I've planted a pit directly in the soil, leaving the top third above ground because the pits need light to germinate. I've done this several times, with a high success rate, resulting in lots of give-ways :-) One summer I even put a few pits out in the garden, assuming I could pot them up before winter if anything grew. Weeks later I was rewarded with a stalk shooting up. In only a couple of days, it reached at least 2 feet before the first leaves spread out. It thrived outside for another couple months - I finally dug it up when we got frost warnings. And found another one of the pits had a long, sturdy root, and its stalk was just about to break the pit open. Both of those plants have a happy life in a sunny hallway in an office building.
I've also tried the toothpicks and water method and I did have success once but also had a couple failures. It's fun for kids to watch how a seed grows but the soil version seems more effective if you want a plant.
I currently have 3 pot-sprouted plants sharing a pot. Not ideal, but so far they are doing well (3 to 4 feet tall!). In my experience drainage is critical - they don't mind being watered from the bottom occasionally, but they really don't like having constantly wet feet.
I've planted a pit directly in the soil, leaving the top third above ground because the pits need light to germinate. I've done this several times, with a high success rate, resulting in lots of give-ways :-) One summer I even put a few pits out in the garden, assuming I could pot them up before winter if anything grew. Weeks later I was rewarded with a stalk shooting up. In only a couple of days, it reached at least 2 feet before the first leaves spread out. It thrived outside for another couple months - I finally dug it up when we got frost warnings. And found another one of the pits had a long, sturdy root, and its stalk was just about to break the pit open. Both of those plants have a happy life in a sunny hallway in an office building.
I've also tried the toothpicks and water method and I did have success once but also had a couple failures. It's fun for kids to watch how a seed grows but the soil version seems more effective if you want a plant.
I currently have 3 pot-sprouted plants sharing a pot. Not ideal, but so far they are doing well (3 to 4 feet tall!). In my experience drainage is critical - they don't mind being watered from the bottom occasionally, but they really don't like having constantly wet feet.