How to Grow an Avocado from Seed (Step by Step)

Pick a good ripe avocado. Bigger fruit tends to give a bigger, stronger seed, so grab a large one if you can. Cut around the middle of the avocado rather than lengthwise. Slicing across the middle keeps the knife well clear of the seed, so you will not nick the part that matters.

Twist the two halves apart and lift the pit out. It will be slippery and coated in fruit, which is fine. You are done with the flesh now, so scoop it out and make guacamole while the seed does its thing.

Give the seed a good wipe with a paper towel to get the slime off. Then find an edge on the brown outer skin and peel it away. It comes off in papery flakes, and it is oddly satisfying, a bit like picking off old nail varnish.

Peeling is worth the two minutes. A bare seed sprouts faster, and it stops the skin turning slimy and gross once it sits in water. If the thin veiny under-layer clings on and will not budge, leave it. It falls off on its own later, or it just stays put, and neither hurts the plant.

Figure out which way is up first. The pointy end is the top and the fat end with the little round dimple is the bottom. The roots come out of that flat bottom, so it needs to point down into the water while the pointy end sits up in the air.

Push three or four toothpicks into the flat sides of the seed, about a third of the way down from the top. Try to miss those crackly line marks. You do not need to go in deep, just enough that they hold. Angle them slightly downward so the seed balances level on the rim of a glass.

Rest the toothpicks on the rim of a glass or jar so the fat bottom of the seed hangs down inside. Fill the glass with water until it covers roughly the bottom half of the seed. The bottom needs to stay wet while the top stays dry and in the air.

Put the glass somewhere with bright indirect light, like a warm windowsill out of harsh direct sun. Start a few seeds at once if you can. They do not all sprout, and a couple of spares means you are much more likely to end up with at least one healthy plant.

Every couple of days, swap the water out for fresh rather than just topping it up. The plant pulls oxygen from the water, and old water goes stinky and buggy fast. A quick change keeps the seed healthy and the glass clean.

Then it is a waiting game. The first sign of life is a crack across the bottom of the seed. That split widens and a thick white taproot pushes down into the water. A green stem follows from the top, though it can take a while. If you see roots but no stem yet, be patient. Give up on a seed only if nothing happens after about two months.

Once a taproot is well on its way, move the seed to soil. Taproots turn brittle as they get long, so transplant sooner rather than later. Fill a six-inch pot with regular potting soil, since avocados do not like to sit soggy or bone dry, and give it a good water.

Dig a hole in the top of the soil and pull the toothpicks out. Lower the seed in so it sits about halfway buried with the root pointing straight down. If the root is long, make a deeper channel with a spoon and ease it in gently. Water again to settle the soil around it, then keep the pot in the same bright indirect light.