Avocado stones with toothpicks in a jar of water. Which way up?

[allhailtheaubergine]

The internet is giving me conflicting advice.

Leave the stone to dry for a few days, toothpicks around the widest part then rounded end just in the water.

If you search for images the germinated ones seem to be pointy end up.

Pointy end up it is. Thanks!

If that method does not produce a result, put a avocado stone along with some moist compost into a pastic bag and leave in a dark cupboard for 4-6 weeks, by which time it should have sprouted.

Will it actually produce fruit (eventually) if kept in a cold greenhouse? Or would you grow it as an ornamental house plant? Have avocado in fruit bowl and am tempted to try

hmm have just googled and apparently the plants often take up to 10 years to bear fruit so may try growing as a houseplant. Also just read this which made me smile!!

An old gardeners? trick in the southern hemisphere to encourage the plant to flower is to treat the tree roughly. When it is of a decent size, (no smaller than 1.5m), attack the trunk of the tree with a knife, or sharp implement. Make sure you don?t damage the tree so it can?t grow properly, and only cut the surface of the bark ? never make big cuts in it. The stress brought on by this attack is said to shock the plant into flower, where it will then hopefully bear fruit.

The avocado stone should be placed with the pointed end facing up and the flat, broader end submerged in water. This allows roots to grow downward while the sprout emerges from the top.

I rooted and avocado accidentally by leaving the stone in a glass of water, completely submerged for a couple of days. It was meant just to clean it but I forgot about it. If you can't be faffed with toothpicks try one those domed lids from takeaway drinks. The hole for the straw is usually too small for the avocado seed to slip through and, upturned, will sit on a glass. Mine is now about 18" tall, in soil and has lots of lovely leaves. Just a few more years and I'll discover if I've won the avocado lottery🤞

Make sure to place the avocado stone with the pointed end facing up and the broader, flatter end submerged in water. Use Food Toothpicks to suspend it over the jar, ensuring only the bottom half stays wet. In a few weeks, you should see roots growing downward and a sprout emerging from the top!