I am going to try to grow my own avocado tree in the UK. This will be grueling, unrewarding and lengthy so it’s not for the faint of heart!
You can germinate your avocado pip in a few different ways apparently. However, if you can get a seedling this is meant to be easier and more reliable for a tasty crop. I’m just going to turn the Hass Avocado I bought from Sainsbury’s into a tree and see what happens.
Things to note:
- You may not get fruit
- If you do get fruit it may not be tasty, even if the original avocado was
- It WILL be big, easily up to 6 foot if not kept pruned and contained/stunted.
- It WILL need to be kept warm and safe from frost
- It WILL take at least 3 years before you see any returns at all
Avocados like soil of PH around 6 and a sandy texture soil works best. Make sure it also has great drainage or it will not be happy!
Your Avocado seed will look something like this:
How to Germinate Your Seed
You can do this in two main ways, first of all you can plant it in a large pot of well drained soil with the pointy end upwards. I have also put a plastic bag around the pot to keep it warm and moist while it germinates, remember to remove this bag as soon as germination occurs.
This method works particularly well with most seeds that thrive in warmer climates such as Squash, Tomato and Cucumber.
Or alternatively you can place three toothpicks into the seed around the middle and suspend the pip over a beaker of water using the toothpicks to balance it. This ensure the base of the seed is submerged in fresh water and the point end is again upwards. You will need to change the water every 2-3 days.
Germination takes 3-6 weeks, the larger the seed is the longer germination usually takes so be prepared for it do to a whole lot of nothing for a very long time.