Quick tips: Planting pineapple guava is quite easy and the plant requires less care. Pineapple guava grows well under full or half sunlight. The tree requires organic, rich, and well-drained soil with a slightly alkaline or acidic PH. Pineapple guava survives well in humid areas and the PH goes too high, its leaves normally wilt and turn to yellow. You can grow pineapple guava from cuttings, grafting, layering, and seeds.
Keep reading to find procedures for planting, care, and other interesting facts about pineapple guava.
Overview
Pineapple guava is scientifically known as Acca sellowiana. But, this name has already been changed from A. sellowiana to Feijoa sellowiana.
Feijoa or pineapple guava is a small tree that is believed to be native of Sourther Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. The plant was first introduced into Europe, New Zealand, and the United States in the early 1900s. Presently, pineapple guava is grown in different countries around the world.
Pineapple guava is an evergreen tree that can reach a height of 12-15 ft on a normal basis. The plant is widespread with a trunk that is covered by a grey brownish and flaky bark. The leaves are deep green and glossy the top and fuzzy and silvery from the undersides.
The flowers usually blossom during the spring. The petals which are pink in color appeared giving space to rose-like stamens. The stamens are many. The sepals are white. Both sepals and petals range from 4 to 5.
Pineapple guava tree can survive anywhere so far the temperatures do not go below 15F. the best temperatures for growing feijoa is tropical and subtropical temperatures. The minimum hold time requirement is 50 days. This time is enough for pineapple guava to flower.
How to Grow Pineapple Guava Tree
Pineapple guava can be grown using grafting, seeds, cuttings, and layering. All these can provide a well-grown feijoa. However, pineapple guava that is grown from seeds usually loss its parent’s vigor. And the same time when you cultivated guava using seeds, it can take up to 21 days to complete germination and about 5 years to start fruiting. The best ways for planting pineapple guava trees are grafting and cuttings.
Here are step-by-step guide to growing pineapple guava using cuttings:
Finding the Pineapple guava Cut to Plant
The best cutting to be used for planting is the bottom suckers. You can use any shoot that is young and pliable, which is free from breaking even when it is bent.
The cutting should be at least 20cm and 1.5cm in height and diameter respectively. It must also have three nodes and three leaves at the top. The best time for cutting is during the summer.
Rooting and Planting the Feijoa Cutting
Before placing the cutting into the planting container, you need to place it in a rooting hormone for about an hour. Then, after this time, place the cutting about 1 inch into a well prepared potting mix. Water gently and then cover with a transparent nylon bag. It is recommended to use sticks to prevent the nylon from touching the leaves. Place the potting mix in a warm place.
Find out more information on propagation of guava from cutting.
Planting of Pineapple Guava and Care
When your cuttings are matured enough to survive on their normally about 3-4 weeks after rooting. You can then transplant them to open areas.
The location where you will plant these seedlings should be protected from wind and extreme temperatures below 15 degrees or above 100 degrees. Additionally, you should ensure that the site is well-drained with half to full-day sunlight.
In most cases, pineapple guava prefers sandy loam and well-drained soil with too much organic matter.you can alternatively grow feijoa in clay soil if the soil is not saturated in the winter. But, a sandy loam is the most recommended soil. You should also be adding compost manure timely. The PH range is between 6-6.5.
The spacing depends on your preference. If you going for orchard, 8-10 feet space is enough with at least 15 feet between rows. If you aimed for the home garden, you can plant them with one close to one another. And also for landscaping purposes, you can leave them as closely as 5 feet apart.
Pineapple guava needs timely watering when it is young. However, when it is well grown and established about 2-4 years on the ground, it can tolerate low rainfall and drought. You can also irritate the plant from time to time if you like to have sweet fruits. This is especially important. during flowering.
Manure application is also important for proper growth. Feijoa is a heavy producing tree and it requires timely application of compost manure add a well-balanced fertilizer. This can help maintain normal or increase fruit production. It will also enrich the soil and prevent shallow rooting.
Timely pruning is also required. However, do not over pruned your pineapple guava during the summer. This is because too much pruning during summer may damage fruits and sometimes the main plant.
