Germinate Avocado Seed in Water or Soil? (Instructions)

With a little skill and patience, you can easily cultivate a decorative indoor avocado plant from the core of the trendy superfood. In this handy guide, we compare the two most common methods. Here you can find out what it is and how best to proceed.

What is Required for Successful Cultivation of the Avocado Seed?

You need these tools for successful avocado seed cultivation (both methods):

• Avocado seed from a ripe fruit (e.g. Hass variety)
• Sharp knife & tablespoon
• Water glass/cup or plant pot (depending on the method)
• Water or potting soil (depending on the method)
• 3 toothpicks (water bath method)
• A warm and bright location
• Patience

In the following paragraphs, you will learn everything about the optimal preparation of the avocado seed (valid for both methods).

Prepare the Avocado Seed Ideally

First, carefully cut open the ripe avocado with a sharp knife and remove the pit (use a tablespoon if necessary).

Now remove the remaining pulp under running water and loosen the brown skin from the pit. These steps are important to minimize the risk of mold and rot.

In the following, we explain how to proceed with the two best-known cultivation methods (in a water bath or directly in the ground).

Successfully Germinate the Avocado Seed in a Water Bath

Insert three toothpicks approximately equally spaced all around the core. However, be careful not to insert these too deeply into the seed to avoid damaging the embryo inside.

Fill a glass or mug (preferably transparent, so you can see the progress) with water and place the core, flattened side, about halfway in. The toothpicks fix the core on the edge of the glass or mug.

Now place the vessel with the core in a warm and bright location and make sure to change the water every few days and correct the level if necessary. The core should not “hang” in the dry for a long time. After a few weeks, you should be able to see the first results.

As an option to the water bath method just described, there is also the option of placing the avocado seed directly into soil. The next paragraphs will tell you how best to proceed with this method.

Germinate the Avocado Seed in Soil

First fill a small pot with soil (commercially available flower or potting soil) and insert the core with the flat underside about halfway in. Pour the area around the core well and place the vessel in a warm and bright place.

Make sure that the soil remains constantly moist, but not too Waterlogging is coming. After a few weeks, you should be able to see some progress with this method as well.

As already mentioned, there are two well-known ways of growing the avocado seed. Below is an interesting comparison.

Video: Sprouting Avocado in Water & Soil

The YouTube video below shows an interesting comparison of the two avocado sprouting methods.

Finally, you will receive a summary of which avocado germination method works best.

Conclusion: Which Method works Best?

It is not possible to say in general which method is more successful. In our test, the water bath method was a bit ahead.

One of the reasons for this is that you can easily observe the first progress through a glass or transparent vessel and you only have to make sure to change the water or correct the water level occasionally.

With the soil method, watering requires a bit of skill, since there must be neither dryness nor waterlogging.

In our opinion, a small disadvantage is that you cannot observe the underground rooting, as with the water bath method. This means you have to wait until the sprout has fought its way to the surface.

In our opinion, a small disadvantage is that you cannot observe the underground rooting, as with the water bath method. This means you have to wait until the sprout has fought its way to the surface.

A major advantage of the soil method, however, is that you don’t have to repot as soon as possible, since the core can simply remain in the pot after successful germination.

It is also not possible to say in general which method leads to faster germination. In any case, both variants require a little patience.

You are welcome to let us know what your preferred method is and what your experience was in the comments.

We look forward to your feedback and wish you success with breeding!