January 9, 2012

Avocado Update: We've Got Roots


We finally brought our little avocado experiment with us in our most recent haul to the new house. They traveled well in their glass containers wedged into a larger plastic bucket and we only lost one toothpick during the transport.

The bigger and more exciting news here is the fact we finally have roots! Over the past 2 weeks since I peeled the outer skin layers off both avocado pits, they've really taken off. We're probably a little over-excited about this since we kept hearing how hard it is to sprout roots from pits. We're also thrilled to see all of the patience and waiting finally paying off.

You can see where the smaller of the two pits has one long root protruding down (it almost looks like another toothpick) and if you peer inside the crack of the pit, you can also see a greenish pod looking center where the root is growing down from and where we think the green stem and leaves will eventually sprout up from.


At first when we saw the larger and more slow-growing of the two pits, we thought it must be dormant or a dud since it had no visible root growing down from it. When we flipped it upside down though — we found that it too is beginning to sprout a large central root!


You can really see the green pod well inside this one. He's just our little late bloomer. We're thinking as this root grows down, it will have to  really crack open the top of the avocado pit for the stem to sprout from the top. See how wide the crack on the smaller of the two is and how it seems to open up around the entire pit?

As always, we'll keep you posted as we wait, water and watch these little guys in their new window perch!

4 comments

  1. The seed will not produce a fruit bearing tree. However, once you have a small tree from the seed you can graft in a small branch from a producing tree or you can take cuttings from a producing tree and simply root it.

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  2. i tried to this 2yrs ago no problem, then tried 6mths ago the avocado pits rioted did the same thing . whats up?? anyone know ? thanks for your help =0} mimilaura

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  3. I tried that way many times with no luck, then did the easy thing and just planted it in dirt. now I have a grown tree with lots of fruit.

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  4. I live in Florida, and when my avocado pit was fully rooted in water, I stuck it in the ground. Now it is 7 years later, and my avocado tree is over 30 feet tall. It won't produce fruit, but it is a lovely tree.

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