So Apollo is a little larger. I have a Feijoa book by Grant Thorp who actually was part of HortResearch New Zealand that developed most of the earlier varieties. Mammoth is noted to have a very high incidence of empty fruit if it isn’t pollinated well. It’s also grittier than Apollo. Because of that, I got Apollo. I have a Mammoth at another location that is the same age that has yet to form fruit, whereas the Apollo has 3 fruit this year.
Also Apollo is a parent of the newer ones like kaiteri, anatoki, kakariki, etc. Just like Celeste is a parent of the LSU improved figs. So My thought was just to get Apollo if you can find it. I got one the last year that OneGreen World carried it…
I have all the new introductions from OGW/Northwoods.
Arhart is a particularly interesting one - it flowered in August and has the largest sized fruit of any variety I have.
I’ve read many sources that claim feijoa cold injury begins at 20 F and I’ve found that to be false for any of the cultivars I grow or that grow at a local commercial operation. The lowest my hedge of feijoa has endured is one morning at 16 F and there wasn’t any noticeable damage. The plants didn’t even show any signs of stress. Most of my cold sensitive plants will start drooping even when the temperature approach the freezing mark. Not so with the feijoa, which at least look as happy when the temp is 20 as when it is 70. I have Coolidge, Nakita, Waingaro and several seedlings of which I know almost nothing about their parentage. I chose these cultivars because they are grown commercially in the Willamette Valley, Oregon which can drop below freezing an average of 30 nights annually. So I wanted to grow feijoa with proveen success in the area. Over the last quarter century those commercial feijoa have endured many nights below 20 and a few below 15. I think it got to 9 once. The lady who tends these commercial feijoa told me they planted them in the late 90’s and haven’t ever had any cold damage. The crop is ready for harvest between Halloween and Thanksgiving and they’ve never lost a crop despite November nights below 25 F. I’m actually confused why so many sources claim that damage starts at 20 F. Any idea why that is?
I grow over 20 varieties of Feijoa including some seedlings from top cultivars. None of them sustain any damage at that level. They can easily go to 15F and likely even lower. I’ve seen figures of 10F which is likely also quite conservative. Of course this assumes the bush is fully dormant. It is likely that the 20F figure is accurate for a late spring frost.
The fruit however will be damaged below 26-27 F in my experience.
To be honest, I was not that impressed with Arhart or any of the NZ varieties last year. I posted photos with weights so you can get an idea of the size. They are quite large indeed.
My comparison is with Mark Albert varieties that seemed superior in flavor and thinner skinned. But those are smaller and much later.
Quite the collection, can’t wait to hear your results! I’m surprised to hear you have ripening issues on the early ones, I was under the impression they were great performers in the PNW. As for the cold hardiness question, I will update you all on that because like I said mine have no protection on the southwest part of my property.
Mr. Thorp writes that : the first signs of damage are at -3c (26f) in summer and -8C (17F) in winter, but that tree death starts at -12C (10f) . Late maturing fruit get damaged once it gets below 0C (32f). So that matches your observations for the most part…
I was amazed by how cold tolerant they are. The first winter after planting them I spent an entire week fretting about the forecast low of 16. They next morning I went out and found that they still looked happy as clams.
I had a few in pots that I moved into the greenhouse for that cold snap. In case the outside plants had taken a hit I wanted to have some to replant. At the time it felt risky to leave so many unprotected, but I really wanted to know what I was working with. That’s the same approach I’ve taken with the yuzu and sudachi, and what I plan to do with the loquat.
After 4 winters I’m confident in saying that even 10 degrees wouldn’t harm feijoa. I think they would be showing at least some signs of cold stress at 15 if 10 was in the danger zone.
I wonder how 20 degrees got spread around as the number? Your theory about late spring cold snaps makes sense, but I never see that explanation used to qualify the claim of 20.
Regardless, they are more than hardy enough for zone 8.
I don’t have any ripening problems. Only that the taste was not upto expectations. Maybe if I had not tasted the Albert varieties I would have been satisfied with them.
I wouldn’t expect any damage in your climate unless it was some kind of freak late frost. Unrelated to pineapple guava, but since you mentioned loquat here is a picture of one in my area. I dont think you’ll find any issue growing them, the difficult part with them is flowering and fruiting in the winter.
Sorry if this is off topic, but I have a few questions about loquat propagation:
I have a scion from a yehuda loquat that I cut this afternoon. Would you say this is a good time of year to graft it to a seedling I have growing in my greenhouse?
Low temps never falls below 37 in my greenhouse, and is usually around 42. Right now, of course, the lows are in the mid 50’s to low 60’s with highs in the 90’s. If that’s too hot in your estimation, outside temps are forecast to be in the 60’s with ocasional rain for the next week.
I’m also curious if you think rooting the cutting in peat, sand and perlite is feasible? I’ve read a conflicting online source that says rooting loquat in peat mix or water is a reasonable method to clone scions.
I was looking at your posts and you seem extremely well informed about all aspects of growing and propagating loquats. Any insights would be much appreciated.
That’s an awesome loquat tree! What cultivar is it?
It’s a very nice shape. Am I seeing that right, you pruned it to have two main trunks? That’s ideal for what I’m doing, creating a privacy screen between my front yard and the public easement.
I’m familiar with the hardiness of loquat trees. Two of my trees were grown from seeds produced by a famous loquat tree growing in Seattle’s International District. Evidently the Seattle tree makes decent sized crops most years.
I didn’t specify, but my intention is to withhold protection from the fruit to see what kind of low temp they can handle here before sustaining damage. I suspect that certain shapes and locations might capture the ground heat in the canopy.
Mine lost some leaves, had some frost burnt growing tips, during the 6-day freeze in Dec 2021 with a low of 16°F. I’d say that counts as “some signs of cold stress,” albeit very minor ones. I saw zero damage this last winter with a low of 17° during a shorter duration freeze event.
The leaves that were damaged didn’t drop immediately, but became discolored and looked “dull,” they dropped more than a month later, though.
Hi jsteph00921, could you move your question to a loquat thread or even better, start a new one? We can go back and forth rather than clutter this one.
