Every avocado you eat comes with a free plant inside. Getting that pit to sprout takes a glass of water, a few toothpicks and some patience, since the first root can take about a month to show up. Here’s how we grew two avocado trees from store-bought pits, and what each stage looked like along the way.
| Growing avocado from seed, at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Seed | The pit of a fully ripe avocado |
| Soak | 1 hour in water, then peel off the brown skin |
| Setup | Toothpicks around the middle, wide end down, bottom half in water |
| Temperature | Warm, around 70°F (21°C), indirect light |
| Seed cracks | About 1 week |
| First root | About 1 month |
| First shoot | About 1.5 months |
| Pinch the top | At about 12 inches (30 cm) |
| Move to soil | At about 6 inches (15 cm), or keep it in water |
| Fruit | Rarely, and only after many years |
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What you need to grow an avocado from seed
- A ripe avocado (or two, so you have a backup)
- 3 or 4 toothpicks per seed
- A glass or jar of water
- Later on: a pot with drainage holes and well-draining potting mix, or a bigger jar if you want to keep it in water
How to prepare the avocado pit
Pick an avocado that is fully ripe. Seeds from mature fruit are the ones that sprout. Cut it open, take out the pit and wipe it clean with a paper towel.
Drop the pit into a glass of water for about an hour.
After the soak, the thin brown skin (the seed coat) loosens and peels off easily with your fingers. We peel it off, which also makes the lines on the seed easier to see when you add the toothpicks.
Which end of the avocado seed goes up?
The wider, flatter end is the bottom, and that’s where the roots come out. The narrower, pointed end is the top, where the shoot will appear. Keep track of this before you add the toothpicks, because the roots grow from the wide end, and that end needs to sit in the water.
How to set up the avocado seed in water
Push 3 or 4 toothpicks into the seed around its middle, spaced evenly. Avoid the lines or grooves on the seed. The toothpicks only have one job, to hold the seed on the rim of the glass, so the exact number matters less than a firm grip.
Set the seed on a glass or jar and add water until the bottom half is covered. Put it somewhere warm with indirect light. Around 70°F (21°C) is ideal.
How long does it take an avocado seed to sprout?
Expect about a week before the seed cracks and around a month before you see a root. This is what our two seeds did:
| Time | What we saw |
|---|---|
| 1 week | A crack down the middle of the seed |
| 1 month | The first root coming out of the bottom |
| 1.5 months | A green shoot from the top, roots branching out |
| 2 months | A tall, thin stem with the first leaves |
| 3 months | A small plant with several leaves |
| 5 months | A full crown of large leaves |
Not every seed keeps the same pace. Two pits started on the same day can be weeks apart, and a seed with no root after a month isn’t necessarily a dud. As long as it’s firm and the water is clean, give it more time.
How to care for the seed while it roots
Check the water level regularly and top it up so the bottom half of the seed stays under water. Change the water every few days to keep bacteria and mold from building up.
If you enjoy watching roots grow, a snake plant cutting in water is another easy one to try on the same windowsill.
How to pinch an avocado seedling so it grows fuller
Avocado seedlings shoot straight up on a single thin stem. When yours reaches about 12 inches (30 cm), snip off the top set of leaves just above a leaf joint. This pushes the plant to branch out and stay more compact instead of growing tall and bare.
Should you keep an avocado seedling in water or move it to soil?
Both work. Once the seedling has roots and a few leaves, you can keep growing it in water or plant it in a pot. We did one of each, and at five months both were healthy, with the potted one a little darker and fuller.
How to keep growing it in water
A glass gets small quickly, so once the roots fill it, move the seedling to something bigger. Any jar or vase with enough room for the roots will do. We used a bottle cut in half, with the seed sitting in the opening on its toothpicks and the roots hanging in the water. Give it 6 to 8 hours of light a day, keep the roots covered and change the water regularly. In a clear jar on a windowsill, it makes a lovely decorative plant, roots and all.
How to plant an avocado seedling in a pot
When the sprout is about 6 inches (15 cm) tall, it’s ready for soil. Fill a pot that has drainage holes with a well-draining potting mix. Gently pull out the toothpicks and set the seed in the soil with the roots spread down. Leave the pointed top of the seed just above the surface, about half an inch (1 cm), rather than burying it completely. Firm the soil around it.
Put the pot in a warm, sunny spot such as a bright window. Avocado plants like temperatures between 60°F and 85°F (15°C to 30°C). Keep the soil moist but never waterlogged. Too much water shows up as curling leaves and soft stems, too little as wilting and dry leaves.
For feeding, we spread a layer of compost on top of the soil, which releases nutrients slowly. You can also give a small dose of balanced houseplant fertilizer every few months, following the package instructions.
Will an avocado tree grown from a seed produce fruit?
Probably not any time soon, and maybe never. A seed-grown avocado can take 20 years or more to bear fruit, and when it does, the fruit is usually different from the avocado the pit came from. Commercial avocado trees are grafted for exactly this reason.
That doesn’t make the project less worth it. An avocado seedling makes a beautiful houseplant, whether it stays in a glass of water where you can watch the roots or grows in a pot on a sunny windowsill. And like bell peppers from store-bought peppers or basil from supermarket stems, it starts with something you’d normally throw away.
FAQ
No. Seeds sprout with the skin on too. After an hour in water the skin comes off easily, though, and we peel it so the seed is clean and its lines are easy to see.
Yes. Plant it wide end down in well-draining mix with the pointed top slightly above the surface and keep the soil evenly moist. Starting in water just lets you watch the roots and catch problems early.
Usually it just needs more time. A root can take a month or longer. Check that the wide end sits in the water and that the water is fresh. A seed that turns soft or smells bad has rotted and should be replaced.
Every few days. Fresh water keeps bacteria and mold from building up around the seed and roots.
About 6 inches (15 cm), once it has roots and a few leaves.
Sources
- Colorado State University Extension, PlantTalk Colorado: Avocado
- University of California Cooperative Extension, Ventura County, Growing Avocado from Seed
