Ok this is a plant I have not experimented with much. Gaylord gave me a Guava plant two years ago. It is growing & looks nice and healthy. When do they start to produce fruit ? I'll post a photo later today.

Lazz,

There are several guavas. Some are tropical, but the Pineapple guava (Feijoa) would be hardy for you. I imagine that is what Gaylord gave you. I know they have them in VB. If it is, it has plum-size, edible fruit, and attractive edible flowers. They are hardy for us, I think to about 15 degrees f.

Ned

Hi Ned. I'm not sure, but I thought he said it was Lemon or Strawberry... It is in the ground & has not had any damage, but no fruit or flowers either...


BTW. The Russian giant pomegranate that you gave me is full of flowers, maybe I'll get some fruit this year.

I can't exactly remember what I gave you. I do have all the above mentioned guavas (Strawberry, Lemon and Pineapple) and had extra seedlings of them all as well. I gave Darren an extra Lemon Guava so I probably gave you one of its siblings. His has grown by leaps and bounds and is loaded with flowers now. Lemons and Strawberry guavas have fruited for me from seed in their second year. I like the taste of cattley guavas either strawberry or lemon. I'm not sure if you'll like them but to me they have a tropical strawberry/pineapple taste but watch out for the hard as BB's seeds.

It will take a couple years, 3-4 from seed.

My Strawberry guava began producing its second season in the ground; IIRC, same for my Tropical guavas. Too bad nobody really cares for the taste, as they produce tons of fruit.

Have you tried juicing them?

Skeet, haven't tried juicing them....The fruits from the grafted Ruby Red trees are so fragrant my wife won't allow them in the house! The fruits are huge, larger than pears. I plan on trying some baking recipes with them this year.

As for the strawberry guava, the fruit from the last couple of years are best described as famine food. But it is a beautiful tree, and the fruit are nice to look at. Very ornamental, but probably just an inferior cultivar when it comes to taste.

I'm quite a bit north of you & my 2 pineapple guavas (acca sellowiana) overwintered here (we had a mild winter this year, though)-no fruit yet, but the flowers are beautiful & edible. It has nice, silvery foliage...

I bought a Strawberry guava (Ugne moline) and a Pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) this year. They're adorable plants! I love the small shiny leaves on the Ugne.
I read on another forum you need two plants- male and female- to get fruit. Is that correct?
Thanks
Susan

Susan, I'm so glad you listed the Latin name for your strawberry guava -- apparently there are two very different plants being sold under that name. The Ugne is a new one to me -- apparently a shrub from Chile, and it sounds interesting. But be aware that the vast amount of writing you'll see for "Strawberry Guava" is about a very different plant -- Psidium cattleianum, a tree from Brazil, with larger fruits.
Malcolm

Hi Gang, I love this Guava talk! I too got pineapple & a tropical pink guava plants from Eyeckr. The pineapple has grown a lot & has dark green shiny leaves. The others, Trop. pink, lemon, & ruby supreme all look similar with lighter leaves. Ruby got some fruits last year but they fell off before ripe.
Eyeckr, wasn't it pineapple guava we were eating off the ground at Dr Bob's yard at '06 expo? They were EXCELLENT! Sorry you missed out on that one Laaz.
I hope I get fruits this year. What's a good fert ratio for these?
Just found this:
"Guava trees grow rapidly after the first year & fruit in 2 to 4 years from seed. They live 30-40 years but productivity declines after the 15th year. Orchards may be rejuvenated by drastic pruning"

Hi Patty,
Where you been homegirl? Thanks for the guava info.
Hope all is well with you- married yet?
Susan

Yes Patty those were pineapple guavas that we sampled at Dr Bob's place. He has the Coolidge variety to be exact. While we're on the subject of guavas, I've got a small Cas Guava up for grabs if anyone's interested.