Remember in college, you’d put three toothpicks into an avocado seed, put it in a cup of water… and wait. Sometimes it grew, and often it did not.
In recent months, my daughter Katy and I have gotten into this in a big way:
Stage One: Toothpicks. Four weeks.
Stage Two: Three-inch sprout. Four months.
I am going to snip this one off at the top and turn it into an avocado bonsai tree.
Apparently there are people who do this. Who knew?
Stage Three: Eight months.
Stage Four: Three years.
As soon as it moves outside, freezing temperatures, and pests like white flies are dangers. After a terrible bug infestation, I dosed it with Malathion. Killed half the leaves overnight. Ant poison works well for various bug infestations.
Stage Five: 25 years. Our neighbor grew this from a seed.
How to get these tress to grow fruit is a whole different challenge. For now, Katy and I will be buying avocados from Whole Foods for our guacamole.