<em>Feijoa sellowiana</em>, Brazilian guava: to plant, to grow and harvest its fruits

Description and botany

Feijoa is a large evergreen bush, offering decorative foliage and an original flowering, followed by edible fruits. Its true scientific name is Acca sellowiana, but in French it is commonly called Goyavier du Brésil because it comes from South America and belongs to same family as true guava. In its wild state it is found in southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Colombia and northern Argentina.

Although three species exist – Acca sellowiana, Acca lanuginosa and Acca macrostema – cultivation focuses mainly on the first, formerly named Feijoa sellowiana. Around twenty horticultural varieties are available, obtained by hybridization. Feijoa is grown for its fruit in Florida, California, New Zealand and Australia, but fruits are generally sold locally rather than exported, because they do not keep well after harvest and deteriorate quickly. Feijoa pulp is also used in some natural cosmetics for its exfoliating properties.

Contrary to what one might expect for an exotic bush, Feijoa has good hardiness, able to withstand down to −10 °C, which makes it easy to grow in our climates. Exposed to lower temperatures (down to −15 °C), Feijoa may lose its leaves and stop fruiting, but bush itself should not be damaged.

Acca sellowiana: Botanical illustration

Feijoa belongs to family Myrtaceae, which comprises nearly 6,000 species. These are trees and bushes, often native to Australia or South America, some producing essential oils used for their fragrance or medicinal properties. Examples in this family include myrtle, eucalyptus, clove tree, callistemon and melaleuca. True guava (Psidium guajava) also belongs to this large family.

Feijoa was named in honour of Portuguese naturalist João da Silva Feijó (1760–1824). Species name sellowiana refers to Friedrich Sellow, a German botanist who collected specimens in South America. In French it is often nicknamed Goyavier du Brésil. It is also sometimes called pineapple guava or Montevideo guava.

It is a bushy, well-ramified bush with a fairly broad, rounded habit. It grows rather slowly at first, during first 4–5 years, until well established. It reaches up to 6–7 metres in height at most, and can live for more than 50 years. Feijoa has brown bark that flakes in small plates, revealing a fine red hue on younger wood. Young shoots are entirely covered with a silvery down.

Feijoa bears attractive foliage, dark green–grey in colour. Leaves are simple, undivided, and have an ordinary elliptical shape, with a well-marked central vein. They usually measure between 6 and 8 cm in length, and are thick and leathery. On underside they are silvery and downy. Leaves are opposite, arranged two by two on stems. Foliage is quite dense, making it an effective screen and interesting for an informal hedge. It is also evergreen, remaining decorative in winter.

Roots are quite superficial, staying close to soil surface.

Feijoa offers a fine spring flowering in May–June. Flowers are solitary and measure about 3.5 cm in diameter. They generally have four petals, although some may have three, five or six. Petals are fleshy, white on reverse and pinkish-red on inner face. Their edges are folded upwards, partly hiding inner pink area. Flowers also generally have four sepals. At centre a cluster of long bright-red stamens is gathered, whose yellow tips (anthers) bear the pollen. These stamens are very numerous, often between 80 and 100 per flower. Among them sits a long red style (female reproductive organ that will receive the pollen).

In its natural habitat, some birds eat petals and pollinate the flower at same time. And even for humans, Feijoa petals are edible. They have a sweet, slightly sugary flavour with a hint of cinnamon. They can be added to salads, or used to garnish dishes. If you harvest them, we recommend doing so gently and taking only the petals. This allows the remainder of the flower to develop into fruit.

Feijoa requires cross-pollination to produce fruit, which means a single bush generally cannot fertilise itself. Therefore, to obtain fruit, plant at least two young plants in the garden. However, some self-fertile varieties exist, such as Acca sellowiana ‘Coolidge’.

Flowering of Acca sellowiana (photo Christer T Johansson), and its fruits (photo Didier Descouens)

In autumn, Feijoa produces oval green fruits with a rough skin, resembling small avocados and measuring about 6–7 cm in length. They have white or creamy-white flesh, and contain pips. They are generally harvested in November; they fall from the tree when ripe. Flavour is sweet, recalling pineapple, banana and strawberry. Fruits can be eaten raw or used to make jam or compote, for example. Also possible to make tarts and cakes, sorbets, or include in a fruit salad…

Main varieties of Feijoa

Acca sellowiana

This is the type species, as it occurs in the wild. It is valued for its foliage, for its beautiful pale pink flowers with red stamens, and for its pleasant-to-eat fruits. We recommend planting at least two young plants to encourage fruiting.

• Flowering time June, July
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Feijoa sellowiana Coolidge

This variety has the advantage of being self-fertile, not requiring the presence of other young plants to set fruit. It is particularly suited to fruit production. In autumn it produces ovate green fruits with a flavour reminiscent of guava and pineapple.

• Flowering time July, August
• Height at maturity 4 m

See the product sheet

Feijoa sellowiana

These seeds will allow you to try sowing Feijoa. It is an economical option that requires more time and attention, but you will have the satisfaction of having watched your bush grow from germination.

• Flowering time July to September
• Height at maturity 2,50 m

See the product sheet

Planting feijoa

Where to plant?

Plant Feijoa in full sun. It needs warmth and plenty of light to produce generous flowering and fruiting. Also place it sheltered from cold winds. Ideally install it near a south-facing wall. Mild temperatures, possibly a greenhouse, are needed so fruits can reach ripeness. You can plant Feijoa in a large container, which will allow you to bring it indoors in winter.

It prefers rich, fertile, loose, light soil. It also likes well-draining substrates that do not retain too much moisture in winter. It is quite drought-tolerant. If your soil is heavy, compact or clayey, try to lighten it and improve drainage, for example by adding organic matter. Feijoa prefers slightly acidic or neutral soils. In general, Feijoa is not fussy about soil type and will succeed in any good garden soil.

It is a bush suited to seaside gardens. It likes mild temperatures and can tolerate sea spray and salt. Feijoa’s shallow root system has the advantage of holding soil and limiting erosion, which is useful on slightly sloping or unstable ground, or by the sea.

Feel free to include Feijoa in an informal hedge. Its dense evergreen foliage will form an effective screen.

When to plant?

We recommend planting in spring (April–May), although planting is also possible in autumn if you live in a mild climate.

How to plant?

We recommend planting at least two young plants of Feijoa to obtain fruit, as they require cross-pollination (unless growing self-fertile varieties).

1. Start by digging a large planting hole, two or three times the size of the rootball.
2. Add well-rotted compost to enrich the soil.
3. Remove your Feijoa from its pot and gently tease the rootball to loosen the roots a little and stimulate them.
4. Plant, taking care not to bury the collar.
5. Backfill soil around Feijoa.
6. Water generously.

You can also install a stake to support Feijoa and help it grow upright, especially if your garden is exposed to winds.

Also consider forming a watering basin around the trunk to facilitate watering and water infiltration at its base. Water regularly during the weeks following planting.

You can plant it in a large pot or container so you can easily bring it indoors in winter. Use a well-draining, fairly rich substrate, for example potting compost mixed with some well-rotted compost and coarse sand. Position the pot in full sun, sheltered from wind if possible.

Care

Feijoa is fairly drought-tolerant, but prolonged lack of water will harm fruiting. If you grow it for its fruit, be more vigilant about watering. Likewise, in the year of planting, water regularly. Afterwards, Feijoa will appreciate occasional watering during prolonged drought. Be careful if you grow it in a pot: watering will need to be much more frequent than in open ground, as the substrate dries out quickly.

Feijoa likes rich soils, which is why we recommend adding well-decomposed compost every year. Place it at the base and incorporate it superficially into the soil by lightly forking. You can also lay a layer of organic mulch to keep soil cooler for longer and to protect the bush from cold. As Feijoa’s root system is superficial, remaining close to the soil surface, spreading a layer of mulch will really help protect its roots from heat, drying out, or winter cold.

If you live in a cold region and your Feijoa is in open ground, we recommend wrapping it with a winter protection fleece and laying a thick layer of mulch at its base. If it is in a pot or container: in October you can bring it under cover, into a porch or an unheated greenhouse, and put it back outside in spring, around May. Feijoa is relatively hardy but cold may damage flowering and fruit production. Feijoa fruits less well when grown in cool regions, because low temperatures damage flower buds, thus preventing fruit development.

If you grow Feijoa in a pot or container, consider repotting on average every two years, or carrying out a top-dressing.

Feijoa is known to grow slowly, but it will grow faster in rich, cool soil than in a poor, dry substrate. So, don’t hesitate to add compost and mulch, and to water occasionally when necessary.

Feijoa is rarely attacked by diseases and parasites. However, it can be affected by scale insects. You can get rid of them by using black soap diluted in water.

→ Learn more about Feijoa diseases and pests in our advice sheet!

