Does anyone know....

[eileen]

....the best way to grow avacado seeds? I have two which I would like to have a go with. Any advice will be most welcome.  :)

[eileen]

[Marianne]

I think I read somewhere that you have to balance the seed (large stone) over a receptacle full of water and let only the bottom part in the water.  Soon some roots would form  ??? and when this has finished, you could plant them into compost  ??? ???

I will do a google and hope to find out more for you.  ;D

[eileen]

Thanks Marianne. That's what I've done before but without much success. I was just wondering if there was a better way of doing it. Maybe I was just unlucky before.  :-\

[legless]

i just bunged one in a pot of compost once and it grew, got to about 18" before my parents killed it  ::)

[Marianne]

Hi

Found the following on HOW TO GROW AN AVOCADO from Google.  Good luck Eileen!! ;D

To get the seed sprouting quickly, it needs immediate planting. Indoor gardeners have developed their own "traditional" planting method. This is done by poking three toothpicks into the side of the seed so that it can perch, halfway immersed in water, on the rim of a drinking glass. The seed could also be planted in potting soil, but this misses some of the fun of watching the roots and the shoots grow.
Avocado roots, like those of most other plants, need oxygen, so the seedlings would actually grow better in soil than in water. When growing a seedling in water, the water should be changed at least every couple of weeks, before it gets dirty and depleted of oxygen. One way to speed germination in soil is to remove the parchment like seed coat and slice a thin layer from both the top and the bottom of the seed before planting. In water or in soil, set the seed with its base (the wider portion) down.

Indoors, avocado plants are often gangly and sparse with leaves. One reason for the plant's gawky appearance indoors is light. Lack of sufficient light causes stems to stretch for it. Another reason is that avocados shed many buds along their stems, buds that might have grown into side branches. The result is a plant stretching out for light, sending out new growth mostly from the tips of the branches and shedding old leaves.