How To Grow An Avocado Tree Under A Grow Light

What could be better than eating an avocado grown from your very own tree? If that’s a dream of yours, you aren’t alone. That’s why we created the AvoSeedo: a tool that allows you to root an avocado pit easily. If you live in a growing zone that doesn’t support an avocado tree’s growth, you’ll need to grow your avocado tree indoors. If your house doesn’t get much direct sunlight, your tree won’t thrive. So how can we remedy this situation? If your house doesn’t receive much sunlight, consider opting into using a grow light to grow your avocado tree.

green leaf plant in close up photography

Avocado Tree Light Requirements

Avocado trees need plenty of light and warmth to grow properly. As a native of Mexico, Avocado trees thrive outdoors in hardiness zones 8 through 11. If you aren’t sure which hardiness zone you live in, check your zipcode here. If you live in a hardiness zone below 8, you experience freezes during the winter that will likely kill your avocado tree if it’s left outside, so it will need to be brought inside when temperatures drop.

Avocado trees need at least 6 hours of bright, direct, unfiltered sunlight, but it can tolerate some shade. Basically, your avocado tree needs as much light hitting its leaves as possible. This can be difficult to replicate indoors, but it’s not impossible. If you want to grow an avocado tree indoors that produces fruit, you’re going to want to invest in a grow light.

Pros and Cons of Grow Lights

Grow lights provide the benefit of providing bright, full-spectrum light anywhere you choose. However, there are a lot of options out there, and it can be difficult to figure out just what kind of setup you need to grow your avocado tree indoors.

HID Grow Lights

HID stands for High-Intensity Discharge. These lamps use either metal halide (MH) or high-pressure sodium (HPS). Traditionally, growers use HPS for flowering plants and MH for fruits and vegetables. Plant aficionados commonly use HID grow lamps because they work well for their purpose and replacement lamps are widely available in various stores.

The downside with HID lights is their efficiency. HID lamps produce a lot of heat that could damage plants if they are too close. They also degrade quickly, meaning you spend money on replacement lamps more often. They also use up a good deal of energy, driving up your electricity bill.

Fluorescent Grow Lights

Fluorescent grow lights run much cooler than HID lamps, so you can use them closer to your vegetation without causing harm. They also use less electricity, but they don’t produce as high-yield results as HID either. These kinds of lights are better options for growing small plants and seeds or as supplemental lighting.

LED Grow Lights

LED stands for Light Emitting Diode and is the newest form of grow light. At first, these lamps were inefficient and had a minimal spectrum, rendering them not very useful for growing plants. LEDs have been improving since the 1960s, however, and today they are great grow lights. LEDs consume significantly less heat and energy than HIDs, saving you money on your energy bill. Unlike fluorescent lights, though, they also emit light more efficiently and on a fuller spectrum ideal for plant growth. LED lights are a more expensive initial purchase, but they will serve your avocado tree best in the long run.

Growing Your Avocado Tree Under Lights

No matter what type of grow lights you use, adding supplemental light to your avocado tree will help it thrive while it grows in your home. Full-spectrum lights will provide your avocado tree with the resources it needs to grow. Place our lights between 12 and 18 inches from your tree’s foliage; if the leaves begin to brown, your light is too close. Provide your avocado tree with 12 to 16 hours of light each day. If you don’t want to remember to turn your light on and off, invest in a timer that will do so for you.