Have you ever tried to grow your own avocado tree?
There is an excellent description of how to do it here.
My wife decided to try growing one a month or so ago and today we have 6 leaves on our ‘Tree’ and it seems to be growing well but it is still in water. Today we will be transplanting it in soil hoping all the while that it will take well to the new conditions.
The whole thing reminds me of orange and lemon trees that we grew when our children were small. When the flowers would open, the kids would rush to get the cotton swabs so that they could make like bees and pollinate the flowers to make oranges and limes. It was always a surprise that we didn’t get loranges or orimes as they seldom took care not to cross pollinate the plants. They would usually do both plants at the same time with little regard to changing qtips – but then again I guess that’s what bees do with little consequence.
Anyway, try the experiment with your kids. It is always an interesting thing to do to get them interested in gardening and horticulture.
By Bruce MacNeil, gardenKitchener Board Member
Originally published February 14, 2010