How to care for avocados, planting features, watering, fertilizing, pruning

Avocado is a tropical exotic fruit from the laurel family, which is gaining popularity all over the world every day. It is valued for its taste and numerous beneficial properties.

It was especially liked by adherents of a healthy lifestyle and athletes due to its ability to break down cholesterol in the blood. Let's find out how to care for an avocado and use tips on growing a healthy, fruit-bearing tree.

Content:

1. Avocado – tropical tree and houseplant
2. Sprouting Avocados
3. How to properly grow avocados at home
4. Is pruning necessary?
5. What problems might you encounter?
6. Appearance of fruits
7. What are the benefits of fruits?

Avocado – tropical tree and houseplant

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 avocados have a stimulating effect on humans, i.e. is an aphrodisiac.

The tree itself can reach 15 meters in height, the trunk is straight with many side branches. The leaves are wide and the stems are quite flexible. Therefore, when growing Three plants are often planted in a pot at once, and then they are intertwined in the shape of a braid or formed into various beautiful compositions.

Alligator pear, American Perseus are other names of the plant.

Grow a tree and wait for it to appear fruits - quite a difficult but interesting job for a gardener, because this is a beautiful evergreen plant that is accustomed to completely different climatic conditions. Therefore, before germinating the seed, you need to learn how to care for an avocado at home.

Sprouting Avocados

You must take a very ripe fruit. Determining ripeness is quite easy: press the fruit on both sides with your palms; if it has regained its shape, feel free to take it, it will be ripe. You can take a not fully ripe one and put it in a paper bag with apples, bananas or tomatoes.

Thanks to this trick, the fruit will ripen much faster.

Sprout There are two ways to bone.

Closed

The easiest way to implement it: bury the seed with the wide side down to a shallow depth (about 2-3 cm) and, having provided favorable conditions for germination, wait for the sprout to sprout in a month.

Open

An unusual way for us germinate 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 hydrogel. This is more convenient, because you don’t 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 seeds, loosen the soil well. When planting, we take into account the fact that most of the seed should be above the surface of the soil.

How to properly grow avocados at home

Illumination

Being a light-loving plant, it does not like partial shade, but it also does not tolerate direct rays of the sun. The western side of an apartment or house is an excellent place to grow a fruit tree. As you care for your avocado in a pot, the tree will bear fruit.

Warm

It is necessary to maintain the same warm, comfortable temperature at all times. In case of any draft or sudden temperature change, the plant will shed its leaves and enter a state of “hibernation.” 16-20 degrees is the optimal temperature.

Moisture

Loves moisture and humid climates. With central heating and especially in winter, the problem of a dry room can be dealt with by constant spraying, but not 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 the dried top layer sit for a couple of days. The plant does not like abundant watering, and there is more stagnant water.

Top dressing

During the period from early autumn to spring, the plant does not require any additional fertilizers or feeding. And in other months, it is possible to add fertilizers for citrus fruits every 1-2 months.

Transfer

The plant stretches and grows very quickly, and therefore requires frequent transplants, at least once a year. Starting from 15 cm in height, the plant is transplanted into a larger pot. Avocado loves loose, light soil with a neutral ph. The method of transplantation is transshipment, that is, the tree is transferred to a new container without disturbing the integrity of the earth ball at the roots.

You can buy soil for replanting in specialized stores, or you can make it yourself: mix coarse sand, humus and garden soil in equal proportions.Don’t forget to put drainage at the bottom: pebbles, expanded clay or simple foam. In the summer, the tree can even be planted in the garden; some experts claim that this way fruiting will occur much earlier.

Is pruning necessary?

Since the tree quickly grows in height, it needs to be periodically pinch, starting from the moment when the tree has at least 8 leaves. Initially, we do this only at the top of the head, so that side branches appear for a lush, uniform crown, and then, as the branches grow, these too.

Thin, weak stems and branches are a sign of insufficient pinching, but the plant will not like too much pinching; the tree may simply stop or slow down its growth. We prune the plant in early spring to achieve rapid and uniform growth.

What problems might you encounter?

Flower growers often encounter diseases and pests, growing avocados. Powdery mildew is one of the most dangerous diseases.

You can get rid of fungal disease by following these steps:

• Replace the top layer of soil in the pot;
• Placed in a more illuminated place;
• Water less often;
• Remove affected leaves;
• Carry out therapeutic spraying with special preparations.

Dangerous pests: scale insects and spider mite. They get rid of them using numerous folk methods and preparations from flower shops.

The most common growing problems

Leaves are drying

This can be corrected by increasing the humidity in the room and proper regular watering.

Leaf fall

Occurs due to drafts and temperature changes. Establishing an optimal constant temperature will correct this problem.

The cause of pale leaves is lack of light.We are looking for a brighter place for the plant and adding lighting.

Appearance of fruits

After about 3 years, green-yellow flowers appear on the tree, and the first fruits should wait about 3-4 years for them to appear, many experts advise vaccinate plant in early spring, or plant several trees at once close to each other for cross pollination.

Avocado fruits do not ripen to full ripeness, so they need to be removed and placed in paper bags.

When growing avocados at home, you must remember that the leaves and seeds of this tree contain the rather dangerous fungicidal toxin “Persin”. It is quite dangerous for humans. May cause digestive tract disorders or allergic reactions.

Handle the plant strictly with gloves and carefully supervise children and pets. Now you know how to care for an avocado when growing it at home. Why is this tropical fruit so beneficial?

What are the benefits of avocado fruits?

Once you've done a lot of work and harvested the fruit from your home tropical tree, you can enjoy these miracle fruits and their many beneficial properties:

• Although avocado is the most high-calorie fruit in the world, it does not contain harmful fats and sugar, therefore it is allowed even for diabetics;
• Cleanses the blood of excess cholesterol and prevents the formation of new cholesterol plaques in the vessels;
• A large number of vitamin A E copes with the invasion of various viruses, which is especially true in the autumn and winter;
• Reduces blood pressure, and with regular use completely normalizes it;
• Restores heart function - a large amount of potassium will help you become stress-resistant;
• Normalizes hematopoiesis and blood circulation;
• Improves memory;
• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases;
• Increases performance;
• Boosts immunity thanks to a large amount vitamin A WITH;
• Excellent source of protein;
• Works as a good aphrodisiac, especially for men;
• Helps restore strength after heavy physical activity.

In addition to a huge number of beneficial properties, avocado also has a pleasant oily taste and soft plastic texture. They are used to prepare the famous guacamole sauce, added to salads and simply spread on bread or 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 tried to provide you with information on how to do this correctly, quickly and without common mistakes.

We hope that our useful tips on how to care for avocados at home will help you cope with the task and prevent problems that may arise during the process of growing the plant.

In conclusion, we invite you to watch a video about avocados: