After many, many unsuccessful attempts over the years, an avocado pit, that I'd carefully suspended in a jar of water using three toothpicks, like so, sprouted a little root. According to popular opinion (i.e. I read it online) this should take three to six weeks to happen...mine took ten...and then, nothing...the big root continued to grow, slowly, with no sign of any leaves, just a big root dangling into the jar of water.
So finally, I planted it, and it sat in the plant pot, looking like a dead stone for another week or two.....
Then, the outer shell split and came off and three little shoots poked out
I debated plaiting the shoots together as they grew to see if that would affect the shape of the tree...but decided against it, it was so fragile and I was so excited that it was actually growing, I didn't want to do anything that might damage the plant
On a side note - it may have been suggested during these months of moving the avocado around the house, trying to find the best light without too much of a cross breeze from the air con that I was "mollycoddling" the plant.... but I didn't care, I was growing my own avocado tree
Fin