Recently, gardeners have shown interest in exotic crops grown at home. Lovers are ready to boast of fruiting trees, decorative weaving and beautiful flowering. Bone avocado at home growing has a number of features:
- tree length reaches 2.5-3 m (in the natural environment, the culture grows to 20 m);
- the culture cleans the air, the original and magnificent crown gives the room a warm and cozy atmosphere;
- the plant bears fruit quite rarely, more often serves as a decorative element in an apartment or office.
Avocado at home
Important! With proper care, the fruits ripen in the 3-6 year life of the tree, the fruits are quite edible, but taste inferior to tropical counterparts.
How does avocado grow in nature
Some varieties of avocados have characteristic features:
- The West Indian prefers the warm and humid weather of the tropics;
- Guatemalan species, having high resistance to a sharp drop in weather conditions, take root well on the mountain slopes;
- Mexican avocados can withstand short-term frosts (4-6 ° C), develop quickly, the size of the fruit is small.
In nature, avocados easily take root in clay, limestone, loamy areas. The main condition is the presence of drainage. The culture does not tolerate high humidity, dies in flooded areas. Groundwater should lie at a height of 9 m. The presence of mineral additives in the water adversely affects the yield of the plant. PH does not affect tree growth.
Adult avocado tree in vivo
The geographical distribution of avocados, according to nerds, originates from the ancient Greeks. For the first time, the beneficial properties of fruit became known to people in the 15th century. Mariners compared avocados with peeled chestnuts grown by Mexican farmers. The second homeland is Israel. Avocados grew in Southwest Asia en masse, local residents harvested for export. Travelers brought avocados to Indonesia, then Brazil, a couple of centuries later - to the territory of Australia, Africa. Europeans became interested in an exotic plant in the 19th century.
In Russia, it turns out to grow avocados in the Krasnodar Territory. The best region for fruit growing is considered to be Abkhazia, where fruits contain the maximum concentration of oil. For temperate climates, Mexican varieties of culture are applicable. West Indian varieties in Russia are obtained in year-round heated greenhouses.
Decorative properties of avocados
It is easy to give a decorative look - just grow a few avocado seeds, periodically braiding the stems in a pigtail. A prerequisite is the gaps between the segments, allowing the trunk to grow over time.
Avocado inflorescences
Growing Avocados from Bone at Home
Avocado is a tall evergreen culture of the Laurel family. The plant is valued for a unique set of vitamins and microelements contained in fruits, adult trees are in demand in the construction and furniture sectors, due to the dense and durable structure of the array.
For the lumpy olive peel and elongated fruits in the form of a pear, ellipse or ball (depending on the variety), the avocado was called the "alligator pear." The green peel darkens when ripe, the flesh retains olive tones. A large seed is placed in the center of the fruit, covered with a smooth, shiny chestnut skin, the shape of a stone resembles a chestnut fruit.
Obtaining an avocado at home is not difficult, when eating ripe fruits, there are seeds that allow you to sprout an interesting fruit plant.
Bone germination conditions
Bone avocados begin to grow in the warm season. Capacities are placed on the battery or on the computer system unit. Warm soil and high humidity contribute to the rapid germination of bone. In practice, out of 10 seedlings, avocados 4 have a sufficient supply of vitality for active growth. The right solution would be to germinate several seeds at once, allowing you to select the strongest sprouts.
Possible problems of culture germination and methods of elimination
Developmental disorders | Solutions |
Leaves dry | Lack of moisture, increase the amount of watering |
Pale foliage | Not enough light, you need to use additional equipment to extend the daylight hours to 12-15 hours / day |
Tree drops leaves | Temperature increased |
Folded leaves | Itβs cold in the room |
On a note. Avocados are often attacked by scale insects and spider mites. The action of pests is the same. After entering the leaves and trunk, the parasites actively multiply and cause yellowing, shedding of leaves. The infected tree dies quickly. With dry air, pests are easier to breed. When dealing with them, you should first moisten the air. Soap solution is suitable for the destruction of the scabies, Vermitek and Aktofit will cope with the spider mite.
Avocado leaves dry due to lack of moisture
The stages of seed germination
Seed avocados are germinated at home in two ways: in the ground or in water, the latter option suggests the possibility of using peeled seed and peel.
1 option
The untreated bone suitable for planting is placed in the soil, leaving a third at the top. The blunt end remains in the ground. The pot is placed under a jar and placed on a lighted area. The resulting greenhouse effect will protect the sprout from drafts and cold. Watering the seeds is carried out weekly. It is better to use filtered water, preferably with a little salt. Next, the pot is placed on a bright area in the room, fertilized 1-2 times a month with mineral additives.
Option 2
Three toothpicks are placed in the untreated bones, immersed 3 mm deep, and put into the water with a blunt end. The lower part remains in the water, the puncture sites are dry. When the sprout reaches a height of 3 cm, the culture can be planted in the ground. A stone with roots is located above the soil at a level similar to water. After 10-14 days, the tree will grow to 11 cm, will need an increased nutrition area. A second transplant is required. For one quarter, avocados can grow up to 50 cm. At an early age, a tree transplant is carried out annually, later - every 3 years.
