Does it make sense to topwork Feijoa?

Ok, So I have 2 of the New Zealand improved varieties that actually gave some fruit in a pot this year. I have 2 seedlings that I planted 7 years ago when named varieties were scarce.

I’m tempted to have someone rip them out and put the named varieties in their place. Since they are already fruiting in the pot, if I put the NZ varieties in those spots next spring, I should have fruit the next year or even the same year perhaps.

The other option is to topwork these seedlings, which I’ve never tried before. The advantage is that I can have the root system right? But I’m thinking that I may mess up some of the grafts, and then I definitely shouldn’t let the new growth fruit if it takes. So it will take longer, and I will have to roll the dice on grafting and keeping all my fingers… The lower branches and trunks are very thick, so i’m guessing I will either have to cut them to a stump and graft the new growth, or bark graft lower down…

Any suggestions?

I’ve heard top working fejoia is hard to do after a few years but it could be a different species I was reading about. I know pineapple guava and fejoia are sort of used interchangeably and might be used to describe different species?

They are one and the same.

https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=319761

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Yes, grafting Feijoa works great. I’ve done it a lot.
The NZ varieties are patented so you may need to pay a small fee to the importer.

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I have access to some of the second generation varieties like Apollo and Mammoth. I’ll use those as scions and keep the nz ones in the containers if I go that route since they’re still too small for me to cut up.

But would I have to pay royalties to use my own plant that I bought if I used them as scion in 3 years? How does someone pay?

Plant patent holders aren’t set up to collect royalties from private individuals. Heck, even most nurseries are not able to propagate and then submit royalties as the patent holders typically only offer propagation rights to a select few big players who then wholesale plant starts to smaller nurseries.

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FYI, the only patents I can find for any feijoa in the United States are for three NZ varieties; ‘Anatoki,’ ‘Kakariki’ and Kaiteri’ and they expire in about seven years.

https://patents.justia.com/search?usclass=166075&q=Feijoa

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Maybe I’ll try half the bush bark graft and the other half with clefts? I guess if it dies, then I’ve got my solution.

Current taxonomy is: Acca sellowiana.
Feijoa sellowiana is a synonym.
Feijoa and pineapple guava are common names; the “guava” part is botanically inaccurate.

Update: I chickened out and only cleft grafted some lower branches. None of them took, out of about 12.

I grafted some seedlings and got 5/7 success.

From what I’ve read, you have to absolutely decapitate the older plants as the grafts otherwise won’t push.

I’ll probably wait until my NZ ones start fruiting, then I’ll cut these to the knee and try top working again.

I’ve had no trouble grafting on my bush, which is a pretty good size, at least when I do the grafts in the early spring or late winter. I’ve had mixed results later in spring and in summer.

Where on the tree are you grafting? I also think I grafted too low, where the grafts were shaded…

Mine is very wide and bushy, not at all tree-like, and I’ve grafted on many branches around the edges, but none that are shaded.