Feijoa are my favourite yield . as luck would have it for me , the pretty shrubs are prolific , and the harvest can be used in so many ways . Growing feijoa is easy because the plants have few pests and are n’t demanding . Even better , the slow - get , mid - sized evergreen count good in landscaping thanks to the pretty bloom .
Never hear of feijoa ? Now ’s your chance to get to know the tasty South American fruit that ’s also known as pineapple Psidium littorale .
I have four dissimilar varieties that fruit at more or less unlike time so I can get an lengthened harvest . I also have a hedge assortment that offer sight of fruit .
I make chutney , pickle , jam , wine , gelt , bar , and juice with my harvest . While feijoa is a various culinary yield , nothing beats cutting one in one-half and scooping out the flesh to use up . Feijoa have a unique flavor all their own that taste like a combination of strawberry mark , Ananas comosus , true guava , and sometimes a picayune ground-berry .
Feijoa Varieties
There are peck of feijoa varieties out there , but since it ’s still a pretty rarified yield in the U.S. , you may need to look around to find them .
Other variety show you should keep an eye out for include : Trask , Pineapple Gem , Nazemetz and Choiceana . There are tidy sum of others , so check what grow practiced in your area .
How to Grow Feijoa
Zones
Feijoa grows in zona 8 to 11 and prefers a temperate to sub - tropical mood . They do n’t like high humidness and can hold up winter temperatures as low as 15 ° F .
I ’ve find that to get the most flavorful fruit , feijoa has to be submit to systematically cold temperatures during the winter . For optimal florescence , flora need about 50 hr of chill .
Sun and Soil Requirements
Feijoa does well in full sun but will tolerate partial shade . Too much shade will affect both the size of it and number of fruit . Give plants protection from hot , reflected sun .
Although feijoa will grow in any grease , it thrive in a pH story between 5.5 to 7.0 . If the soil is too alkaline , the leaves will turn yellow , and yield circle will be compromise . Feijoa plants demand well - debilitate dirt .
When to Plant
industrial plant feijoa when temp are cool , and the reason is workable . I do n’t establish in the summer when temperature are gamy , and the ground is wry . I also avert constitute when it ’s too frigid , particularly when there ’s a icing .
Container Planting
Feijoa produce well in Mary Jane . The sizing will be fix , and they will require plenty of water and fertilizer .
Germinating Seeds
Growing feijoa from a fruit seed is possible , but it ’s fiddly , and the source may not be to type . The beneficial and warm way to get your pineapple guava grow is to corrupt a graft from a reputable seller .
If you do want to try growing from seed , you postulate to squeeze the pulp magazine into a container and embrace in water . Leave it for about four Clarence Day to work before wash in a sieve to disclose the seeds . Pick them out and allow them to dry out . you could keep these seeds for up to a year before planting .
Planting Transplants
Planting feijoa is aneasy process if you follow a few rules . delve a hole twice the size of it of the origin ball and around 2 to 3 feet deep .
Place the tree in and backfill with half of the soil you removed and half good quality compost . pack together with your foot mildly and add a bit more compost to make the muddle dismantle with the ground .
I always back trees when I first plant them , have the roots time to embed themselves and get warm .
Spacing
I embed feijoa bush 10 to 15 feet asunder depending on the variety . If you choose one of the braggart feijoa varieties , plant at 20 - ft intervals to control right airflow .
Caring for Feijoa
Fertilizer
Feijoa rise easy , so they do n’t require too much feeding . If you pick out to feed , use a complete fertilizer every two calendar month . Be sure to fertilize container - grown plants , specially after fruiting .
Watering
For safe timbre yield , water deeply and regularly , especially when your tree is flower and fruiting . want of water will cause the yield to drop untimely and be acid and dry . You ’ll appreciate the difference in calibre if you maintain a good watering regimen during this time .
Pruning
Prune plants gently in the summer after you ’ve harvested the yield to advance new growth . Feijoa does n’t require pruning , but if you desire , you may grow it as a hedge and keep it trimmed back .
Common Problems and Solutions for Growing Feijoa
Feijoa has a few pests , but it is remarkably hardy and unbothered by most bugs and disease .
Scale
weighing machine take up the sap out of your plant . If your feijoa starts to die back or have stunted ontogeny , face for scale . The good way to free your plant of scale leaf is to habituate a pyrethrum spray with an oil base .
Fruit Flies
The other pest that bothers get feijoa is fruit flies . The females lay eggs below the skin of the fruit and when the maggot hatch , they nibble the fruit , causing it to break . Pheromone traps will assist you watch if you have the pest . If you do , utilize a neem oil atomiser and keep the area around your trees clean .
Guava Moth
Guava moths are unbelievably destructive . They ’re in the first place happen in New Zealand and Australia , so gardeners in the U.S. do n’t have to concern about get this pest . If you come about to live where the guava moth thrives , keep an center out . The adult moth makes a little pinprick in the fruit where it set its egg . After a while , a to the full formed cat chews its way out .
If you ’re unfortunate enough to have guava moth , there are traps you may buy to place around your trees to attract the adult moth before they lay their eggs . you may also lay web over your tree diagram to protect them .
Feijoa are generally pest free after about three years of growth . Monitor on a regular basis until then .
How to Harvest, Store and Use Feijoa
Do n’t pick feijoa bush off the tree because the unripe fruit is hard and vitriolic . The effective affair to do is to await for them to drop and break up them off the footing .
If like me , you are too impatient , you may ‘ piano pick . ’ softly agree the feijoa and twist gently . If it start off , it was ready to send away soon . If you tug the yield and it does n’t break off , it ’s nowhere most ready .
The fruit will keep to ripen on the counter , so eat it speedily . you may put in fruit in the icebox for a few sidereal day .
aside from eating feijoa straight from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , you’re able to make pickles , chutney , cake , wine , lolly , and loads morerecipes .
If you have been recall about growing pineapple guava , you really ca n’t go haywire . If you set a tree and do nothing , you will still get fruit , they are that easy to grow .
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