Pineapple Guava, Feijoa sellowiana, Tree Seeds

Evergreen, Showy Flowers, Edible Fragrant Fruits, Attracts Birds, Wildlife Food/Shelter, Espalier, Hedge/Screen, Windbreak

Native to Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, the Pineapple Guava is a slow growing evergreen shrub that can reach 15 feet high and 15 feet wide. In addition to the fruit it provides, the shrub also doubles handsomely as a landscape specimen. When planted close together, the shrubs make a nice hedge, screen, or windbreak. Pineapple Guava can also be espaliered or trained as a small tree with one or more trunks. The bark is pale gray and the spreading branches are swollen at the nodes and white-hairy when young. The wood is dense, hard and brittle. The evergreen, thick, leathery leaves of the Pineapple Guava are opposite, short-petioled and bluntly elliptical. In size they range from 1 to 2-1/2 inches long and 5/8 to 1 inch wide. The leaves are smooth soft green on top and silvery underneath, flashing nicely in a gentle breeze. The 1 inch showy, bisexual flowers are borne singly or in a cluster with bright red stamens topped with large grains of yellow pollen. Flowers appear late, from May through June. Each flower contains four to six fleshy flower petals that are white tinged with purple on the inside. These petals are mildly sweet and edible and can make a refreshing addition to spring salads. Birds eating the petals pollinate the flower. The fruits range from 3/4 to 3-1/2 inches long and vary in shape from round to elongated pear shape with the persistent calyx segments adhering to the apex. The waxy skin is dull blue-green to blue or grayish green, sometimes with a red or orange blush. Skin texture varies from smooth to rough and pebbly and is 3/16 to 5/8 inch thick. The fruit emits a strong long-lasting perfume even before it is fully ripe. The thick, white, granular, watery flesh and the translucent central pulp enclosing the seeds are sweet or subacid, suggesting a combination of pineapple and guava or pineapple and strawberry, often with overtones of winter green or spearmint. There are usually 20 to 40, occasionally more, very small, oblong seeds hardly noticeable when the fruit is eaten. As the fruit matures, its color changes almost imperceptibly.

The best way to harvest is to allow them to fall from the tree. Giving the tree a shake and gathering the fruit from the ground every couple of days is the usual method of harvesting. To keep the fruit from bruising, place a tarp or other large cloth under the tree to catch them as they fall. The fruit can also be picked when firm and mature and allowed to ripen at room temperature, although the quality will not be as good as tree ripened fruit. Mature fruit can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week. The fruit are mainly eaten fresh as a dessert or in salads but can also be cooked in puddings, pies, etc. After peeling, the fruit should be immediately dipped into water containing fresh lemon juice to prevent the flesh from turning brown.

Pineapple Guava is hardy to 10º F and does best where the winters are cool and the summers moderate with temperatures between 80 to 90º F. It is generally adapted to areas where temperatures stay above 15° F. To produce fruit, it needs 100-200 chilling hours below 45º F. Heat stress in the summer may cause them to drop fruit prematurely. Flower production is poor in areas with fewer than 50 hours of chilling. The flavor of the fruit is much better in cool than in warm regions. Even though the plants are relatively hardy, sudden fall frosts can damage ripening fruit and late spring frosts can destroy blossoms.

Other Names: Acca sellowiana, Guavasteen

Zone: 8 to 11 (Hardy to 10º F)

Growth Rate: Slow

Plant Type: Evergreen shrub or small tree
Family: Myrtaceae

Native Range: Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay

Height: 10 to 15 feet
Spread: 10 to 15 feet
Shape: Rounded

Bloom Time: May-June

Bloom Color: White tinged with purple and bright red stamens.

Sun: Full Sun to Part Shade
Fall Color: Evergreen

Drought Tolerance: Moderate

Water: Moderate
Maintenance: Low

Site Requirements /Soil Tolerances: Adaptable to most types of soil and doesn't require much fertilizer. To protect the fruit from sunburn and other adverse effects of high temperature, choose a plant site away from hot, reflected sun. They are fairly salt tolerant but salinity slows growth and reduces yields.

Culture: Two or more should be planted together for cross-pollination. Under proper conditions, plants fruit in 3 to 5 years from seed. Fruits ripen 4-1/2 to 7 months after flowers appear. A feeding of 8-8-8 NPK once every two months can speed growth. The best harvests come from plants growing in well-drained soil with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0. For quality harvests, water deeply on a regular basis, especially during flowering and fruit periods and mulch the soil around the plants to protect the shallow roots.

Pruning: Pruning is not required to keep plants productive but a light pruning in the summer after fruit is harvested will encourage new growth and increase yields the following year. Thinning the plant also permits easier harvesting. When grown as a hedge, it responds well to heavy pruning or shearing, but this reduces flower and fruit production.

Uses: Excellent foundation planting, either singly or as an informal hedge.

Sowing Feijoa sellowiana Seeds:

For best results, please follow the instructions in the order provided.

Scarify: Pour Hot water over seeds. Soak for 24 hours.

Scarify: Soak in water for 24 hours

Stratify: None

Germination: Sow 1/8” Deep, Keep Moist, (Not wet). Expect a minimum of 3 weeks for germination.

For more information about seed pretreatment and growing trees and shrubs from seed, please download this .pdf:

https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2007/08/fcpg018.pdf

Germination:

1. Seeds Packets are labeled with seed name and sowing details.
2. Seeds have not been pretreated unless specified in the listing.
3. Seed is not a specific Cultivar (Variety) unless specified in the listing.
4. Due to the many factors involved in successful germination, Seller cannot be responsible for buyers growing methods or mistakes.
5. I have provided what I believe to be a good overview on this page (which you are free to print for further reference), however, it is still recommended to check specialist literature for more details and practices specific to your climate and soil conditions to avoid mistakes in the germination and growing process.

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