Recently, avocados have become all the rage. From avocado toast to avocado smoothies and more, they’re finally being recognized for their buttery taste and wonderful health benefits.
While you can probably guess that process of planting and growing an avocado tree is longer and harder than your average plant, it’s not impossible. All you need is dedication, time, and patience, and soon enough you’ll be picking your own avocado fruit!
Keep reading my guides to discover all the ins and outs of avocado trees: from planting to caring to harvesting, and beyond.
Planting Avocado Trees
Does planting an avocado tree seem a little daunting? That’s what these guides are for! You have a couple of different options, so take your time in picking the one that works best for you.
This guide will walk you through the important steps of planting an avocado tree, starting with one very important question: pit or plant?
How to Grow an Avocado Tree From Seed
If you’ve decided that you’re in it for the long haul, and want to oversee every growth stage of your avocado tree, then you’ll want to start from seed. This method takes a long time, but is probably the most rewarding.
Whether you’re growing from seed or not, it’s important to know how to transplant an avocado tree. That’s because you’ll be transplanting in both scenarios! Take a look at my guide for the best way to do so.
Growing Avocado Trees
Now that you’ve planted or transplanted your avocado, it’s time to learn how to grow it into a thriving tree!
How to Grow an Avocado Tree
This guide does so much more than just answer how to grow an avocado tree? It reviews how to plant an avocado tree, and then takes a deep dive into all the things you should consider as you grow your tree.
How to Grow an Indoor Avocado Tree
I bet you didn’t even know this was possible! And yet, it is. While the maintenance is a little bit more complicated, it still makes for a great house plant!
How Long Does it Take to Grow an Avocado Tree?
I keep saying how much of a commitment growing an avocado tree is, but what are the actual numbers? Learn all about the avocado tree timeline in this guide.
How Big Does an Avocado Tree Get?
If you’re wondering what you can expect from a fully matured avocado tree, start reading!
One of the best things you can do for your avocado tree is to give it nutrient-filled soil. Your tree will thank you! If you don’t have time to read my entire guide, I’ve highlighted my top three for you:
By grafting the avocado tree, you are skipping the planting part altogether, and heading straight for the growing! Learn all about this magical process in my comprehensive guide.
Caring for Avocado Trees
An essential part of growing an avocado tree is learning how to care for it in the correct way. Only then will it thrive and produce your much sought-after harvest!
This post will walk you through the important elements in avocado tree care: watering, feeding, pruning, and harvesting are just some of the things you’ll learn.
Like all beings in nature, avocado trees are susceptible to pests and diseases of varying seriousness. Learn about the most common ones: how to spot, diagnose, and treat them before they create too many problems.
Why Are My Avocado Tree Leaves Turning Brown?
This post will help you brainstorm various causes for why your avocado tree leaves are turning brown. It’s not always catastrophic, and can usually be resolved!
Whether you’re growing an indoor or outdoor avocado tree, pruning is an essential step in its health and well-being. Learn all about how to prune your avocado tree in the right way!
Avocados in the Kitchen
Now, for my favorite part! Eating and storing avocados.
First things first! If you’ve never harvested avocados before, you might not know where to start.
Haven’t jumped on the avocado toast bandwagon yet? Why don’t you try it our in your own kitchen first, before ordering off an overpriced menu? Use this recipe!
Here you’ll find good tips that are helpful both for homegrown and store-bought avocados. Avocados that aren’t ripe enough are simply too hard and tasteless!
In case your avocado consumption couldn’t keep up with your avocado tree’s production, learn how to store them. That way you’ll have access to delicious avocados whenever you want!
Already know you want to freeze them? Then go ahead and dive into our guide.
Health Benefits of Avocados
What’s better than learning that your favorite food is also super healthy?
Let’s take a look at exactly what’s going on under that tough avocado skin.
Health Benefits Of Avocados
This guide will help you understand what the nutrients listed in the previous post mean for your body. How, exactly, are avocados healthy for you? Find out!
Avocado Tree Varieties
Just like other fruits, there are a myriad of avocado varieties out there. Take a peek at 11 types of avocados or take a deeper dive into a specific type from the list below:
Great Wurtz Avocado Tree
Hass Avocado
Reed Avocado
Zutano Avocado
Avocado FAQs
Can my pets eat avocados?
The short answer is that, for both cats and dogs, it depends. Small quantities are fine, but the consumption of either the skin or the pit should be avoided. For a more in-depth explanation, take a look at our posts:
Do I have to live somewhere warm to grow avocados?
This is a common question among avocado enthusiasts, and thankfully you don’t have to live in a climate that’s warm all year round to grow avocados in your own garden!
While it’s true that some varieties do better in warmer locations like Southern California, where a lot of avocados are exported from, this isn’t always the case. Certain varieties such as Pinkerton and Bacon are extremely cold hardy, meaning you can grow them just about anywhere.
There are also some avocado trees that do fine indoors, so even if you live in a restrictive gardening environment, you can still enjoy homegrown avocados. Learn how to grow indoor avocados with our guide!
Are all avocados basically the same?
Yes and no! Overall, avocados are well known for their creamy flesh and a flavor profile that’s on the milder side and can be described as somewhat nutty.
However, there are hundreds of avocado varieties out there, and you’ll find that many have a variance in flavor from supremely nutty to almost citrusy. Some are sweeter, while some almost have no flavor at all.
Avocados also vary in color, texture, and endurance to the elements. So while you might be able to use most avocados for your typical recipes, be aware that the variety you use might affect the flavor and texture of your dish!
What can I use avocados for if I don’t like Mexican dishes or salads?
Avocados are a great source of healthy fats and are good for both your brain and body, so more and more people are wanting to eat them these days! But you may not be a fan of the dishes they’re usually served with.
While avocados are known for typically being paired with such foods as tacos, enchiladas, tamales, “Tex-Mex” fair at popular restaurants, or else chopped up on a salad, this versatile fruit is becoming widely known for some unconventional uses, too!
Nowadays, you can find recipes for using avocados in desserts such as mousses, blended into smoothies for a nutritional kick, or cut up and served alongside grilled chicken or steak, omelets, and so much more.
Avocados are really applicable in so many dishes. You don’t have to be a fan of their more traditional uses to find a way to consume and enjoy them!
My avocados aren’t turning black while they ripen…is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily! While many of the avocados you see in the store turn from green to black while they ripen, this isn’t the case for all varieties out there! Quite a few types of avocados actually retain a bright, iridescent green skin throughout their ripening life, including the Zutano, Holiday, and Fuerte.
The surest way to tell if an avocado is ripe, regardless of its coloration, is to give it a gentle squeeze. Ripe avocados have some give to them.
Is growing avocados difficult?
It depends on the variety! Some are certainly easier to home grow and can even be grown indoors! Others are considered more commercial varieties and are not an easy or proper fit for a home garden.
You can check out our growing avocado guide for more information.
Grow Your Own Avocado Tree!
If you enjoyed the content here, bookmark this page and check back often throughout your avocado tree-growing adventure.
In the meantime, learn about some other great fruit trees to add to your garden!
