Now many people are fond of growingexotic plants. Surely, with you it happened that having eaten an exotic fruit or vegetable brought from the store, you want to try to grow it at home. And if you have just thought about it, then many grow on their windowsills mandarins, lemons, oranges, figs and other exotic joys. Avocados - the alligator pear, as the British call it, did not escape this fate. And if you are not afraid of bold experiments, then we will tell you how to grow avocado from a bone. As evidenced by archaeological evidence, the Aztecs grew avocados back in the third millennium BC. Today it is grown in Africa, Brazil, Israel. And if you want to feel like a real planter, grow an avocado at home. In nature, avocados grow in the tropics and subtropics, but you can create such conditions on your windowsill. Avocado is a fast-growing tree, reaching a height of eighteen meters. But do not worry - you will not grow so big.
Cultivating a bone
This plant requires a solar location. The soil must be fertile and well drained. During the fruiting process, the plant requires a lot of moisture. And if you are still interested in how to grow avocados at home, then carefully read on. You can grow an avocado bone in two ways:
- Water
The stone is immersed in water. This requires a small capacity, so that the bone looks out of the water with its sharp part. At the bottom put charcoal, which will serve as a source of trace elements. Within three to six weeks from the stone should appear a sprout.
- Peat
The stone is planted in a special soil, forwhich mix peat with chopped claydite. Plant a stone in the ground with a blunt end, the sharp one must be above the surface of the soil, which should be well moistened. Cover the pot with a glass jar or plastic bag and put it in a lighted warm place. Thus, you create a mini-greenhouse with a greenhouse effect, and your pet will not face any draft. In this case, the germ should be excreted after a month.
Care of the plant
Those who are interested in how to grow avocados frombones at home, immediately happy that it is not so difficult. The only requirement for the process to be successful is to create the necessary conditions for the avocado. First of all, this plant needs heat and high humidity. It is equally important to choose the right soil with good drainage. At the bottom of the flowerpot, in which you are going to grow your exotic tree, put the expanded clay or small pebbles. Watering the plant, make sure that the soil is not too wet - water so that there is no water left in the pot holder. It is even better to water it not very abundantly, but daily spray it. Water for avocado irrigation should be warm. The plant loves light. And you need to place it where there is a lot of light. But Avocado should avoid direct sunlight, from which the leaves can form burns. The temperature in the room where the avocado is located must be at least 16 ° C. For a good development and growth of the plant, you should feed it with mineral fertilizers. In the warm season - in spring and summer - the plant should be fertilized at least twice a month. To the plant does not go to growth, it must be pinch. If in time to pinch the upper shoots of the tree, it will become fluffy and spreading. The avocados are transplanted once a year, and in order to make the plant faster and better to take root in a new pot, it should be done in the spring. Avocados need a rest period. And if your pet starts to dump leaves, do not worry - he just goes into hibernation. Also, it can go to rest if the temperature in the room drops to 12 ° C. In autumn and winter, when in our climatic zone a short light day, the avocado requires additional lighting. This requires a special phyto-lamp. Ordinary fluorescent lamps for these purposes will not work - the plant needs ultraviolet radiation. If the avocado dries up the foliage, then most likely the cause is too dry air. To add moisture to the plant, place the pot in a tray with wet moss or expanded clay. In addition, for this purpose, you can spray both the plant itself and the air around it. Another reason for leaf drying is irregular watering. Make sure that the soil is not over-dried, but remember that waterlogging to this plant is also not useful. Stick to a stable watering regime. The soil for the avocado must be wet and loose. Make sure that the earth compass is not caked or compacted. Avocado does not like acidic soil, so for planting it is better to make a mixture, in which equal parts will include humus, garden soil and coarse sand. You can add some lime to the soil for avocado. So that the soil is saturated with oxygen, it is added moss, sand, expanded clay or peat. 
Pests of avocado
You should know that the plant also has pests -spider mite and scab. Plants damaged by a spider mite lose their color, leaves become pale. Yellowish dots appear on their surface, and their number grows very fast. They arise from the fact that pests suck out cellular juice from several neighboring cells of the leaf. In case of severe damage, the leaves may dry completely. If you notice the thin web that appeared on the plant in time, you can get rid of the pest by planting the shower plant. To do this, place the pot with the plant in a cellophane bag, wrapping it tightly around the stem. Then pour the plant from the shower, from top to bottom, with a good head of water. After that, wrap the avocado with a large transparent plastic bag and return it to its usual place. Leave it in this form for at least a week, continuing to water as usual. High air humidity leads to the death of adult pests. In ten days, the plant will be completely free of the mite. The procedure should be repeated in a couple of weeks, because the pest's eggs are not destroyed in this way. No less dangerous for the avocado and the scab, which is generally dangerous for all indoor plants. The leaves of the affected plant become sticky and shiny, as if covered with sugar syrup. The affected plant should be thoroughly washed under the shower with hot water, the temperature of which should not exceed 45 ° C. Be sure to wash with soap or washing powder the window and the windowsill on which the plant stood. After you have washed the plant, you need to wipe the dried leaves with cotton wool soaked in thick soap foam or in a 70% solution of alcohol. Wipe thoroughly, not missing a single pest. After a day, the procedure is repeated. In a week it is worth making three or four treatments. We advise you to read:
