How to Plant Feijoa Trees

Ripe feijoa fruits are bright green.

The feijoa or pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana) produces edible, green fruit that tastes of a mixture of pineapple, strawberry and guava. It grows up to 15 feet high and forms a rounded shrub with leathery, oval leaves and pink, edible flowers. Feijoa bushes come from high altitude areas of South America and can survive frost.

Things You'll Need

• Ripe feijoa fruit
• Kitchen sieve
• Sterile compost
• Pots
• Low-nitrogen fertilizer

Instructions

1. Scrape out the soft pulp from the center of a ripe feijoa fruit and leave it in a glass of water for four days. Strain through a fine kitchen sieve and allow the seeds to dry for several days.

2. Plant in sterile potting compost, burying the seeds at a depth of 1/4 inch. Feijoa seeds take up to three weeks to germinate. Transplant the seedlings into individual pots once they have two pairs of leaves. Feijoa plants can also be propagated from cuttings or by air layering.

3. Plant feijoa plants in a sunny or partially shaded location in the garden once they are about a foot tall. Choose a sunny location, preferably with slightly acidic, well-drained soil. Leave at least 15 feet between plants, or five feet if you plan a feijoa hedge.

4. Dig a hole slightly wider and deeper than the root ball of your feijoa plant. Set the plant at the same depth it was growing at in its pot. Fill in the hole and tamp down the soil to eliminate air pockets. Water the plant thoroughly after planting.

5. Cover the soil around your feijoa with a 6-inch layer of organic mulch. Leave a 12-inch mulch free circle around its trunk to prevent it from rotting.

6. Water feijoa plants freely during dry spells and when they are in flower or carrying fruit. Feijoas thrive in areas with 30 to 40 inches of rain per year.

7. Feed the plants every two months during the growing season with a low-nitrogen fertilizer to encourage fruit production.

8. Prune feijoa bushes lightly after the fruiting period to increase yields the following year.

Tips & Warnings

• Feijoas grow in areas with minimum winter temperatures above 15 degrees Fahrenheit. They can grow in areas close to the sea, albeit slowly and with fewer fruits.

• Collect ripe feijoa fruits as they fall from the bush and store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

References

• University of Florida; Feijoa Sellowiana -- Feijoa; Edward F. Gilman, et al.; March 2007
• Quisqualis Rare Fruit, Tropical Fruit and Rare Plant Information: Pineapple Guava -- Feijoa; Gene Joyner
• California Rare Fruit Growers: Feijoa Sellowiana
• Purdue University; Feijoa Sellowiana; Julia F. Morton
• The University of Tennessee; Planting Fruit Trees; David W. Lockwood