Avocado tree: propagation, overwintering & avocado benefits
Avocado fruits are famous for their great flavour and now avocado trees are becoming increasingly popular as houseplants. Find out how to grow and propagate your own avocado tree and discover all the benefits this fruit has to offer.
Not only are avocados healthy, but avocado leaves are dark green and beautifully glossy, making these plants a great addition to your houseplant collection. Learn all about the avocado’s benefits, its origin, avocado types and how to grow, propagate and overwinter your own avocado plant.
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Avocado tree: origin and characteristics
The avocado (Persea americana) is native to southern Mexico, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Over time, it spread throughout Central America and has been used by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. With the conquest of America, the avocado was introduced to other South American countries such as Chile and Peru, mainly by the Spanish. Later, the avocado plant was brought to other tropical and subtropical regions of the world where it still grows today.
Fun fact: According to its botanical definition, the avocado is actually a berry.
The avocado is a member of the laurel family known as Lauraceae and is cultivated in southern Spain to this day, especially in the region around Malaga. However, the main producers of these healthy fruits are Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Indonesia and Colombia. This goes to show that avocado trees thrive and best produce fruit in warm, humid climates.
Avocado plants have large elliptical, dark green leaves and small green-yellow flowers which turn into the popular avocado fruit after pollination. Avocado trees are fast-growing and can reach a height of up to 20 metres in nature. Fully grown avocado trees have a fruit yield of 100 kg per year. However, avocados grown as indoor plants remain much smaller as they have less root space and sunlight.
Avocado trees as indoor plants
Although it is unlikely you will ever harvest fruit from a home-grown avocado plant, the large, slightly leathery, glossy leaves make quite an impression. It is also exciting to watch the germination process – going from just the avocado seed to the first leaves and finally arriving at a beautiful houseplant.
When are avocados in season?
Looking at the supply at the local supermarket, you might get the impression that avocados are in season all year round. This is because they ripen at different times in the various countries and climate zones they are imported from. While avocados grown in Mexico are in season in autumn in the UK, avocados from Spain are harvested from November onwards. Avocados grown in Africa are available here from March and throughout the summer.
Regardless of origin and season, it is important to store avocados properly so that they stay fresh for a long time. To stay on track of what fruit and veg is in season when, it is useful to have a seasonal calendar.
Which types of avocado are there?
There are over 400 avocado varieties which differ mainly in terms of fruit, meaning they may be different in shape, colour or fat content. The varieties were created by crossing three avocado types from Mexico, the West Indies and Guatemala. Here are some well-known types of avocado:
- ‘Hass’: Most popular type; the ‘Hass’ avocado has black, rough skin
- ‘Fuerte’: Also often available at the supermarket; has green, smooth skin
- ‘Avocadito’: Also known as cocktail avocado; has no stone and is only about the size and thickness of a finger
- ‘Nabal’: Green and round
- ‘Edranol’: The shape of a pear, small stone and smooth, green skin
Avocado trees in winter
Avocado plants are not hardy and do not like frost. This means they need to be overwintered indoors. A cool temperature between 7 °C and 15 °C and a bright location by the window are ideal. The lowest temperature an avocado plant can handle is 3 °C, as long as it does not stay that cold for too long. Avocado plants do not need much care over the winter, so you can cut down on watering and stop fertilising altogether. Find our best tips on avocado plant care in this article.
Avocado propagation
There are various ways to propagate an avocado tree. Apart from the simplest and most promising method of propagation by seed, you can also propagate avocado plants by cuttings or grafting. However, these methods are best kept to more experienced gardeners and, unfortunately, they are not always successful.
Read our guide to find out how to plant an avocado seed and turn it into a houseplant.
Avocado cuttings
The best way to propagate an avocado is by cuttings, for instance when you are cutting back the plant in spring. To do this, cut off shoots that are about 10 cm long and have three to five leaves. Remove any other leaves and cut large leaves in half as the cutting will not be able to supply them with enough water before it has had time to grow roots. Place the cuttings in a moist growing medium with the cut side down and the leaves sticking out. Our Plantura Organic Herb & Seedling Compost is a great choice as it has a loose structure and is entirely peat-free. It also has a low nutrient content which helps to stimulate root formation.
- Perfect for herbs as well as sowing, propagating & transplanting
- For aromatic herbs & healthy seedlings with strong roots
- Peat-free & organic soil: CO2-saving composition
Place a plastic bag over the container to increase the humidity and move it to a warm, moderately bright location, ideally at an east or west-facing window. After about eight weeks or after new leaves have grown, it is time to check whether the cutting has taken root. Once it has, repot the avocado cuttings into a nutrient-rich soil. As avocado plants do not tolerate waterlogging, it is a good idea to create a drainage layer at the bottom of the pot.
Grafting
If you already have some experience with fruit trees, you may want to give grafting an avocado tree a try. The best time for grafting is in early spring. Your avocado tree ought to be about one metre tall. Techniques include saddle grafting, bark grafting and grafting with goutweed. Grafting can significantly reduce the time it takes for an avocado plant to produce its first flowers. It can otherwise take around 10 years for avocado trees to flower because, despite being hermaphroditic, avocados require cross-pollination. The plant then requires the right conditions to produce fruit, and these conditions are best achieved in a heated conservatory or a greenhouse. As the UK is generally not overly bright and sunny, it is very unlikely you will yield fruit from an avocado plant here. Still, it is great fun to propagate avocados and watch them germinate.
Avocado benefits
There are several common questions revolving around the avocado’s properties and benefits. Are avocados healthy? And if so, how many should I eat in a day? The answer is simple – yes, avocados are healthy. Although they are among the fruits with the highest caloric density (220 kcal per 100 g), their high fat content is nothing to worry about. Avocados contain mainly unsaturated fatty acids, which our bodies require but cannot produce themselves, making avocados great additions to your diet. They are also rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium and vitamins A and C – so, keep enjoying your avocado toast and guacamole! Just keep in mind that it is important to have a balanced diet consisting of a variety of fruit and veg – so your ‘5 a day’ should consist of more than just avocados.
Due to their high unsaturated fat-content, avocados are also good for the skin. Avocado oil is becoming increasingly popular in the cosmetics industry thanks to its great properties. Still, it is important to bear in mind that avocados are not the most environmentally-friendly fruits, as they have to be imported from other parts of the world so have a higher carbon footprint than local produce.
Are avocados poisonous to cats or dogs?
Avocados can be dangerous for animals as all parts of an avocado plant contain the poisonous substance persin. If eaten in large amounts, this can cause damage to the heart muscle of cats and dogs. The persin concentration is particularly high in the skin and the leaves. Therefore, avocados are poisonous to animals and should not be fed to them. For us humans, avocados are healthy as long as you only eat the avocado flesh.
