Third Avocado Seedling planted

The leaves were greenish brown and relatively small. The roots were quite developed and the stem was  at least 10 inches tall. I realized that it was time to plant this seedling. I planted this third seedling and the second seedling on 1 January 2015. The leaves curled a little bit after I placed the third seedling under direct sunlight for less than an hour. I think that the seedling is not strong enough to place under direct sunlight. It has to be under some shades or indirect sunlight. The second seedling is placed beside the window and it was doing fine. I put the third seedling beside the window and the leaves started to become flat and turn towards green colour. I watered the seedlings every weekend to prevent the roots from rotting.

Third avocado seedling

The stem is a bit crooked and I will probably need to rotate the pot to let the stem straighten up. I will let the seedlings set in their new environment before I prune them. It is crucial to know when you want to transfer them to pots because the first seedling had missed the time and currently it is not doing well. I will do an update on the first seedling soon. Stay tuned!

The three seedlings have different colours to the pits. The first seedling has green pit now, the second seedling has brown pit and the third seedling has beige pit.

Green pit - First seedling

Brown pit - Second seedling

Beige pit - Third seedling

I wonder whether they are from different species or the pit's colour changed over time. Maybe it will be interesting to take note of the colour of the pit a month later to see whether there is any change. The first seedling is a bit malnutrition and probably I have left it out on the balcony and the chilly winds in the night had injured the seedling. I have moved it indoors and will monitor its progress.

Second avocado seedling planted

Finally, I planted the second avocado seedling. It was planted on 01 January 2015. I had planted a third avocado seedling on the same day. I used potting mix bought from the local supermarket store and a 2kg pack can plant two seedlings.

Potting mix that I used

The second avocado seedling has few but big leaves whereas the third avocado seedling has many small leaves. The colour of the leaves for both plants are different too. The second seedling has green leaves whereas the third seedling has greenish-brown leaves. I will post the photos of the third seedling over the weekend.

Second avocado seedling

The second seedling is doing well and the leaves have not changed colour. This is a good thing I hope and I have not watered it since 1 Jan. I intend to water it once weekly and monitor its progress.

Roots of seedling

Roots of seedling

Crown above the soil

Planted in pot - need to remove the toothpicks

After planting into the pot, you need to remove the toothpicks carefully. I rotated the toothpick a bit to turn it and then pulled it out gently. At this stage, you try not to be overwhelmed and excited because you might damage the plant. I watered the soil thoroughly until I could see water coming out from the base. I will leave the plants indoors and see their progress.

How to propagate Portulaca Grandiflora by stem cutting

How to propagate Portulaca Grandiflora by stem cutting? Please refer to my earlier blog.

Today is the seventh day since the cutting was done. The stem is doing well in the water and tiny roots have formed. Yesterday, I did not see the roots. Today, the roots are visible now and I can take macro photo of the roots.

Stem cutting as at 21 Dec 2014

Zoom in of the roots at the cut area

So, after you have taken the stem cutting and placed it into a container with water, it will take at least 7 days before you can see the roots. You have to be patient and wait for the roots to develop. I will wait for another week to see the roots' development. When the roots have matured, I will transplant it to a pot.

How to grow avocado from seed

I started to grow avocado from seed 3 months back. I saw someone tried to grow avocado from seed on YouTube and wanted to try it myself. Some blogs said that it will not bear fruits if you grow it from seed. Some said that it can only bear fruits after 5 years or 7 years. I wanted to try growing it from seed. I went to the supermarket and bought 3 avocados for $3.45. They were from New Zealand, Avanza brand. I removed the skin on the seed and put 3 toothpicks around the seed. It is better to remove the seed because I had tried not to remove the skin and the seed did not grow well. The skin will cause the water to change colour and turn mouldy. But you need to be careful and gentle when removing the skin because the seed will have damages if you are not careful.

Growing avocado from seed

I put the avocado on a recycled bottle and poured in some water just to cover the bottom half of the see. It is better to leave this container in a well lit area. After a few weeks, you will notice that the seed will split open and a root will emerge from the split area in the bottom. You can change water after a few days. The root will continue to develop and you can see tiny little "crystal" or nodes on the root. 

Roots developed

Let the roots develop for a few weeks and then a new shoot will emerge from the top and leaves will turn to develop. The new shoot will turn towards the direction of the sunlight. You will see that the shoot/stem will bend towards the sunlight. I will always need to rotate the container so that the shoot/stem will bend and become straight again. I want to make sure the the stem grows in a straight upwards direction. 

New shoot will emerge.

After a couple of weeks, the shoot will develop into a tall stem with many leaves. At this time, I will transfer the seedling into a pot with potting soil. I will update the status again. Bookmark my blog.