Guac This Way: How To Grow Avocados In Houston

Money doesn’t grow on trees, but avocados do, and that’s pretty much just as good. If you ask us, it’s definitely worth learning how to grow these buttery green treats yourself. Imagine all the money you’ll save on avocados knowing how to grow your own at home! You could buy a chip bowl made out of solid gold. 

While you will have to wait a while before your avocado tree starts producing fruit—yes, they’re a fruit!—overall, it’s a pretty easy tree to take care of, and our Houston climate is perfect for it. If you envision a future full of endless organic guacamole and avocado toast, read on to learn how to grow avocados in Houston.  

How To Grow An Avocado Tree: Sapling Or Seed?

You may have seen some tutorials popping up on social media lately on how to grow your own avocado tree with the leftover pit from a store-bought avocado. While this is totally possible, the downside is you’ll have to wait way longer for your tree to bear fruit, and frankly, no one should have to wait that long for guacamole. If you want your homegrown avocado fix sooner rather than later, it’s a way better idea to buy a baby avocado tree grown from a grafted sapling—which we just so happen to carry at our garden center. That way, you’ll only have to wait for a fraction of the time. Plus, avocado trees grown from grafted saplings typically produce more fruit than seed-grown trees do, so it’s definitely the route you’ll want to go if you’re in it for the guac. 

How to Plant Avocado Trees

When you plant your avocado trees, look for a spot that gets plenty of sun, but is shaded from the intense west sun and that also has well-draining soil. Hold off on adding any fertilizers or amendments at this stage—they can mess with root development, and you should wait about one year before you start feeding it. Plant the root ball high and add a 4” layer of expanded shale to the bottom of the hole  to prevent it from ever sitting in water. Water it only when it is dry and needing water during extended periods without any rainfall. 

How Long Does It Take For An Avocado Tree To Bear Fruit?

If you go the sapling route, you can expect to see avocado fruits popping up after about three or four years. If you grow your tree from a seed, it could take as long as fifteen years to produce fruit, so that’s gonna be a nope from us. Saplings all the way. 

One of the best things about having your own avocado tree is that you’ll never have to worry about your avocados going bad in the blink of an eye, or rushing to eat them all before they turn brown. We’ve all had that frantic panic where we eat an obscene number of avocados in one day to justify spending twelve bucks on a bag. But when they’re on the tree, they won’t get overripe! Simply wait until the avocados look plump and green, pluck them off, and then patiently wait for them to soften. Pick one to add to your fruit bowl every day for a lifetime supply of avocado toast.

Now that your guacamole craving has been sufficiently stoked, it’s as good of a time as ever to start planning your avocado garden! Visit Plants For All Seasons, and we can answer any questions you may have about how to grow an avocado tree that bears fruit. Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to order some Chipotle, pronto!