Prune Feijoa preferably in late winter, around March; but it is also possible to do so in autumn, after harvest. In any case, it is a bush that tolerates pruning very well. You can leave it fairly natural and ramified from the base, which will give a bushy effect, or conversely prune it into a single-stem form to form a very straight trunk without branching, which then becomes denser higher up to form a fairly rounded tuft of foliage. Prune primarily the lowest branches to showcase the trunk and reduce weight. If the base of the bush is cleared, this will also allow you easier access to fruits that have fallen to the ground for harvest. Also remove dead, damaged or broken branches, and those that cross one another. As Feijoa is a rather dense and well-ramified bush, we recommend removing some branches from the centre of the canopy to aerate it and allow light to penetrate.

Harvest and uses of Brazilian guavas

Feijoa fruits are generally harvested from mid-October and throughout November. Temperatures need to be mild enough for fruit to reach ripening. From the outside it is difficult to tell whether fruit is ripe. When it is, it falls from the tree. You can gently shake branches to collect fruits that detach from the tree and are therefore ready to eat. Once harvested, fruit does not keep for long.

Besides its pleasant flavour reminiscent of pineapple, guava and strawberry, Feijoa fruit is particularly rich in vitamin C. To eat it, cut it in half and eat each half with a spoon to scoop out flesh, as with a kiwi. Skin is also edible but less palatable than flesh. Feijoa can be added to smoothies or used to make jams, jellies, tarts or compotes. Finally, you can keep pips found in fruits to propagate Feijoa by sowing.

→ Find out more in our tutorial : How to harvest and preserve Feijoa fruit?

Propagation: sowing

To multiply Feijoa, mainly use sowing or propagation by cuttings, although it is also possible to graft or layer it. Propagation by cuttings is carried out in summer, taking heel cuttings from semi-woody shoots. It is rather delicate to succeed, which is why we recommend sowing. However, when successful, propagation by cuttings produces fruit more quickly than sowing.

Sowing

Sow in spring. You can sow seeds you have harvested yourself from fully ripe fruit. In that case, rinse seeds before sowing to avoid pulp remaining around them.

1. Fill a pot with a light, well-draining substrate, for example a mix of potting compost and sand.
2. Sow seeds.
3. Cover with a thin layer of substrate.
4. Water with a fine spray.
5. Place pot in a bright, sheltered spot at about 15 °C.

Seeds take between 3 and 5 weeks to germinate. As soon as seedlings are large enough to handle, you can pot them on into individual pots. Growth of young plants is fairly slow, and you will have to wait at least four years before enjoying first fruits.

Companion planting in the garden

We recommend pairing Feijoa with other exotic and unusual fruit trees. You can thus create an exceptional orchard by planting it, for example, alongside fig trees, sea buckthorns, kiwis, nashi pears… Also enjoy the Kaki (Diospyros kaki), a tree which, as well as producing delicious fruit, offers beautiful autumn colours! You can also plant young Goji plants (Lycium barbarum). Not forgetting the Strawberry tree, a very handsome bush that provides decorative bark and round red fruits resembling strawberries. Also consider citrus trees, such as mandarin, yuzu or lemon trees.

You can pair Feijoa with other unusual or exotic fruit trees. Feijoa (photo Arn), Asimina triloba (photo Agnfieszka Kwiecień), Kaki (photo Chris Light), Kiwi (photo Lazaregagnidze) and Fig tree

For a very exotic, getaway atmosphere, you can perfectly plant Feijoa with banana trees, palm trees, and Yuccas. These plants, with their striking silhouettes, will structure the garden and add height. In front of them you can plant lower-growing species such as euphorbias, lantanas or wallflowers. For a lighter touch, include some ornamental grasses such as Carex comans ‘Bronze Form’ or Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’.

For a Mediterranean ambience, for example in a seaside garden: Oleander (photo Challiyan), Opuntia microdasys (photo Stan Shebs), Feijoa (photo KENPEI), Chamaerops humilis ‘Cerifera’ and Agave mediopicta ‘Lutea’

If you live by the sea, use Feijoa to create a Mediterranean-style garden. This bush tolerates sea spray and salt well, and the mild coastal temperatures are particularly favourable to its establishment and to good fruit production. You can plant it alongside Agaves, Opuntia, Helichrysum, santolina… You can also use it in an informal hedge with Griselinia, oleander and Elaeagnus. For more ideas on bushes, consult our advice sheet “10 perfect bushes for a seaside garden”