ttp@kestrel.ARPA (10/21/85)
Anyone out there know the secret of transplanting an avocado pit so that it flourishes? And when is it ready to be transplanted? E.g. kind of soil, etc. I know NOTHING about the care and feeding of plants (well, plants do need water and soil, i guess, sometimes, at least). -tom p.
seb@mtgzz.UUCP (s.e.badian) (10/23/85)
The care of avocados is rather simple. They seem to be very tolerant plants. Most people stick toothpicks in pit and suspend it in some water until roots start to form. From experience I have found that avocados bought in February and March have the best chance of sprouting. Often they'll be growing roots when you open the avocado up. And there are some avocados that refuse to sprout roots, or after the roots refuse to sprout a stem. Just stubborn, I guess. Though the avocado in the glass seems to be the most common way of sprouting an avocado, I have read that planting the pit in a regular pot with regular potting soil is a better way to do it. You don't get a transplant shock when you move the avocado from water to dirt. To each his own. Avocados are semi-tropical plants. They like LOTS of sun. The more the better. And with good light they grow very quickly. I've read about people putting their avocado plants out on the patio for the summer and being unable to fit the thing in the house at the end of the summer. They also like it damp, but no more damp than other plants. If you live where you need heating in the winter, you will have to provide additional moisture for your plants. Mist them every day or if you really want to do your plants and yourself a favor, invest in a humidifier. It is worth every dime. When your avocado first starts out clip off the top of the shoot as soon as it gets to be about 5 inches long. Continue to clip back the plant to encourage branching. Avocados will grow straight up and have only 2 leaves if you let them. They don't make very attractive houseplants this way. Don't worry about hurting the plant. They're tougher than you think. Fertilize with ordinary houseplant fertilizer for foliage plants. Indoor avocados will rarely flower and besides you need a male and female tree to make more avocados. As for watering, keep them damp, but not soggy. Don't let them dry out, but they're pretty tough, so if it dries out once in a while it probably won't kill it. Might stunt its growth a little, but after a while you may wish for that. A better way to stunt its growth is to keep it in a small pot. When it comes time to transplant (about once a year until it gets pretty big, and then whenever you feel ambitious) put the plant in the same size pot with new soil. The plant won't grow much bigger since its roots are cramped, but it will stay healthy since it has fresh soil. The above information is gleaned from books and personal experience. Sharon Badian ihnp4!mtgzz!seb
ems@amdahl.UUCP (ems) (10/23/85)
> Anyone out there know the secret of transplanting an avocado pit so > that it flourishes? And when is it ready to be transplanted? E.g. > kind of soil, etc. I know NOTHING about the care and feeding of plants > (well, plants do need water and soil, i guess, sometimes, at least). > > -tom p. I know it is not the usual advice (the stuff with glasses of water and toothpicks), but I now have five avacado trees with a success rate of about 75% (gophers got some...). What do I do? Put the pit in the ground with the point down. Have the round end up about 1/4 inch under the surface. Keep it moist. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait... I have never been able to kill an avacado tree during transplanting when I used a mix of 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 sand, and 1/3 of my own high clay yard dirt. Keep the roots intact. Water it alot. Don't use straight potting soil as it doesn't wet well and dries out too fast. Repot it when the root ball fills the old pot. If the plant looks real big compared to the pot, repot. (Don't repot too often though, these things become *BIG* trees if given the room and dirt !) -- E. Michael Smith ...!{hplabs,ihnp4,amd,nsc}!amdahl!ems 'If you can dream it, you can do it' Walt Disney This is the obligatory disclaimer of everything. (Including but not limited to: typos, spelling, diction, logic, and nuclear war)
rainbow@cdp.UUCP (12/16/85)
yes,Tom. To grow an avacado plant, wash and peel off the outer brown skin. Stick three toothpicks into it horizontally, and place it in water, rounded side down, pointed side up. Change the water daily, and soon you will notice that the seed has cracked, and then roots will shoot out from the bottom. Place the seed in a small pot of dirt, and voila. rainbow !glacier!cdp!rainbow !hplabs!cdp!rainbow