Does a home-grown avocado bear fruit or not?
Avocado is a high-maintenance tropical plant. Its seeds germinate easily, quickly take root and begin to grow, but with improper care and in unsuitable conditions they die within 1-2 years. Caring gardeners manage to grow large avocados that will delight you for many years.
The main question for lovers of indoor plants: will an avocado grown from a seed at home bear fruit? It is difficult to achieve this from a crop, but some agricultural techniques will help.
Will avocados bear fruit at home?
Avocado grown in nature (in the garden under suitable conditions) produces up to 200 kg of fruit per year. At the same time, about 2,000,000 flowers are formed on the plant per season, but only from every 5,000 a fruit is set. The remaining inflorescences fall off.
Avocados have a complex pollination mechanism.. Each of its flowers opens twice. On the first day they function as female, and on the second - as male. If under natural conditions such a mechanism does not interfere with pollination, then in a pot it is very difficult to achieve fruiting.
Reference. Avocado is also called alligator pear, American Perseus, and agacat.
It is possible to get fruits only after the plant blooms. In order for flowers to form on an exotic tree, it is important to grow it correctly and follow the basic rules of care:
- Watering. The plant is watered as the soil dries.In the warm season, on average, the soil is moistened once every 10 days, in winter - once every 2-3 weeks.
- Maintaining a humid climate. The pot of avocado is placed on a tray with wet sand. In the warm season, the plant is sprayed annually. During the heating season, an air humidifier is installed in the room.
- Suitable temperature conditions. In summer, comfortable temperatures range from +16...+30°C, and in winter - +10...+12°C. In the cold season, the plant goes into a dormant state, begins to turn yellow, dry out and shed its leaves.
- Formation. When growing, the avocado crown is formed. Pinch its top when the tree reaches its optimal height, and remove excess shoots if necessary.
- Transfer. Every year the tree is transplanted into a new, larger pot. In a cramped container, the plant will not bloom or bear fruit. Transplantation is carried out using the transshipment method.
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When does an avocado grown from the seed begin to bear fruit?
At what age does an avocado begin to bear fruit? The tree is ready for this phase 3–6 years after planting.
It is impossible to say more precisely what year avocados bear fruit. This depends on the conditions in which the plant is located, proper care for it, and the use of additional means to accelerate fruiting.
How to make an avocado in a pot bear fruit
Even with proper care, it is rare to achieve fruiting. Most indoor plant lovers believe that this is simply impossible. In fact, there are several techniques that will help you get the desired result.
Stimulation of fruiting
In order for an exotic tree to bear fruit, it is important to stimulate its flowering.
For this use a few simple techniques:
- Topping. This procedure stimulates the growth of side shoots on which fruits are formed. To do this, pinch off the top in the spring. The remaining part should reach a height of at least 15 cm; 4 buds or shoots are left on it.
- Feeding. Regular application of fertilizers allows the plant to receive enough nutrients and strength to bloom. They use complex products for exotic crops. The composition should contain phosphorus and potassium.
- Artificial pollination. When flowering, large light green corollas appear on the plant. To cross-pollinate plants, mature pollen is transferred between inflorescences, picking it up with a soft brush. They do this for 3 days in a row, pollinating each new flower. If possible, pollen is spread between several trees. Another way is to label the flowers. The first time they are revealed as female, they are marked with a green marker. The next day they are already men's. Pollen is transferred between male and female flowers.
- Planting several trees. The chances of fruiting increase when growing several avocados. They are planted in pots standing next to each other, or in one container, intertwining the trunks.
When an avocado bears fruit, it requires regular watering and good lighting.. To prevent the plant from shedding its ovaries during the first fruiting, some of them are removed, leaving 1-2.
Avocado grafting
The most effective way to stimulate fruiting is grafting. It is important to graft a bud from an already fruit-bearing tree.
The procedure is also carried out in clefts. Experienced gardeners say that in this case the scion takes root better.
Vaccination instructions:
- The top of an avocado grown from the seed is cut off at a right angle.
- A cutting is taken from a fruiting plant, on which at least 3-4 buds should remain. The leaves are cut along with the cuttings.
- The lower part of the scion is sharpened with a flat double-sided wedge.
- A split is made in the rootstock, the depth of which is equal to or slightly greater than the length of the scion wedge. If the diameter of the scion is larger, the split is made not in the center, but so that the cambial layers of the parts coincide on at least one side.
- The rootstock wedge is inserted into the scion split. The cambial layers must completely coincide.
- The junction is wrapped with garden tape or electrical tape with the sticky layer facing out. The winding is made airtight so that no air gets into the sections. Some gardeners use film and continue wrapping along the entire length of the scion, leaving only the buds exposed.
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Conclusion
It is difficult to achieve fruiting of avocados grown from seed at home. In nature, a cultivated plant begins to bear fruit already 2–4 years after planting, but a generatively propagated wild plant may never produce a harvest.
To increase the chances of fruiting, they use different techniques and ensure proper care. However, even when born, the fetuses are unlikely to inherit maternal characteristics. To get a tasty and large avocado at home, the tree is grafted by taking a scion from an exotic plant that has already produced a harvest.
All that remains is to find an avocado that bears fruit.
Mexico is full of them...😊