Bill might let some cuttings go.I visited him to get some Pawpaw and happened to mentioned growing Feijoa near Seattle.He then showed me those plants.The round ones are the fruit I tried and they were delicious.The closest match I came up with is Pineapple Gem,which is described as small, round fruit of good to very good quality,by the CRFG.
I’ve grown a plant from a cutting of my own cultivar,using a misting setup.
Also,CRFG states that the variety,Mammoth,grows to 10 feet and is self fertile and I’ve seen photos of Larry’s plant and the top looks to be taller than the house. Brady
Good, no-nonsense video. Ground harvest is fine, but unless you have a very cushioned surface, the fruit does bruise and those will not store well in the fridge. 30 days in fridge for unblemished fruit is no problem, quality holds up fine. Fruit can be picked from the bush, those that are ready will come off with little effort, no need for a hard tug. The fruit should give a little when pressed–leave hard fruits alone. They will continue to ripen indoors.
I always give mine summer water, most web info recommends this.
15 degrees is the magic temperature; below this next year’s flower structures will be damaged. Below 25 degrees there will be leaf loss.
I have been sent photos from Florida of feijoa raised at the nursery as a standard. All the plants I have seen fall into two categories: Sprawling (like mine) or those with acutely-angled branches and those would make the best tall standard or hedge. My plant is over 10 feet in all directions (taller than the roof gutters) and must be pruned yearly to keep it that small. On the other hand, most of the bushes I see around are very slow growing and most people who were expecting fruit remove them.
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Hi Larry
All varieties of Feijoa blooming the same time? Had you ever not handed pollinating and still having fruits? I plant only Coolidge which is self fertile do you think should I buy an other one for pollinating? Thank Larry.
Like most fruiting plants, there are early, mid-season, and late-season varieties. My plant has fruited well in areas hard to reach and therefore not hand-pollinated. Cross-pollination often leads to heavier crops. I have been lucky with this one plant; normally I do not like to rely on a single plant long-term.
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Hello, new to this site but been growing One Green World varieties of Feijoas in McMinnville, Oregon for 6 years. Got first fruit last year. I just read they like lots of water just before fruiting. Last summer was so dry and I did not water, gone a lot . This year I’m watering more this summer and will continue in to fall.
Where can I get Albert’s Pride,Albert’s Supreme or Albert’s Joy varieties?
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For watering purposes of these plants in our region (NW Oregon), “just before fruiting” includes from peak blossom (late June) to fruit sizing up (early October). I water weekly with a sprinkler (2+ hours) all summer.
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Larry, do u have a nursery here in Portland and sell guava plants?
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We have a Coolidge guava and are lookin for another variety
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I’m not Larry,but One Green World is in Portland.They carry Nikita and Mammoth,among others,that are known for fairly early ripening fruit.bb
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Ok, cool. I will check them out. Thank u!
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Hi,
I know spring is the best time to plant fruit trees into the ground in general, but does anyone know if it’s ok to plant these feijoa right now (fall) in Portland, OR? Thanks in advance!
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I’m going to plant one soon,near Seattle.
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For /Seattle | Portland fall planting, just keep some compost handy so you can put a few inches around the new planting if temps go under +25 for an extended period. And do the planting before the soil gets too wet in November rains.
If you currently have a potted plant, I would wait until spring as there will be very little root growth before then and the pot should suffice for now.
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I have several grafted varieties in small (1 gallon) pots. Is it necessary to protect the pots from cold temperatures (like 20F that we get in the middle of winter?)
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Yes, that is too cold for small 1-gallon pots. Even if the roots do not freeze, there may be extensive burning of the leaves and the plant would have to do double-duty next spring: re-leaf and grow more roots. Green leaves feed root growth.
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I’m going to plant 2-3 feijoa in the ground soon. In the front yard because they are such attractive shrubs. Hopefully the neighbors won’t notice the edible crop (ha, ha). What do you recommend for spacing? Is 8 to 10’ on center reasonable spacing? (I have a small yard). Also, I want to prune them to 7 feet tall so I don’t need a ladder. Does this sound reasonable or are you harvesting 100% of them from the ground?
Also, are you finding that squirrels, rats, voles or raccoons eat most of your crop? Thanks much!
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Your proposed spacing is fine. Feijoa are often planted as a hedgerow with adjacent plants eventually overlapping. So I suppose 3 or 4 feet would be the minimum.
Keeping to 7 feet tall should still allow plenty of lower branching and fruit production.
Ground harvest is fine, as fruit recently on the ground are definitely ripe, but will bruise unless the ground is soft via grass or thick mulch. Fruit is also ripe when it easily comes off the bush when bent sideways. This of course requires test-bending each fruit. If ground is soft, easier to just shake the bush and see what falls.
Squirrels here are a pest of feijoa. They do not consume them but shred them into tiny pieces looking for fat or oils, like in a nut.
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