Avocados are one of the wonderful fruits of summer. The next time you’re making guacamole or slicing an avocado for a salad, try saving your pits to grow into avocado trees.

The pear-shaped fruits are a delicious, rich food that make an excellent condiment or eat alone addition to your diet. The trees are warm season plants, easily damaged by cold and frost. That said, northern gardeners must learn how to grow an avocado houseplant in order to enjoy fruits grown at home.

Step 1 – Extract the seed

Remove the pit from the avocado but don’t cut it. Wash away any avocado fruit that’s still on it. The best way you can do this is by soaking the pit in water for a couple minutes and scrub off the fruit. Be extremely careful while doing this as it can remove the brown skin off the pit, which will make it useless after.

Step 2 – Pierce the seed

Some avocado seeds are more of an oval shaped while other might be a perfect circle, but no matter the shape all of them have a bottom where the roots will grow out of. Whichever side is pointier is the top and the flatter side is the bottom. In order for the pit to sprout and start growing, you need to put the bottom root end in water. Use 4 toothpicks and pierce the seed to suspend it broad-end down so it can stand over a glass of water (see picture above).

Step 3 – Soak the seed in water

Place the bottom half (about 1 inch) of the avocado in water; make sure to wedge the toothpicks in firmly. It’s best if you place them in at an angle, so the avocado seed can rest in the water when you place it over a glass.

Step 4 – Let the seed sprout

In about three to six weeks, the top of the avocado pit will begin to split and a stem sprout will come out from the top and roots will begin to grow at the base. If you’ve followed the whole process correctly but have not seen any roots or a stem sprout in more than 6-8 weeks, you should give another seed a try.

Step 5 – Trim the sprout

Once the sprout grows to 6 or 7 inches, trim it in half to encourage new growth.

Step 6 – Prepare to plant

Once the roots become thick and the stem has leaves again, it’s time to plant it. Put enriched potting soil in a large flower pot about 8″ across. Fill the pot all the way up leaving just an inch from the top. Make a small hole in the middle of the soil and place the pit in with the roots down, leaving the seed half exposed. Make sure to water this often as the plant’s soil should always be moist.

Note: The more sunlight, the better. Avocado trees do best at moderately warm temperatures (60-85F) with moderate humidity. Once they’re established, they can tolerate temperatures up to 32F with minimal damage. Avoid freezing temperatures.

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