Avocado Plants ~ How to Grow an Avocado Tree Indoors or in Your Garden

How to grow an avocado tree

Avocado trees have a long history of cultivation in Central and South America, likely going back as far as 5,000 BC. The avocado is considered one of the healthiest and tastiest fruits on the planet (avocados are actually just a big berry, containing a single large seed). The avocado's rich, creamy inside is filled with nutrition and flavor, and growing your own avocado tree is a fun adventure for any gardener. At Logee's, we currently offer the following two avocado plants for sale that are customer favorites:

1 - Avocado ‘Day’ (Persea americana)

Native to Mexico and Central America, Avocado 'Day' is one of the easiest avocados to fruit in a pot. These avocado trees will fruit at about 3’ tall producing a medium-sized, tapered-neck avocado that is easy to peel, with a delicious, buttery sweet taste:

Avocado ‘Day’ (Persea americana) Avocado Plant

The fruit holds on the plant for six months with ripening occurring from July to September. Each fruit weighs about 1 pound. Another plus for Avocado ‘Day’ is its cold tolerance, being able to handle temperatures down into the mid twenties. We sell grafted plants that will start bearing fruit in 2 to 3 years.
⇨ Learn more about Avocado 'Day'

Avocado ‘Oro Negro’ (Persea americana hybrid) Avocado Plant


2 - Avocado 'Oro Negro'

Also known as ‘Black Gold,' this popular avocado tree is a vigorous grower producing 1 to 2 pound fruit that ripens in the winter.

 

The shiny, black fruit has a rich, creamy flavor and a high healthy oil content. It originated in South Florida as a sport, a plant mutation that’s different from the parent variety, and is now highly sought after for its delicious fruit. We are excited to offer this rare, hard-to-find variety to our customers. Don't hesitate, as supplies of this avocado tree are very limited. This is a grafted tree that blooms and fruits sooner.
Learn more about Avocado 'Oro Negro'

Growing Avocado Plants & Trees

When left on their own, avocados can grow upwards of 20' tall. Judicious pruning can restrict the height significantly and this is often done in commercial plantings for ease of harvest and spraying. As a container plant, the height of the avocado tree is restricted by the size of the container as well as pruning. The cycle of growth begins in winter to early spring with the expanding and opening of flower buds. In northern greenhouses and sunrooms, this starts before the end of December and continues until late winter or early spring depending on the variety.

Flowering Time
Flowering time is related to growing temperatures and day length. Grafted varieties flower quickly, usually the first year. These young plants, however, aren't mature enough for fruit to hold onto the tree so the young fruit will often fall off. This happens until the plant is large enough to bear fruit.

Avocado Plant Flower

 

Fruiting an Avocado
As container plants, trees need to get to 6-8' tall with a trunk caliber of 1.5"- 2" before they will set fruit. This requires a large, 24" pot (15 to 25 gallon). It takes a few years for young grafted plants to reach this size.

Avocado Tree Growth
Once the flowering cycle is finished, plants return to vegetative growth over the spring and summer months. Healthy plants, even in pots, can put on 2' or more on the strong upright branches. During the mid to late summer's growth, the plant will form flower buds, and although they are not visible, they swell as the fall and winter season approaches, and the cycle begins over again.

Pruning an Avocado Plant
Pruning right after the flowering cycle is complete will give the least disruption to the flower bud formation. Generally, plants are pruned back at this time making strategic cuts that lessen the height and width of the tree but trying not to disturb the shorter lateral branches where most of the flowers and the fruit will form.

What type of container is best for an avocado plant?
Terracotta containers are porous and allow the roots to have better aeration. This causes the soil to dry quicker thus reducing potential pathogens. Plastic pots can be used as long as a well drained potting media is used. You can increase soil drainage by adding more perlite or sand to the mix.