While feijoa is self-pollinated, it is sometimes required to hand pollinate. But, that is optional. The common pollinating insects are bees and some birds.
Generally, guavas have no specific season for fruiting and fruit ripening is also another thing that is too difficult to figure out. The best way to know your feijoa is ripe is by perceiving a smell similar to that of pineapple and when the greenish skin turns from deep green to light green.
Learn more about guava ripening
Harvesting is done either manually with hand or with a trapping net. However, most farmers prefer to place net or cloth under the feijoa and then shake the tree. The fruits will then be received in the net or cloth.
Econmic Importance and other Interesting Facts About Feijoa
The pineapple guava is a perfect plant for the indoor garden and landscaping. Thanks to its attractive foliage and pleasant aroma during flowering. Feijoas can be planted too close to serve as edible privacy hedgerows. They are also used as windbreakers and for erosion control.
The edible fruits can be taken right away or processed into beverages. The fruit is a common component of many recipes such as jellies, desserts, jams, and cakes.
The fine and strong pleasant aroma released by pineapple guava fruit is used around Asian countries to complement chicken and fish odor.
The flowers are also edible and find places in many recipe ideas such as salad dressings. The flowers can also be eaten fresh or cooked. It is also widely used in beauty for its fragrant aroma.
The leaves and bark are great sources of medicines. They have widely employed in the management of diseases such as stomach pain, heart problems, and cancers.
Other pineapple guava benefits include the management of cognitive thinking, treatment of low folic acid, and improving the immune system.
Learn more about the health benefits of guava leaves and fruits
Pineapple Guava Tree Pictures
Frequently Asked Questions
How Fast Does A Pineapple Guava Grow?
Pineapple guava tree is one of the widely cultivated guava fruit, which is native to south America. It is found to grow well in Zone 8 to 10 of the United States Department of Agriculture. The growth rate of pineapple guava in these zones was found to be as moderate as 24 inches per year.
Can I Grow Pineapple Guava In a Pots?
All pineapple guava varieties can be grown or propagated in grounds or pots. In fact, growing pineapple guava in a containers was found to have added benefits. This is because you can move your plant from one place to another when the conditions are not favorable for the pineapple guava in a particular place.
How Do You Grow Pineapple Guava?
You can grow pineapple guava from seeds or using grafting. Planting pineapple guava seeds is so simple: you only need to soak the soak the seeds in a hot water for 15 minutes to break dormancy. Then, plant the seeds in a container or pots.
Learn more on how to plant guava from seeds
Is Pineapple Guava Edible?
Pineapple guava is edible just like any other guavas. In fact, the seeds and flowers are delicious and nutritious which can be added into various recipes such as salsa dressings, frozen desserts, and juices.
Conclusion
We hope that you find this article useful. We would like to hear your questions and views. Let us know what to feel in the comment section below.
Recommended reading:
>How To Tell If A Guava Is Bad
>Are Guava Seeds Edible?: Find Out Here
>When Is Guava Ripe?: Here Is What You Need To Know
References
Tortora F, Notariale R, Maresca V, et al. Phenol-Rich Feijoa sellowiana (Pineapple Guava) Extracts Protect Human Red Blood Cells from Mercury-Induced Cellular Toxicity. Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(7):220. Published 2019 Jul 11. doi:10.3390/antiox8070220 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6680458/
“Development and quality of pineapple guava fruit in two locations with different altitudes in Cundinamarca, Colombia” https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S0006-87052015005000459&script=sci_arttext
“Pineapple guava needs another variety to cross-pollinate” retrieved from https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-columns/bob-morris/pineapple-guava-needs-another-variety-to-cross-pollinate/
Kumawat, K. & Sarolia, Deepak & Kaushik, R.A. & Jodha, A.S.. (2014). Effect of different spacing on newly planted guava cv. L-49 under ultra- high-density planting system. African journal of agricultural research. 9. 3729-3735. 10.5897/AJAR2013.7679. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334225430_Effect_of_different_spacing_on_newly_planted_guava_cv_L-49_under_ultra-_high-density_planting_system
