How to care for an avocado - a plant at home

The avocado berry became famous 5,000 years ago. The ancient Indians from the Aztec tribe called it "forest oil" and was used both for food and for treatment. They also used avocados for cosmetic purposes - the crushed kernels were used as a hair wash.

Avocado: what kind of fruit is it and how is it useful?

The avocado culture belongs to the genus Perseus from the laurel family. The tree has a strong trunk and dark green leaves of regular elongated shape. The plant reaches a height of 20 meters, and the growth rate is high.

The fruits of this tree are oval, elongated, pear-like. It is about 12-15 cm long, usually up to 10 cm wide. They have a dense, dark green skin. It has a highly ribbed surface and contains a toxin that is dangerous to both humans and animals. This poison is also found in the nucleus of the fetus.

Delicate, oily pulp, has a unique taste. It is mainly used for preparing salads, as an addition to fish and seafood. Avocado pulp is used not only for food - creams, masks and other cosmetics are made on its basis.

An unripe fruit is similar to a stone in tactile sensations, it is usually difficult to even cut it. In this case, the peel is dark green, the pulp is light greenish-yellow. When the fruit ripens, and this happens not only on the branches of the tree, but also in the removed form, its peel darkens. Ripe berry is guaranteed to have a black rind.

The avocado plant is able to purify the air of the surrounding nature, so it was often bred at home. As a rule, a tree reaching a height of 3 meters is placed in a bedroom or children's room. Also, this plant is grown at home in order to obtain tasty and healthy fruits.

Important! The size and quality of homemade berries are strikingly different from those grown on sunny plantations. The fruits are smaller and the taste is slightly weaker.

Conditions for growing avocados at home

A tree with oily fruits is quite unpretentious. Of course, in the Russian climate, it is not possible to grow avocados outdoors, but it is quite possible to create conditions at home close to the homeland. How to care for an avocado at home is detailed below.

Lighting

The avocado shrub arrived in Russia from sunny countries, therefore, for successful growth in an apartment or house, the tree needs a sufficient amount of light. The best option would be to place a tree by a west-facing window. So, for most of the day, the avocado will be in a lighted area. If this is not possible, then the tree can be placed on the south side. But in this case, care should be taken that the plant does not get sunburn.

Temperature

The air temperature in the room where the avocado grows should not change dramatically. The optimum is + 25 ° C. If the room gets warmer or, on the contrary, gets colder, then the avocado will immediately react to it. It can throw off the leaf and wither away.

Watering and humidity

Water the avocado regularly, checking the soil for moisture daily. If the topsoil is slightly dry, then watering can be done. The amount of water consumed must be determined individually for each plant.Overfilling or underfilling should not be allowed.

Important! In a pot of avocado, a drainage layer is required: in this case, overflow is excluded, and the roots themselves will absorb the missing moisture.

The humidity of the air that surrounds the plant is also important. If it is sufficient, the appearance of the plant will remain well-groomed and elegant. In no case should you spray foliage. It is necessary to spray moisture from a spray bottle 10 cm from the avocado.

Soil and fertilizers

The soil for the southern fruit plant should be slightly acidic. It is also necessary that the land is fertile and well ventilated. The optimal ratio will be the composition:

• 2 shares of land;
• 1 share of humus;
• 1 share of river sand.

Before mixing the soil and planting the plant, it is necessary to disinfect each component. Heat treatment, freezing or frying, helps to get rid of bacteria and larvae that can harm any plant.

It is necessary to fertilize and feed the avocado every 10 days for six months. For this, the summer and spring months are used. Mineral, organic, and also special fertilizers combined for home decorative trees can be used as top dressing and fertilization.

Dormant period of avocado

From the beginning of autumn until the end of winter, the plant is dormant. At this time, growth slows down and no buds are formed. Avocado is an evergreen plant, so it does not shed its crown before resting.

Irrigation at this time must be reduced to 1 time in 2-3 days. The room temperature should remain at 18-22 ° C. Just like in summer, the plant needs sunlight, so it is necessary to provide it with free safe access to the sun.

Flowers and fruits of avocado

The home avocado tree blooms with dim small flowers. The first flowers appear 5-6 years after planting. An avocado grown at home is extremely reluctant to bloom. The buds form medium-sized and dim inflorescences of 7-10 flowers. They do not give off scent and look unassuming.

