How hard is it to grow avocados?

[SameToo]

I’ve heard about the water consumption of avocado farms but I bloody love them. I was thinking I could grow my own, rationing rather than buying a bag from Morrison’s. I think it’s intricate with skewers to grow from seed but would really love some advice on how hard it really is and the time to crop from seed. Thank you!

I really don’t think they’ll grow in the UK...

We got a kit for Christmas, apparently from seed takes 7 years to produce fruit. Needs to be in a hot place all year round. It's possible but it's not really a quick fix 😂

A childhood friend lived in a really grand house that had an old, walled, kitchen garden. I do remember they had a huge avocado because I remember her mum discussing with my parents that it grew so well because it was against the wall which retained the summer heat. I don’t recall if they actually had edible fruit off it though.

I've grown a plant from a stone, I didn't bother messing about with the skewer method I just put it in a pot of seed compost it came up within a month. Lovely big glossy plant but in the winter all the leaves went brown and it died due to cold, low light and low humidity. Interesting experiment in a heated greenhouse perhaps but in the UK I don't think you'd get enough heat, light and humidity for fruit. Obviously if you're in Australia or California then go for it!

www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/gardens/a32160031/how-grow-avocado/

You got me excited about the prospect of giving it a go, I was all set to get the stone I’d chucked in the compost pile today. This suggests it’s tricky & you would be better off buying a grafted plant.

Well, I can confidently tell you that, throwing the stone from loads of supermarket bought avocados, on to your unkempt and wild compost heap will easily result in a fledgling plant (at least in the south east of England) whether you want one or not. How easy it is to keep them going beyond that, I’m not yet sure…….

This would have to be a pretty long term plan you're formulating tbh.

I think there's also a good reason they are held up as an example of food airmiles, because we don't really have the climate they need.

They unlikely to survive in UK temperatures outdoors, and if they do they are never going to fruit as it is nowhere warm or humid enough for them. You might be able to grow them in a greenhouse or similar, but again I doubt that any fruits will be up to much.

I've just started growing an avocado plant indoors, from a normal off the shelf avocado. It wasn't that difficult to skewer the seed and balance it on a pot of water. Of three that I started off that way only one actually grew a root and shoot, but it seems very healthy so far. It took a good few weeks to get a decent enough root/shoot to pot up. I'm growing it only as an interesting houseplant as the leaves are rather beautiful. Here it is, after about 3 or 4 months of growth:

I potted one straight into earth and it is now about 1/2 a metre tall, lots of big long leaves. I just did it as an experiment, know it cannot go out.

They're trees, they grow in warmer climates than the UK, so it depends how big your greenhouse is ...

But they germinate well on compost heaps. Maybe they're appreciating the warmth of the heap.

Well this is very interesting! I was wondering if I’d be able to grow them in my bathroom. It’s akin to a wet room. But I didn’t realise how hard it was to achieve fruit.@AssassinatedBeauty that plant looks great though. I may just grow for the plant. Has anyone found a sustainable source of avocados? I’d hate to give them up but I will if they’re so detrimental.

It may not be as impossible as you think, there are mature fruiting avocado trees in London, it’s not completely impossible in the U.K….if you are down south and have a very sheltered plot with the perfect microclimate, and choose the right cultivar of a hardier variety, and have the space, and good luck for maybe 10-15 years! www.jackwallington.com/growing-avocados-in-london/

Thank you @LemonViolet

What LemonViolet says. They're easy to start, but keeping them going as more mature trees depends a lot on a good microclimate. Don't plan to give up the supermarket quite yet!

I'm not sure if this will inspire or deter you OP, but after three years I've managed to grow a single pomegranate in south London. Which a fox promptly made off with.

I'm impressed, @EssentialHummus! But also laughing at the fox. (I got to eat a single cherry from my own tree this year. The birds are fat, though.)

You can grow the plant easily enough, but you won't get any avocados off it in the UK.

I’m inspired @EssentialHummus that’s really cool!!! I’m in north London, there’s lots of very mature exotics in front gardens around here, so I’m semi-hopeful for some productive interesting fruiting things! Staring with lemons and a kumquat, pomegranate is on the wish list. I’ve only got 25m x 5m though…..I wonder if an avocado would take to espalier training…..? 🤔

my mother was always trying to grow things when I was a child....she had dates from the christmas box with the camel on! A whole host of citrus pips and things, potatoes with eyes from the supermarket. Couldn't go to a nice garden with her cos she'd nick a bit off and fetch it home to bring on.

We had an avocado grown from a seed in an egg cup, cossetted and potted on many times that was almost up to the ceiling in the sitting room and then my dad had the idea of nipping out the growing point to see if it would bush out the way....it took offence and died. My mother was so very cross!

I have grown ginger...you just lay it on some damp compost, press it down a bit, keep it in a warm windowsill and that comes on very quickly....strappy pointy type leaves

I've grown all sorts - avocado (once they get too large to come in over winter, they tend not to survive.) Various citruses, which I don't label because I'll remember if they're lemon, orange or grapefruit, then I don't... Pomegranate, starfruit, mango, tomarillo.

Currently have avocado (supermarket seed), three unknown citruses (supermarket seed), loquat (Spanish greengrocer seed), olive (garden centre), curry leaf (garden centre years ago.) I also have quite a few other things actually more suited to the British climate.

Ooh how did your starfruit do? Did you grow from seed? One exotic fruit person I follow on YouTube has one and seems hopeful he could get it to fruit. I did find a place online to order a small tree from but I think it was from Italy and post Brexit I can’t find it again now.

I think the starfruit died in a housemove when I didn't get it inside soon enough in autumn. I haven't even seen them for sale in the supermarkets round this way for ages, so no new seeds.

What else do you eat? Because unless you are a mega strict vegan, avocados won't be the worst thing you eat, environmentally.

Cut down on meat, fish and dairy, buy your avocados from the supermarket and grow nice houseplants from the stones

This is all really interesting. I’m interested in growing fruit from seeds even if I don’t get a plant and trying to propagate some plants I already have.

@deplorabelle I think that’s what I’ll do. I don’t eat much meat and buy locally. I also don’t eat loads of dairy as I struggle with it but could definitely do more to be eco friendly.

Don’t know whether it’s available from a ebooks or similar, but there was a book published in the 70s called “The pip book” that was all about how to grow avocados and mangoes and the like from seed, how to get them to germinate etc.