I need my avocado stone to sprout in order to prove a friend wrong
benji93
Posts: 2
Hello there,
I'm a young gardener in my final year at University. My friend is teasing me at my 'apparent' inability to sustain/care for a plant successfully so far this term.
No matter how much I protest about the difficulty of maintaining a coriander plant in Winter she believes that it is to do with my gardening inadequacies and the fact that I most likely couldn't look after a fake plant, let alone a real one.
My most recent venture is an avocado stone that I have settled in a cup of water with toothpicks, as recommended. We now have a £10 bet (riches in student terms), that the stone will not sprout. How do I ensure that it does? I'm sure you can all see my predicament here.
It has been in water for about 2 weeks, maybe a bit longer, and I am changing the water perhaps twice a week. The skin has peeled off on the underside and it is placed on a very sunny, south facing windowsill. I am a bit concerned about the temperature of the house, as we have not yet switched the heating on. I am going home next week for just over a week, and I am tempted to bring it home with me and put it in our large compost heap whilst I am there, in the hope to encourage it on a bit. What are peoples opinions of this? I'm worried that it might be a bit cold outside, but don't know whether the warmth of the compost heap will mean that this won't matter.
I'd also like to add that the welfare of this stone is not solely because of my stubbornness to admit my friend is right.. I would really love to have this plant! I know that it will most likely not produce fruit in this climate but I think the plant is beautiful.
All advice would be most welcome! Thank you for your time.
Posts
Hi, pansy's method is the only way it will sprout. As I recall warmth and light was needed and even then it took at least a month before a tiny shoot appeared. Don't be downhearted
you haven't agreed a time limit on this trial have you? There's still a chance 
good luck.
Hi, pansy's method is the only way it will sprout. I recall warmth and light was needed and even then it took at least a month before a tiny shoot appeared. Maybe topping up the water instead of changing it keeps an even temp. You could trial several to see which sprouts first
Don't be downhearted you haven't agreed a time limit on this have you? There's still a chance
good luck.
Edit version
Good luck! I have some growing in my compost heap - you're not by any chance up the road at the University of East Anglia are you? If so I could pot one or two up for you
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm sure it will sprout soon, but I hope you've got it the right way up, the pointiest bit at the top!
the money is really the least of the worries- I want to prove her wrong! but admittedly it is a good incentive.
Thank you for all your replies! I have got it the right way up, and i'll be sure to raise the temperature of the water slightly. And Dovefromabove if only! I'm oop north in Manchester- which probably isn't helping temperature wise.
A friend of mine grew one which went up his bathroom wall and around the ceiling (he fastened it up there) and made his bathroom look like a South American jungle.
Good luck with it and I wouldn't bother with coriander in the winter in an unheated house I doubt if there is enough daylight for it anyway. A good bet is a £5.00 orchid from Ikea, they are pretty impossible to kill; I've had mine for about 4 years on East facing windowsills and they only get watered from time to time.