It is even more difficult to achieve fruiting. Self-pollination at home is an extremely difficult procedure. Inflorescences on one flower bloom twice: on the first day - female, on the second - male. In order to properly and productively pollinate avocados, it is necessary on the first day of flowering to select several of the strongest buds and mark them. The next day, even more flowers will open, and it becomes difficult to identify those that opened the day before. That's what a label is for.

Pollen is collected from the marked flower with a brush and transferred to neighboring flowers. On the second day, the number of flowers doubles, and there is no way to visually determine which flower is the first and which is the second. As a result, pollen also gets on male and female flowers in the same way.

Important! Even if male pollen gets on a female flower, there is no absolute guarantee that fruits will appear.

Pruning and pinching avocados

In nature, the tree grows up to 20-25 meters. An indoor tree is always limited to ceilings and walls. In order for it not to interfere and to retain its beautiful, neat shape, the avocado must be cut and the young shoots must be pinched. Pruning is also necessary to remove old, deformed and damaged branches.

It is optimal to start pruning from 4 years after planting. By this time, the tree is already taking its shape, and it becomes necessary to maintain it. Pruning is best done before dormancy. When preparing a plant for wintering, unnecessary branches and shoots are removed. Re-pruning is done in early March. Slices must be made with a sterile instrument, and the damaged areas must be lubricated with special preparations, for example, garden varnish.

Important! In order for the plant to bear fruit, the first 5-7 years you need to pinch the buds that appear, without waiting for them to bloom.

In order for the avocado at home to give more lateral branches, young shoots stretching upwards must be pinched several times. The first pinching should be done when the tree reaches 250 mm in height. The top two pairs of leaves are pruned. After that, pinch when the lateral branches reach 120 mm. There are also 3 and 4 nips.

How to grow an avocado

In order to admire the home tree constantly, it is worth planting the plant with your own hands. His seedling can be purchased at a specialty store. It is also possible, but very difficult and not always successful, to root the cutting. The most common way to grow an avocado is from seed. In this case, the seedlings are able to germinate in 9 out of 10 attempts.

To grow an avocado plant from a seed, you should prepare the necessary soil and capacity. You also need to prepare the seed itself. It is taken from fresh, fully ripe fruit. The bone must be completely cleaned of adhering pulp, and also remove the dark brown film. Then you can cut the core at the junction of the two halves. It is in this place that the sprout and roots will break through.

There are three germination methods:

1. in the ground;
2. in water;
3. in the material.

In the ground

If the seed is supposed to germinate directly in the ground, then you need to place it in the ground with a blunt end by a third and thoroughly moisten the ground. Then you need to arrange an impromptu greenhouse - cover the seed with a plastic bag or glass cap. The plant is then placed in the sun. After 1.5-2 months, the roots appear through the split, then the first shoots.

In water

For germination in water, you need to place the avocado kernel completely in the water. Once a week, you need to change the water to fresh. Germination takes about the same time as in the previous method.

In the material

If the third method is used, then you need to choose a soft material that can absorb moisture well. In this case, the prepared bone is wrapped in cloth and placed on a flat dish. Fresh water must be added every 2-3 days.

Important! Sprouted kernels must be planted in the ground when the roots reach 7-8 cm.

Transfer

Transplanting an avocado plant at home is easy even for a novice gardener. This should be done annually, gradually increasing the size of the pot. It is best to replant the tree after a dormant period.

General pruning and transplanting of the plant is carried out at the same time, in early spring. It is at this time that the avocado will be able to evenly distribute the juices on the roots and on the branches.

Problems

The avocado tree at home is quite sensitive to various fungal or viral diseases. If the conditions of detention are violated, then you can immediately find out about this by the state of the plant. If the leaves dry out and begin to darken for no apparent reason, then the roots of the plant were damaged during the next transplant. Burns may occur if exposed to strong sunlight.

The yellowing of the foliage and the falling off of the lower leaves means that the plant suffers from an excess of moisture. From a lack of watering, the leaves can dry and curl.

Also, plants are sometimes attacked by spider mites, aphids, whiteflies. You can get rid of them with insecticides.

If a decision is made to plant an avocado houseplant, then you need to study this issue in detail. With proper care, the tree will not only delight the eye, but also purify the air. And also sometimes give the family healthy and tasty fruits.

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