 

Fertilizing Your Avocado Plant

Liquid Fertilizer
In containers, avocados are moderate feeders. It is best to use a balanced fertilizer with a slightly elevated middle number (phosphate) like 7-9-5. We recommend Dyna-Gro Grow Plant Food 7-9-5:

Dyna-Gro Grow Plant Food 7-9-5

Feeding can be done through irrigation. When you water, add small amounts of liquid fertilizer once a week or every two weeks during the active growing season. Remember the more often you fertilize container grown avocado plants, you need to reduce the amount of fertilizer that's added to the water. For example, if you fertilize every week, add 1/4 tsp per gallon or if you fertilize every two weeks, add 1/2 tsp per gallon. 

Top Dress Fertilizer
Another option is to use a slow release fertilizer that is sprinkled or top dressed on the surface of the soil. These typically last for 3-6 months and release fertilizer slowly into the pot. Use slow release fertilizer in the spring or early summer so the fertilizer dosage will taper off before the onset of cold weather and the plant will have time to harden off for winter.

Granular Organic Fertilizer
You can also use a granular organic fertilizer which, like the slow release, is sprinkled on the soil surface and allowed to leach into the potting mix. Organic fertilizers generally have a slow release component to them and so only a couple applications are needed per season. We recommend Dr. Earth Organic Citrus, Avocado and Fruit Tree Fertilizer:

Dr. Earth Organic Citrus, Avocado and Fruit Tree Fertilizer

Fertilizer Caution
Like any plant, avocado plants can be over fertilized. This results in excessive lush leaf growth, burned foliage, and reduces fruiting potential, as well as aggravating the root disease issue. If you have used too much fertilizer, it is important to leach the fertilizer out of the soil by watering the plant continuously until you see water flowing out the bottom of the pot. Do this for several minutes.


Caring for Your Avocado Tree

Growing Avocado Plants in a Container
If you live in planting zones 9-10, avocado trees can be planted in your outdoor garden or landscape. For customers in colder zones, we recommend using a large container (15-25 gallon pot) for a mature avocado tree. It’s best to move the plant outside during the warm spring, summer and fall months when temperatures are above 40°F and danger of frost has past. Avocado plants thrive in natural sunlight since it stimulates healthy growth, flowering and fruiting. During cooler months, avocado trees need to be brought inside until warm weather returns. Keep the plant in a sunny, warm location until it can go back outside the following spring.

Sensitive Root System
One of the problems with container grown avocado plants is root rot. As is the case with most root disease, the cold damp conditions of winter often initiate the problem. Be sure to keep the plant's root system warm during cooler temperatures. Once soil disease organisms affect the root system, it is very hard to return the plant to health.

Manage Soil Moisture in Winter
When growing plants that are going to winter over in a northern greenhouse, conservatory or sunroom, where the night temperatures are below 60˙F, it's important to manage the soil moisture accurately. Bring the potting media to almost dryness, and then thoroughly soak the soil. A little wilt is better than constant soil moisture. The organisms that cause the root collapse thrive in damp cool soil and don't proliferate under dry conditions.

Potted Avocado Plant Pests
In northern climate culture, few insects bother the plants with the exception of mealy bugs and they are generally not much of an issue.

Insects to Look for if Avocado Trees are Grown in the Garden
In areas where avocados are grown outside year-round, there are different pests that do affect the plants; some of which are mites, thrip and fungi. If you live in an avocado growing area, it is best to check with your local agricultural extension agent for pest problems and recommended controls in your area.

Growing Avocado Trees - Summary

Avocado trees are both rewarding and challenging to grow as container plants. The more time your plant spends outside in natural sunlight and outdoor conditions, the healthier it will be. (If you have limited light available, you may have better success with some of our popular low-light houseplants.) If grown as a container plant inside during the winter months, maintain warm soil temperatures to prevent root diseases. Attentive plant care will ensure that your avocado tree will start producing fruit within a few years for you to enjoy. You can learn more about our avocado plants, and how to grow avocado trees by exploring the links below:

• Avocado 'Day'

• Avocado 'Oro Negro' 

• Dr. Earth Organic Citrus, Avocado and Fruit Tree Fertilizer 

• Dyna-Gro Grow Plant Food 7-9-5

Download Our Avocado Plant PDF care sheet

Caring for Grafted Plants-Article