In our view, no home is quite complete without a happy, green houseplant in residence. And while fiddle leaf fig trees and birds of paradise have held court as the hot houseplants for the past few years, the latest power player is much less expected—and much less expensive. Get on board with the avocado tree.
Forget Your Pricey Fiddle Leaf—This Year’s Trendiest Houseplant Is Absolutely Free
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Published Feb 12, 2019
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Background, Please
You heard us: Avocado trees—as in the plants that provide your toast shmear—actually make fabulous little houseplants. This delightful new home trend comes to us by way of Pinterest, where it topped the site’s 100 growing search terms for 2019. From our research, the craze appears to have been spurred by a handful of very chic Scandinavian home decor bloggers—who’ve been setting avocado pits on the sunny, curtain free windows to sprout plants.
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How Does One ‘grow’ An Avocado Tree?
Glad you asked! Here’s what you do:
1. Salvage your next avocado pit and clean it off gently.
2. Stick two to three toothpicks into the pit at a slight angle.
3. Place your pit contraption on top of a clear glass, so that the bottom of the pit (distinguishable from the top by its tiny roots) rests below the glass’s lip (see image above).
4. Fill the glass with water, so that half the pit is submerged.
5. Place on a warm, sun-drenched windowsill, refill water when low and wait.
6. After a month or two, expect the pit to crack and a root to form in the water.
7. Once a mini plant with a few leaves has sprouted from the top of the pit, it’s time to pot that baby in soil.
8. Keep your plant well watered, well drained and feed it lots of sunlight and warmth.
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Cool, Cool. But My Thumb Is Black...
Same. We found starter kits to simplify the growing process, and even full-grown trees on Etsy (if you’d like to skip the whole coaxing-pit-to-root step entirely). As for the question we know you’re all wondering—Will I be able to make my own guacamole!?—the answer, sadly, is no. Indoor avocado trees rarely bear fruit, but you will have a chic little houseplant for absolutely free—or, well, the cost of that last avo you bought.
