Avocado
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called aguacate, alligator pear, avocado pear, midshipman's butter, palta, vegetable marrow and West Indian avocado.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drained or Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Dry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
Upper surfaces lose colour while the undersides stay green, and nothing below the top of the canopy is touched.
Its source names full sun, partial shade, yet a leaf grown in lower light has thinner tissue than one grown in sun, and it scorches if moved into strong light in one step.
Telling it apart: Whether it appeared after a move. Scorch follows a change in position within days.
RHSDiagnose spots on the leaves on this Avocado- Dry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
A yellow halo sits just inside the brown edge on the avocado, and new leaves often come in already tipped with brown during the heating season.
The edges fail first because they are the end of the plumbing. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and winter heating regularly takes a room under it.
Telling it apart: Whether the soil is dry too. Crisp edges with damp soil point at the air; with dry soil, at the watering.
Penn State ExtensionAvocado brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Yellowing that begins at the leaves deepest inside the canopy
On a avocado the yellowing climbs from below. Affected leaves feel limp rather than papery, and water sits in the saucer long after it drains through.
Its source describes soil that is moist but well-drained or well-drained. Roots held below that are short of air, and roots short of air stop moving water, so the canopy wilts in a wet pot.
Telling it apart: Whether new growth is affected too. Root damage shows up everywhere at once; ordinary leaf loss shows only in the oldest leaves.
RHSAvocado leaves turning yellow: causes
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Avocado.
Routine care
- Watering
- Avocado can also be kept as a houseplant, particularly where the climate is less suitable, starting from a seed that has sprouted in water or one sown straight into soil. Its seeds sprout fast and easily, with or without toothpicks crossed over a glass of water to hold them.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Feeding
- Once the seed cracks and roots show (2 to 6 weeks), move it into a pot of potting soil in a sunny window and feed regularly through spring and summer.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Every 2-3 weeks, give a balanced liquid feed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- By grafting or seed.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Grow from seed: first soak undamaged seed for 30 minutes in hot water at 104-125°F (40-52°C), then slice a little off its pointed end. Sow each seed on its own in damp, sandy compost, cut end just above the surface, and hold at 68-77°F (20-25°C). Named cultivars are grafted.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Diseases: laurel wilt.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Mealybug, glasshouse red spider mite, thrips and glasshouse whitefly can be troublesome. Disease risks: Phytophthora root rot and fungal leaf spots.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas, with archaeological evidence of early human avocado use dating back thousands of years across various regions of Central and South America. It was prized for its large and unusually oily fruit. The native range of avocado extends from Mexico to Peru, encompassing much of Central America and parts of northern and western South America.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- C. Mexico to Costa RicaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Mexico to Costa RicaNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026C. AmericaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- seasonally dry tropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- Tree; habit dense, irregularNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 360–720 in; width 240–360 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 2.5-4 metres; spread 2.5-4 metres after 10–20 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers cream/tan, green; blooms in winterNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
Avocado is botanically a fruit but is often treated as a vegetable, in guacamole and salads. Its edible flesh is high in vitamins and monounsaturated fat and is eaten raw, spread on sandwiches, or used in desserts.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Avocado
More of the Lauraceae family
Plants with similar care
Chinese banyanFaded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the canopy
Coffee plantLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Crape myrtleCrisp margins that appear in winter
Japanese mapleDry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
Norfolk Island pineBleached patches on the side facing the glass
OliveA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.