Feijoa cold hardiness

yes, I think those New Zealand varieties are grafted and what is growing here is the rootstock, not the varieties.

Thanks for the clarification, in contrast, the two large seedlings that I have in pots have had no problem regenerating over the last few weeks. But it’s clear that I’ll have to cover my new cultivars with both 2 mil poly sheets and a trash can to make sure they survive next winter.

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Well, looks like Mammoth is more a zone 8-9 plant. But 1 thing that I noticed with citrus is that the new grafted plants are vulnerable for the first few years to cold damage. The 2 scion and rootstock have different flow rates when the temperature drops. The graft union fails, and only the rootstock recovers. Feijoa might be the same way. You may want to keep them potted for a year or two before planting the replacements out again. A southern exposure couldn’t hurt either. Sorry for that loss…

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Fruit quality is superb. One of my favorite fruits. The ripening order was Mammoth, Nazametz, Coolidge but they were pretty close together. Mammoth ripened mid to late Oct. Nazametz was late October to early Nov, and Coolidge was just a bit later by about a week.

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In SE Portland, all feijoa in this neighborhood are just starting to show signs of life. May 8.

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In German forums there is a bit of discussion around a variety called Nikita -a selection from the Nikitsky Botanical Garden on Crimea- that is supposed to be the hardiest variety around in Europe. Not easy to find, but I found and bought two (very nice) plants from a Spanish nursery (Exotic Fruit Trees) and will be planting them in the ground in my 8b Zone. Supposedly hardy to -15C (+5F). Not far away from where I live, but not so exposed as it grows in the middle of Heidelberg, there are unknown varieties producing fruits:

Lets see how my experiment goes.

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I grow successfully the varieties unique and apollo in a small green house from which I remove the front plastic wall in the summer month. This way they perfectly mature and fully ripen. This is not the case out in the open ground here in central Switzerland.

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I just moved from California to Utah (7a), and will be attempting to grow one of the New Zealand varieties in a sheltered location here. I perused this string, and did not notice any mention of eating the flowers. The white petals, once they soften and become plump, are not only edible but delicious, with a spritely tropical flavor which is arguably better than that of the fruit. In central California, I considered that we had two ā€œcropsā€ with this plant, the flowers in the spring, and the fruit in November. Eating the flowers did not seem to affect pollination or fruit set. Even if you cannot ripen fruit in your climate, this plant is worth growing for the flavor of the flower petals alone.

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I found a way to grow feijoa inground and get fruit. I live near Montreal, canada in zone 5. I build a frame around my 2 bush. 4x4x4. In winter i close the sides of the frame with foam panels. Feijoa do not need light when dormant. What makes them loose there leaves is prolonged low temperature. Temperature under the freezing point. I have a litlle heater (150w) i buy on aliexpress. It’s plugged to a mecanical thermostat. It keeps the temperature just above freezing 1-3degree celcius. They stay ln the box from november to mid march. In march i open the south face of the box and replace the foam for a 8mm sheet of polycarbonate i found at home depot. I also buried a 5 gallon bucket in the middle of the 2 plants. I use it as a thermal battery, for power failiure. It’s my tird season.

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It seems my 2 feijoa survived this past winter relatively unscathed. Lowest temp was 11F in January. I only wrapped clear plastic around them to protect them from the wind chill, the top was exposed.

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My indoor feijoa look worst than my unprotected in pots outside feijoa… (besides a little tip burn, my outside feijoa look amazing)

Them fungus gnats i got were strong enough to start decimating even hard citrus roots :skull_and_crossbones:

Why would you have a feijoa inside? They seem bulletproof here to me.

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They looked like they were struggling with the cold so i brought them inside. Only a few though** lickver’s pride, Opal star, and a few small kaiteri and marion. It was getting below freezing a lot at the time and they just looking the best so i thought maybe helping them warm up would help…

Before, i had them in the greenhouse and under the eve until we moved. Then they just got throw everywhere. My greenhouse is in pieces all around the house right now because the ground is too soft/builders didn’t do a lot of things right

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I’d say as long as it doesn’t get into the 20s a potted feijoa will be happier outside in some sunshine than in a greenhouse or definitely a home. I understand tho, I’ve been going against my ā€œdon’t baby my plantsā€ with my Yangmei.

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It was a constant 15-27 degrees here for a few weeks. That’s when they started struggling. My big potted ones were fine without protection, it was just that new guys that needed help

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They were actually quite happy in the greenhouse.

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That is rather chilly for a potted plant, maybe you made the right call.

I got rid of my greenhouse a few years ago when I realized my citrus did better outside than inside

Feijoa are almost bulletproof. But in pots the rain can do them in if the mix doesn’t drain properly.

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My young feijoa seemed to hold their leaves through the winter only to drop most of them a couple of weeks ago. I think my larger ones kept their leaves.

I had the same thing happen. Potted trees are dropping leaves and looking sad. I will plant several more in the ground this year once I get rid of my blueberries which are basically bird food.

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