Feijoa (Pineapple Guava)

Is anyone growing this tree/bush in Australia?
If so, what size fruit do you get and how hot does it get during your summer?
I live in Texas and we are looking for people that grow this plant in hot climates that regularly get fruits 7.6 cm or bigger.

Thanks

I never saw feijoa growing or for sale when I lived in Australia 20 years ago but they were a childhood favourite of mine when I lived in Auckland, NZ.
That region is sub tropical, gets in the high 20's Celsius over summer.
I imagine Texas would be far hotter & drier.
Good luck with them - I have the opposite problem with living in Christchurch now, too frosty & cold over winter but there are a couple of varieties that do well here - I just haven't been able to plant any yet.

Mine take -12C with ease. How cold does it get there?

It should do well for you in Texas I think.

here we go :)
http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/plant/Feijoa-Pineapple-Guava.htm

Plenty of old manure and water and you will have your lovely fruit.
Note: some need cross pollination to fruit, some do not.

I have about 20 plants already but we experience small fruit in Texas. They believe that the Feijoa cant produce large fruit in a very hot climate and that is why we were looking for people in Australia that are growing it.

wow -12C is cold!
-7C here is considered news worthy.
I think I will have to do some research beyond what the gardening page of the paper had to say about growing feijoa in the South Island.

I had a Feijoa survive full sun last summer in a 20 litre pot. It got to 48C at times. We have a few down the road at a nursery where I work in 8' pots. They made it through in full sun as well. We had -5c last winter a few times & they all got through. Feijoas are fairly tough trees. The leaves are typically myrtle-like in appearance but kind of thick like an olive's. Once they are established in the ground I doubt you would have much problem with the heat, but I have no idea how cold it gets in Texas. I have never been really impressed with the fruit btw. They aren't that big & they don't taste that great to me. Cherry Guavas are much nicer & just as easy to grow around here. Is there a reason why you are particulalry interested in Feijoas?

We are testing the effects of heat on fruit formation, size and taste. In areas of high heat, the bush generally will produce smaller fruit, less tasty and lower yields.

The same bush, in an area that has summer highs in the 80's, will produce large fruit/yields with an excellent flavor. I am trying to find a bush in Australia that produces good fruit even in the heat. That would imply that it is a heat tolerant cultivar.

We are also testing fruit formation when planted where it only gets morning sun in hot areas.

Are Cherry Guavas also called Strawberry Guava (Psidium littorale)? They only grow in South Texas since they freeze at -5C or -6C.

Yeah I think they are like. P. littorale var. longipes. Something like that. Basically the same deal anyway. What you say about the heat kind of explains why they are so much more popular in New Zealand. The Kiwis love them so much some ppl think Feijoas are from NZ.

lol - you mean they aren't????
Bit like Kiwi fruit, didn't originate here but NZ hybridisers made them into the fruit we know today.

It came from South America but the NZers really made a name for it.

OK. Well I will keep my ears & eyes open. Plus ask our growers as I see them. If there is a good variety around, someone will know of it.

Hi there I have just joined this site and I live in New Zealand. Haven't got a NZ discussion group up in the list so I thought I would check out the Auzzie one... I have several different varieties of Feijoa. The Feijoa Sellowiana (pineapple guava) is not a very large fruiting tree on its own and requires other varieties to help improve its size... ie...I have planted Mammoth, Apollo (self fertile) and Triumph. Feijoas can be planted in hot regions if they receive the morning sun and shaded from the heat of the afternoon sun. They can tolerate up to 100F but any temperature above this will affect its flowering and fruiting. By planting in a position where they are protected from the afternoon sun, mulched and watered well you should have success. They are very hardy plants and can tolerate low temperatures also... aprrox -12C.. They like a ph between 5.5 to 7 approx, will grow to very large trees if unpruned. They do not require too much feeding once every couple of months with a well balanced fertilizer NPK. Easy to strike cuttings to increase your stock and takes about three to four years before bearing fruit. I hope this has helped....There are new varieties coming out all the time I hear so keep a look out for them.....

Hi Indi. Welcome. That is a lot of useful info. you have provided. I am sure it will be helpful. I have mate over here from Hamilton. Funnily enough the feijoa tree I have I bought for him originally, but he neglected it so badly I was forced to confiscate it back.

Hi there CactusSpike, thank you for the welcome I wonder how you got your name....heehee... SO glad the info was of some use. Had to giggle about your friend and the feijoa... Its really hard to kill them they are so hardy....I can put anything in the ground and it will grow which is rather funny because I was pruning an old silver birch and didn't have any stakes handy so used them to hold up a couple of new plants till I could get some more and the dang things started to sprout...lol...
Good to chat with you... WIll catch up again soon hope your weather is better than what we are getting, rain, rain and more rain......take care.....Indi.....

I have about 8 varieties that I am testing right now but most are young. I am going to put a few on the shady part of the house when they are big enough to fruit. We have already hit 100 a few times here in Texas and we have only had about 3.5 inches in the last 8 months. Normally, we have about 20 inches during that same time. The Feijoa are just doing fine regardless. However, are fruit are just puny. Dont get me wrong, they are delicious but I want MORE!!!

Let me know if anyone comes across one that can take full sun, 100 degrees and still give large tasty fruit. I will definitely want some seeds.

We are also on the lookout for varieties that fruit very very late. If you find one, let me know.

Indilwen - there used to be a Kiwi thread but it slowly dwindled, the best place to start is the tea room - lots of interesting chat & friendly people to share garden stories & tips with...
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1185298/

be nice to have another kiwi on board.

Thanks dalfyre will check it out. There is so much wonderful information shared here will take a while to get through it all. I love gardening and growing things so will have lots to share with everyone. By the way how are you getting on down there in CHCH? Must be really tough with all that has happened. My heart goes out to you and all the people that have been affected with the earthquakes which I also hear are still shaking you all up....

Take care. Indi...

Just a quick note to jujubetexas, if your trees are still less than about 4years the fruit will be small. Make sure you keep them mulched and well watered through the hot days. I would say the puny fruit would be due to the heat and maybe because they are still in their juvenile state. Oh another thing is propagation through cuttings will give you a better yield of fruit than from seeds...Keep this in mind if you are wanting to increase your stock...If your present trees are from seeds then that also could be another reason why fruit is so small.

Opal Star and Triumph are the later season fruiters... harvest is mid to late June here in NZ so would be 6 months difference in USA.. Around early Dec.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2011 11:54 PM

I was mentioning seeds because it would be illegal for anyone from Australia to ship cuttings. It would have to be seeds.