| I have rooted an avocado pit. I now have 2 stems that are 20 inches tall. One stem has 3 leaves at the top, the other stem has 4 leaves. I just put it in a 6 inch pot with potting soil. Should I pinch off the tops? Should I keep both stems? What's the next step? Do I need to give it plant food or just water? How big will it get? Will it ever bear fruit? When should I repot? |
| It's unusual to get two stems from a single avocado pit so you must really have a green thumb! Since you plan on keeping your avocado tree indoors, I'd leave both stems. This will give you a fuller, bushier plant. Pinch out the tops of both stems to encourage branching and additional foliage. If you don't pinch the tops out the stems will just keep growing taller and taller and you'll only have a few leaves on the very tops of the stems. You can feed your avocado plant with a half-strength dilution of liquid ferilizer every 2-3 weeks (Miracle Gro or Peter's or any good housplant fertilizer). You can repot in the spring to a slightly larger pot. Try to find one that is deeper than it is wide. Avocado trees can get 50' high when grown outdoors but you can keep yours much, much lower by pinching out the tops of all the branches periodically. It's not likely to bear fruit while indoors, but you never know. If it is happy, if the environmental conditions are just right, it just may flower for you. Hope so! |
