Today is National Avocado Day.\u00a0 Have you ever thought about growing your own avocado?\u00a0 It\u2019s not hard.<\/p>\n
Yes, I\u2019ve done it.\u00a0 The up-side\u2014they\u2019re easy, fun, and make a beautiful dramatic houseplant.\u00a0 The down-side\u2014they get HUGE over time and the chances of them ever fruiting are slim to none.<\/p>\n
But for lush tropical foliage, they can\u2019t be beaten.\u00a0 So here\u2019s how to get started.<\/p>\n
Buy a ripe avocado.\u00a0 Cut in half, careful not to nick the seed.\u00a0 Clean the pulp away from the seed, noting which end of the seed was nearest the stem-end of the fruit\u2014that\u2019s where your new shoots will come from.<\/p>\n
Place several toothpicks around the middle of the seed\u2014this allows you to \u201cprop\u201d the seed over a cup of water.\u00a0 Water should always touch the bottom of the seed\u2014but not the top.<\/p>\n
Sit the cup in a sunny window and change the water twice a week so fungus or mold don\u2019t grow.<\/p>\n
Now be patient\u2014I\u2019ve heard of people seeing sprouts in just a couple of weeks\u2014I\u2019ve never seen one in less than four to eight weeks.\u00a0 The first thing you usually see is one lone fat little root reaching into the water.<\/p>\n
When your top shoot is around eight inches tall, cut it in half.\u00a0 Oh yes, that\u2019s really hard to do, but a bushier plant will be your reward.\u00a0 Give it another couple of weeks to leaf out again, then remove it from the water and gently pot in the soil\u2014a four-inch diameter pot is a good size for starters.<\/p>\n
When your plant has several sets of leaves and is around 12 to 15 inches tall, pinch out the center set of leaves\u2014again encouraging it to branch out.\u00a0 Do this several times over the first year.<\/p>\n
Check the roots often and when you see tiny roots just beginning to feather out the bottom, re-pot into the next largest sized pot.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"