In this article, I will give you details on how to germinate an avocado seed quickly in a paper towel and then grow the tree without toothpicks. While the process of germinating avocado seeds traditionally takes several weeks, using a paper towel would speed up the germinating process, thus you can grow the avocado seedling sooner.
Steps in Growing of Avocado Seeds with Paper Towel
This method shows avocado seed germination faster in a paper towel with high success rate without using toothpicks, and then grow it in soil. The steps of growing avocado from a seed without toothpicks and using a paper towel are given below (how to germinate seeds in paper towel):
Choose Fresh Seeds
Buy a ripe avocado from grocery store and enjoy this creamy fruit. Take out its seed and clean off any remaining fruit. Start with fresh avocado seeds. The fresher the seed, the higher the chances of successful germination.
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| Avocado Seed |
Avocado seeds have a top (narrow end) and a bottom (broad end). The bottom is the side from which the roots will emerge, and the top is where the stem and leaves will grow.
Prepare the Avocado Seed for Germination
Gently peel away the brown skin from the avocado seed, if you can. This step is optional, it allows water to penetrate the seed more easily, promoting quicker germination. Be cautious not to damage the seed coat.
Soak the avocado seed in water for 24 to 48 hours. This helps to soften the seed coat and help the germination process.
The Germination Method
- Take a kitchen paper towel and wrap the prepared seed in it. Sprinkle water on paper towel to make it moist and enclose it in a plastic container or zip lock bag.
- Place the box or bag containing the wrapped avocado seed in a dark warm place.
- Open the box once a week and change the paper towel, if becomes dark due to mold spray some water.
- After a few weeks, you will notice, the pit starts to crack open. This would be an indication that a root is starting to form.
- Then the avocado seed will germinate soon, and the taproot will emerge.
- If you let the seed continue in the box, root will grow longer and bend.
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| Avocado Seed Sprout in a Paper Towel |
The above picture shows an avocado seed germinated in a paper towel. The seed was kept too long in the paper towel, so the seed has grown a long taproot, and the seedling is about to emerge.
There is another method of sprouting and germinating avocado seeds using a bottle filled with water and toothpicks (how to grow avocado from seed). This method takes longer to germinate.
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| Avocado seed germination in water and toothpicks |
The above picture shows an avocado seed germinated in water on a bottle and using toothpicks. The seed has grown long roots and seedling, so it is ready for planting in soil.
Planting Avocado Seedling
The next step is to plant the germinated seed in free-draining soil.
Take a pot having holes at its bottom and fill it with well-draining potting soil. Avocado seeds thrive in soil that is moist but not waterlogged. Add coarse river sand in the potting soil to make it free-draining.
Plant the germinating seed in the soil at the center of the pot. Insert it about an inch into the soil, leaving the top half exposed.
Avocado seeds prefer warmth and sunlight. Place the pot in a warm, sunny location. Ensure it receives indirect sunlight, as direct sunlight can be too intense and may dry out the soil.
Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.
Time for Avocado Seed to Germinate
The time for avocado seeds to germinate depends on the method used for sprouting the seed. In the paper towel method, the seed is always at high humidity like that in a mini greenhouse, while in the water bottle and toothpicks method, only the bottom of the seed is touching the water, and the entire seed is in air at outside environment. Therefore, the paper towel method is the fastest method for avocado seed germination.
Typically, the seed will sprout in about 4 weeks in the paper towel to germinate, whereas it may take several months in the water-toothpick method.
Once the avocado seed is germinated, the seed grown avocado tree may take from 10 to 15 years to produce fruit, and the fruit quality may be different than the one that was planted. The good thing is that you do not need 2 avocado trees to produce fruit because both the flower sexes are present on the tree simultaneously and self-pollination will occur.
On the other hand, a grafted avocado tree will take up to 5 years to bear fruit.