Feijoa in zone 8?

General Fruit Growing
#1

Has anyone out there successfully fruited a coolidge variety feijoa (or any other feijoa) in zone 8 or colder without a greenhouse?

#2

There is zone 8 and there is zone 8. Parts of Georgia/Florida are zone 8. So are the northern reaches of the PNW.

Your location says zone 8A which is marginal for Feijoa. Further you may be significantly heat challenged.

Do you have a very warm micro climate?

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#3

https://growingfruit.org/t/iso-feijoa-that-reliably-fruits-in-pnw-puget-lowlands/33311/46
^ Another BC grower; I think his were potted and in protective structures, semi-outdoors.

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#4

I am in Zone 8A, north Texas, and have had three plants in the ground for 2 years now. They survived the freak snow storm with some die back. Only one has flowed since planting, but i don’t know the specific varieties that i have either. So the plants grow just fine in Zone 8A, just don’t know about fruit yet.

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#5

i am fruiting them in z8 Florida

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#6

8a in Georgia, and they fruit consistently for me. They are very carefree. Hardest part is pruning the tree so i can get the fruit when they drop…

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#7

…do you mean get the fruit before they drop? Or prune to keep the drop height below what would cause severe bruising?

#8

I’ve been fruiting them for several years on the 7b/8a border in NC. Out in the yard, no problem at all. Fruit set will be much less if you’re not diligent with hand pollinating though.

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#9

I shake the bushes in November and grab what’s on the ground.

#10

To the original poster’s question, based on one more year of experience, I think the average feijoa is not going to be very reliable in the PNW (zone 8B) outside of the willamette valley. Unless you have a great microclimate(8 hours+ sun) AND you are growing very early varieties.

I see variations based on the micro climates I have them growing in. varieties Arhart and Takaka grown in near perfect microclimates are getting close to full size. While some others are still under quarter size.

I know that Bob Duncan of Sidney BC gets fantastic results growing citrus, Feijoa, avocado etc. But he is a grand master at exploiting micro-climates including the use of greenhouses. All his Feijoa are grown against a wall with overhead plexiglass protection to warm up the micro climate even more.

Without a greenhouse or without a full southern exposure with protection from north winds, it is going to be tough to ripen them well in Canada zone 8.

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#11

Prune so I can get access to the fruit. My seedlings have drooping branches, so it’s leaves in your eyes when you try to pick them up. I mulch heavily so the fruit never show any bruising.