?

Once your Avocado seeding is about 6″ to 7″ tall you can thinking about planting him in some soil. Many people will tell you to cut your stem down to 3″, but it took me so long to grow mine from pit to plant that I didn’t have the heart to do it.

I continued to let my plant grow in the water until it had nice big leaves. However, I probably should have just planted him.

You can see what nice established roots this Avocado plant now has! He is definitely ready for some soil.

How to Plant an Avocado Seed

Growing an avocado plant indoors is just a matter of coaxing its pit to root and sprout. It won’t bear fruit, but you’ll have a cute little new houseplant for free. Here’s how to get one started.

Now that your Avocado plant has a nice long stem and substantial roots, it’s time to give him some soil to really get growing.

Supplies needed to plant an avocado

Mature Avocado Seeding
Pot with drainage hole
Rocks
Soil
Small Shovel

When planing your new plant, make sure to select a pot that gives your roots adequate growing room. Place a few rocks at the drainage hole of your pot to keep the soil from coming out when you water your plant.

Next, start to fill in with soil, leaving about half of the seed still exposed above the soil.

As your Avocado plant grows, you can help encourage new leaves with the pinching technique.

Around 12″ tall, pinch off the very top two sets of leaves. This will help promote the plant to grow side shoots and more leaves, making it bushy.

Each time the plant grows another 6″ or so, you can pinch off the 2 newest sets of leaves on top.

When will an Avocado plant give fruit?

When growing an Avocado plant from a pit, sad to say but it’s pretty unlikely that you will get any avocado fruit. It’s much more common if you buy an already established plant. However, around 3 or 4 years, you may see some flowers growing on your plant, which is the start of fruit coming.

It also could take 15 years or maybe never. Commercial avocados are grown from grafted branches to control the outcome of the fruit – a naturally grown avocado may be very different than its parent!

Most people growing these plants in their home, do it for the beauty of a free and fun plant. But we can always dream about picking avocados right from our living room, right?!!

How often do I water my Avocado plant?

As with most plants, keeping your Avocado plant on a watering schedule will help to ensure that you are keeping them wet, but not saturated. And having a drainage hole in the pot you have used is essential to allowing it’s soil to dry out adequately.

What kind of light does an Avocado tree need?

I have been keeping my plants in a warm, sunny location with bright indirect light. Check out my post for Best Sunlight Levels for your plants.

Avocado plants really do like sunshine and I’ve been playing around with their exact spot in my house. So far, they both are about 6′ away from my East facing window.

What supplies do I need to grow an Avocado plant from seed?

As far as plants go, these guys seem to be very easy houseplants with very few needs. However, if you are wanting to get a few help indoor houseplant tools these are some of my favorites.

Plant Moisture Meter | Pruning Shears | Pot | Spray Bottle

If you like this post about growing Avocado plants, then I bet you will definitely enjoy my indoor houseplant care ebook, Happy Houseplants!

My Happy Houseplants ebook talks about how to not kill all the plants and includes:
– A super helpful checklist for 6 steps to keep your plants alive + thriving.
– A deep dive on 7 trending “it” plants (like your finicky Fiddle Leaf Fig!)
-5 plant printables to hang in your home.
Buy it here.

How big do Avocado leaves get?

My biggest Avocado leaf is roughly 9″ in length. I can’t wait for my newly planted one to get growing and see if he can beat that leaf size!

The size of avocado leaves can vary depending on the maturity of the tree and the specific variety, but typically they range in size from 1.5 to 4 inches wide and 4 to 12 inches long.

Healthy, mature avocado trees will have larger leaves than younger trees. If your avocado tree’s leaves are not growing to their full size, it could be a sign that the tree is not getting enough nutrients or water.

Are Avocado trees poisonous to pets?

The leaves, fruit, seeds and bark of avocados contain persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea in many pets. Although the fruit is so delicious for humans to eat, it’s best to stay on the safer side and keep avocados away from your furry animals.

What kind of vessels can you grow Avocados in?

Really all you need is a small glass jar or even a cup. However, there are some really lovely ways to grow your Avocado pit into a lovely plant.

Check out some of my favorites below…

Pots: These are the most common containers for avocados. Choose a pot made from a breathable material like clay or terracotta. It should be at least 15-20 gallons in size for a mature tree, with good drainage holes.
Wooden containers: Raised wooden beds or boxes can work well, especially if you’re growing multiple avocado trees together. Make sure the wood is rot-resistant and that the box has drainage holes.
Half barrels or other recycled containers: As long as they have drainage holes and are big enough (around 15-20 gallons), you can use recycled containers like half barrels or even large buckets to grow avocados. Just make sure they’re made from a food-safe material.

When choosing a container for your avocado tree, the key considerations are size and drainage. The tree needs enough space for its roots to grow and good drainage is essential to prevent root rot.