These are the first year to fruit. I got plugs from Fruitwood Nursery. They have them again. Fruited in container 2nd year!
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Every one is precious, I know the feeling.
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It’s unbelievable that seedling plugs fruited so early for you.
I have 4 year old seedlings and no flowers even! Your climate is a lot warmer than mine here in the north.
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Something may be lost in the translation. Fruitwood Nursery only shows illustrations of cuttings.
They also sell seedling plugs (even though the URL incorrectly says rooted cuttings, the page makes clear that they are seedlings):
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Mark Albert said that you can expect seedling Feijoas to fruit at approximately 5-6 ft tall. My tallest seedlings are no more than 4 feet tall at 5 yrs old.
It is amazing that Beth’s trees grew so much and fruited in merely 2 years.
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Speaking of seedlings. I have a seedling I grew from one of Larry’s fruits. It is pretty runted at my old place. The “soil” is well draining hardpan, so it doesn’t hold water and probably super difficult for the roots to penetrate. Plus it doesn’t get fertilized. It’s probably 3 feet tall and 15 years old. I don’t think its flowered. But it seems healthy enough.
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…glad to hear that thing is still alive.
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@LarryGene, when should feijoas start swelling for them to be ready in time? Some fruits, especially higher up on my trees are still small. Others lower down are about the size of large eggs. There is such a size difference that I don’t know if the smaller ones will ever get as large.
As the weather will be cooling down in November, can one expect fruit to continue swelling into November and later?
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My bush has always produced far smaller fruit up high. It is possible that is because I cannot reach that high to hand-pollinate.
I don’t know a good swell-by date, but I do know that once there are some large-ish fruit, the small ones never catch up. In recent years I have taken to pinching off anything that is under one ounce by mid-October. Once a fruit shows the slightest give when squeezed, that is the final size.
If you already have large eggs, that is great. I might have a few small eggs.
In recent years, fruit has begun ripening in early November, rather than Thanksgiving. This can be a good thing, as the crop is less likely to be around for a hard December freeze.
I am hoping for 3-4 more weeks of swelling. Temperatures and moisture have been off the charts here ever since bloom season began. The 2021 Heat Dome was just a 3-day event, compared to 2022’s 90+ day severe drought and record warm months.Last summer we had 5x100 and 30x90 daysXdegrees and will smash the October record for N-daysX80degrees.
I would recommend continued weekly watering if hot and dry weather persists.
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Nice fruit; branch will add significant weight even if not touching scales.
Do you have any fruits that give slightly when firmly squeezed?
That would indicate a near-final fruit size.
the large fruits are still fully firm. I suspect we will be in November before any ripe fruit.
Who is interested in gathering in McMinnville on my covered deck for a test taste after ripening of all your feijoas if everyone’s trees cooperate? Text 3175171955 or email colbertmoline@gmail.com
That is an interesting idea, Beth.
Poking around in my bush today, ended up with 2 on the ground that are softening.
Many on the bush are no longer rock-hard.
For those who fear the onset of colder weather may halt the ripening process, note that my bush has reliably ripened crops during very wet weather and temperatures in the 50s and 40s with occasional 30s.
Ripe fruit that is stored in the fridge has maintained quality for up to a month.
Fruit that gives slightly when squeezed can be ripened at room temperature and needs to be checked daily to prevent over-ripeness.
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I love the idea, although I don’t have any fruiting yet.
I would love to meet up. Not sure if I will have more than about a dozen fruits.
That’s really early to get ripe fruit!
Are these early fruit still as good tasting as the later ones?
Most trees in the California Bay Area aren’t dropping fruit yet. Mark Albert in Ukiah CA still doesn’t have ripe fruit from his early varieties
I have not noticed any flavor difference during the harvest season. Smallish late (December) fruit on the bush can develop leathery-textured and browned flesh and still look fine on the outside.