3 option
Planting a peeled seed is similar to a step-by-step instruction for growing an unpeeled seed; at the seed preparation stage, it is cleaned of black peel. Planting material is immersed in settled, room temperature (23-25 ββ° C) water, leaving it a third on top. The support for the bones is created with toothpicks, without piercing through from four sides. Water in a glass is changed daily. After two weeks, the onset of avocado root growth is observed. Before planting in the ground, the sprout must reach a height of 15 cm, then half of the stem must be cut and the tree re-grown to 15 cm.
Avocado Growing Technology
Important! A plant from the seed will appear after 1-5 weeks, depending on the season. In the spring, culture grows faster.
How to choose the fruit of the desired maturity and separate the bone
For rooting, a ripe fruit from the nearest store is suitable. It is convenient to determine the maturity of the fetus by the shade of the peel and the density of the pulp:
- The light green color and hardness of the avocado indicate the need for ripening throughout the week.
- Saturated green tones and hard flesh characterize the fruit, suitable for propagation after a few days.
- The peel is dark green with brown hues determines the maturity of the fruit, ready to eat. After pressing on the peel of a ripe fruit, a small trace remains.
- Too soft fruit with loose, easily crushed pulp, brown skin is a sign of an overripe avocado, not suitable for planting.
- Maturity is also determined by the place under the cuttings. Ripe fruit has a green tint with brown streaks, unripe - yellow, overripe - brown tones.
It is advisable to plant large bones with more energy for growth. The seed is removed from the fetus with a sharp knife, making a deep circular incision along the oblong part of the fetus, pressure on the seed is avoided with a knife. Halves connected by a bone are turned against each other. Planting material remains in one part of the fruit. Pry a bone with a knife blade or spoon. The seed is ready for growing.
Preparing a place for avocado
Botanists recommend sprouting a tree in open sunny areas, when the sun is at its zenith, the culture should be in partial shade. As practice shows, an avocado grows well at home on a windowsill, an ideal option for a tree is the west side of the house.
Soil preparation
The soil mixture for planting is prepared at home or buy a ready-made substrate for citrus plants. The basis of the soil is pre-calcined sand, coconut, ground from the garden, humus, ash or lime. Expanded clay is lined at the bottom of the tank with drainage holes, and the soil mixture is poured on top.
Pot selection
For the first time, a small container with a height of 9 cm and a diameter of 8 cm will be required for the bone. It is better to take a plastic pot containing many drainage holes. A clay tank will retain moisture that is undesirable for wood. Place the pot on a wet sand pallet.
Growing a tropical tree on a windowsill
Watering mode
Avocados grown in a pot are moistened with warm soft water. The watering regime is determined by the time of year. In spring, in summer more moisture is required, watering is done every 2-3 days. Blackening of the leaves indicates waterlogging of the soil. In winter, the surface of the soil must have time to dry out. The lower the temperature, the less often the crop is watered.
Important! To determine if watering for avocados is required, the finger is deepened into the soil into two phalanges. When reaching the wet area, watering is not required.
Temperature mode
Avocado is a tropical culture that does not withstand low-temperature regimes. The minimum allowable indicator is + 12 ° C. The optimal regime for tree cultivation is maintained at a temperature of 16 ... 26 ° C.
Top dressing
Avocados are fertilized during the period of active vegetation, in spring and summer, twice a month. Organic supplements "Avocado" are used for top dressing.
Transfer
Recommendations for a successful transplant and subsequent maintenance of an exotic tree:
- avocado root is long and powerful, has a rod shape, a tree requires the use of an unusual, high flower pot;
- watering a transplanted tree should be gentle;
- keeping the culture in the shade is also not worth it - an avocado will require a lot of light for normal development;
- Often stress occurs in dry and hot weather, it is better to plan an escape transplant in the second half of February or September.
Tip. Do not change the pot when transplanting with a sharp increase in volume - small roots are not able to braid the increased earthen lump, the soil will begin to sour, negatively affecting the health of the tree. The diameter of the new pots should be 5 cm larger than the previous one.
Topping
The first years of life, culture grows with one stalk rather quickly. The shoot must be formed by pinching the top and skeletal branches, stimulating the development of side shoots. The first pruning of the apex is carried out over 8 leaf of a tree, the lateral processes pinch over 5 leaf.
Bloom
When flowering on the crown of a tree, many inflorescences are formed, many lovers manage to cross-pollinate with a brush. The procedure is carried out in the morning, at sunrise, in cloudy weather, additional illumination is required.
Does a tree grown from stone fruit?
Theoretically, an avocado from seed bears fruit in the third year of life, but it needs to grow to 1.5-2 m. It is advisable to take the plant out to the country in the summer and place it under the tree crowns in a sunny place. In the third year of life, yellow-green inflorescences will appear. Faster fruiting by grafting. At the same time, the immediate proximity of one or two small stems should be provided. The condition will provide cross-pollination of trees.
A stone avocado will become a wonderful and unusual decoration of a flowerpot; as it grows, it will show botanical abilities to guests at home, many will certainly wish to admire a marvelous exotic tree.