Avocado is a tropical exotic fruit from the laurel family that is gaining popularity around the world every day. It is appreciated for its taste and numerous health benefits.
He was especially liked by adherents of a healthy lifestyle, and athletes, due to its ability to break down cholesterol in the blood. Let’s learn how to care for an avocado and follow these tips for growing healthy, fertile trees.
Contents:
- Avocado is a tropical tree and house plant
- Sprouting avocado
- How to properly grow avocados at home
- Do I need pruning
- What problems can you face
- The appearance of fruits
- What are the benefits of fruits
Avocado is a tropical tree and house plant
Central America is considered the birthplace of this plant. It is not surprising that Americans, who had the opportunity to often eat it, noticed that avocado has an exciting effect on a person, i.e. is an aphrodisiac.
The tree itself can reach 15 meters in height, the trunk is straight with many lateral branches. The leaves are wide and the stems are quite flexible. Therefore, when growing in a pot, three plants are often planted at once, and then they are intertwined in the form of a braid or various beautiful compositions are formed.
Alligator pear, Perseus American – other names for the plant.
Growing a tree and waiting for the fruits to appear is a rather difficult but interesting job for a grower, because this is a beautiful evergreen plant that is used to completely different climatic conditions. Therefore, before sprouting a seed, you need to learn how to care for an avocado at home.
Sprouting avocado
It is necessary to take a very ripe fruit. It is quite easy to determine ripeness: from both sides, press on the fruit with your palms, if it has restored its shape – feel free to take it, it will be ripe. You can take an incompletely ripe one and put it in a paper bag with apples, bananas or tomatoes.
Thanks to this trick, the fruit will ripen much faster.
There are two ways to germinate a seed.
Closed
The easiest method for execution: we bury the bone with the wide side down to a shallow depth (about 2-3 cm) and, having provided favorable conditions for germination, we wait for the sprout in a month.
Open
An unusual way for us to germinate a bone in water. We wash and clean the bone itself and make 3 holes on it in a circle in the center, into which we then insert toothpicks. They will act as a stand. We lower the wide part of the bone into the water and constantly make sure that it is under water, and the upper part, on the contrary, does not get wet.
Or you can use a hydrogel. This is more convenient, because you do not need to monitor the water level with this material.
We are waiting for the first sprout and roots 3-5 cm long, this is the most optimal size for transplanting into a pot. Take a small flower pot with holes in the bottom and light, not heavy soil. Before planting the bones, we loosen the ground well. When planting, take into account the fact that most of the bone should be above the ground surface.
How to properly grow avocados at home
Illumination
Being a light-loving plant, it does not like partial shade, but it also cannot stand the direct rays of the sun. The west side of an apartment or house is a great place to grow a fruit tree. As you care for an avocado in a pot, the tree will bear fruit.
Heat
It is necessary to maintain the same warm comfortable temperature at all times. In any draft, sharp temperature drop, the plant will shed its leaves and enter a state of “hibernation”. 16-20 degrees is the optimum temperature.
moisture
Loves moisture and humid climate. With central heating, and especially in winter, the problem of a dry room can be dealt with by constant spraying, but not the leaves, but only the air next to the plant, or fill the tray with wet expanded clay.
Watering is carried out on average 3 times a month, as it dries, letting it stand with the dried top layer for a couple of days. Abundant watering, and there the plant does not like more standing water.
Additional fertilizing
In the period from the beginning of autumn to spring, no additional fertilizers and feeding are required for the plant. And in other months, it is possible to add citrus fertilizers once every 1-2 months.
Transfer
The plant stretches and grows very quickly, and therefore requires frequent transplantation, at least once a year. Starting at 15 cm in height, the plant is transplanted into a larger pot. Avocados love loose light earth, with a neutral ph. The transplanting method is transshipment, that is, the tree will be interfered with in a new container without violating the integrity of the earth clod at the roots.
You can buy soil for transplanting in specialized stores, or make it yourself: mix coarse sand, humus and garden soil in equal proportions. Do not forget to put drainage at the bottom: pebbles, expanded clay or simple foam. In the summertime, the tree can even be planted in the garden, some experts assure that fruiting will come much earlier this way.
Do I need pruning
Since the tree quickly stretches in height, it is periodically necessary to pinch it, starting from the moment when there are at least 8 leaves on the tree. Initially, we do this only at the crown, so that lateral branches appear for a lush, uniform crown, and then, as the branches grow, they too.
Thin weak stems and branches are a sign of insufficient pinching, but the plant will not like too much, the tree may simply stop or slow down its growth. Prune the plant in early spring for fast and even growth.
What problems can you face
Often, growers are faced with diseases and pests when growing avocados. Powdery mildew is one of the most dangerous diseases.
You can get rid of a fungal disease by following the steps:
- Replace the topsoil of the pot;
- By placing it in a more illuminated place;
- Water less often;
- Remove affected leaves;
- Carry out a therapeutic spraying with special preparations.
Pests are dangerous: scale insects and spider mites. They get rid of them with numerous folk methods and preparations from flower shops.
Most common growing problems
Leaves dry
It can be corrected by increasing the humidity of the room and correct regular watering.
Falling leaves
Occurs with drafts and temperature drops. Setting the optimum constant temperature will correct this problem as well.
The reason for the pale leaves is a lack of light. Find a lighter spot for the plant and add lighting.
The appearance of fruits
After about 3 years, flowers of a green-yellow hue appear on the tree, and the first fruits should be expected in about 3-4 years, so that they appear, many experts advise grafting the plant in early spring, or planting several trees at once close to each other for cross-pollination.
Avocados do not ripen to full ripeness, so they need to be removed and put in paper bags.
When growing an avocado at home, remember that the leaves and seeds of this tree contain a rather dangerous fungicidal toxin “Persin”. It is quite dangerous for humans. May cause digestive upset or allergic reactions.
Work with the plant strictly with gloves and carefully look after children and pets. Now you know how to care for an avocado by growing it at home. And why is this tropical fruit so useful?
What are the benefits of avocado fruits?
After doing a lot of work and harvesting fruits from your tropical home tree, you can enjoy these wonderful fruits and their many health benefits:
- Although the avocado is the most nutritious fruit in the world, it does not contain unhealthy fats and sugars, therefore it is allowed even for diabetics;
- Cleans the blood from excess cholesterol and prevents the formation of new cholesterol plaques in the vessels;
- A large amount of vitamin E copes with the invasion of various viruses, which is especially in autumn and winter;
- Reduces blood pressure, and with regular use, even normalizes it;
- Restores the work of the heart – a large amount of potassium will help to become stress-resistant;
- Normalizes blood formation, blood circulation;
- Improves memory;
- Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease;
- Increases efficiency;
- Increases immunity due to the large amount of vitamin C;
- An excellent source of protein;
- Works as a good aphrodisiac, especially in men;
- Helps to restore strength after heavy physical activity.
In addition to a huge number of useful properties, avocado also has a pleasant oily taste and a soft plastic texture. They are used to prepare the famous guacamole sauce, added to salads and even simply smeared on bread, loaf as a paste or butter.
The tropical exotic avocado plant is not only a tasty and healthy fruit, but also a beautiful ornamental plant that you can grow yourself. We have tried to provide you with information on how to do it correctly, quickly and without typical mistakes.
We hope that our helpful tips on how to care for an avocado at home will help you cope with the task and prevent problems that may arise during the process of growing a plant.
