How to Grow Avocado
Avocado At a Glance
Difficulty
Moderate
Category
Tropical Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -2°C
Plant Family
Lauraceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
Buy a young grafted tree from a nursery or online plant shop, ideally a small, compact variety. A grafted tree grows from a branch of a tree that already fruits, so it can fruit in about 3 years and stays smaller than a tree from a pit. Pot it up about 2 weeks after your last frost, in a pot with plenty of drainage holes and a fast-draining mix.
Avocado cannot take frost, so in Canada it lives in a pot that goes outside for summer and comes back inside before the first fall frost. A single tree can fruit on its own, but in a pot it often fruits lightly or not at all, so think of it as a beautiful plant first and fruit as a bonus.
When To Start
Avocado needs warmth. Wait until your last frost has passed and the soil has warmed before sowing.
We do not have exact sowing dates for this one yet.
When should you plant Avocado?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Avocado Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
Your Avocado Calendar
Set your location to turn these into exact dates and reminders.
Pot up your avocado and set it outside in a sunny spot
2 weeks after your last frost
Bring your avocado indoors to a bright window before frost
3 weeks before your first frost· every year
See if your avocados are full size and ready to pick
330 days after your last frost· every year
Water your new avocado plants well while they settle in. Deep and slow is best.
About 1 days after you plant it
Hi! Your avocado tree likes deep watering and soil that drains well, so let the top few cm dry between drinks.
About 30 days after you plant it
Your avocado tree is settling in. Plan its winter spot now: a bright indoor window, before the first frost.
About 90 days after you plant it
The Journey Ahead
Avocado's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
200 cm
Plant Spacing
300 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Give it as much sun as you can: full sun outdoors in summer and your brightest window indoors in winter.
- 2Use a fast-draining potting mix with some compost, in a pot with plenty of drainage holes, since avocado roots rot in soggy soil.
- 3Water deeply when the top 3 to 5 cm of mix is dry, and let the extra water drain away.
- 4Feed with compost tea or a little worm castings every 3 to 4 weeks in spring and summer, and not in winter.
- 5Indoors, rinse the leaves with a gentle spray of water now and then to keep spider mites away.
- 6Avocado leaves, bark and pits are toxic to pets and birds, so keep them out of reach.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
300 cm
Mature Height
250 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
Pick mature fruit hard and ripen indoors: avocados never soften on the tree
How to Harvest
- 1Avocados do not soften on the tree, so go by size: the fruit is ready when it reaches full size for its variety and the skin loses some of its shine.
- 2Cut the fruit off with a short piece of stem, using clean pruners.
- 3Pick one first and leave it on the counter for 4 to 10 days to see if it softens nicely.
- 4If it softens and tastes rich, the rest are ready, and they keep well on the tree for a few weeks, so pick them as you need them.
- 5Keep ripe avocados in the fridge for 2 to 3 more days.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
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