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louisiana_botanist

Pineapple guava fruit

Louisiana_botanist
18 years ago

My pineapple guavas have produced fruit this year and a bunch at that.

Question, when are the fruit ripe? I would have assumed when the fall of the bush and hit the ground as with pawpaw. However the guava fruit are typically still pretty hard when I pluck them off the mulch. Do you let the fruit ripen a few days in a sunny window? What color should the fruit be when ripe? Picked up 4 green hard ones this AM on my way to the office. After lunch, I noticed they had turned a walnut brown color in the window of my Jeep.

Comments (5)

  • bigeasyjock
    18 years ago

    I'm bumping up this post as I too am interested in Pineapple guava.
    Mike

  • lightworld
    18 years ago

    the ones i've seen ripe are purplish brown in color. the green ones are not ripe! you might not get them to ripen this late in the season altho it's pretty warm here in NO :)

    i'd be interested in getting some seeds from these guavas if anyone wants to swap...

    check my gardenweb page for possibilities, thanks... it hasn't been updated and i didn't get too many 05 seeds due to hurricane, but i just got some pink mexican petunias :)

    JL

    Here is a link that might be useful: My Trade List

  • greenelbows1
    18 years ago

    One things I would warn about in growing them from seed--we had one some years ago. The fruit was pretty tasteless. Went to visit a friend who invited me to try hers. They were delicious. We decided to cut ours down, as it was too big to move. The flowers are said by some to be tastier than the fruit, but I don't remember if we tried them. Very pretty though. I know some places sell named varieties, which after that I would highly recommend. Grown from seed some might be good, but I think the chances are not awfully favorable.

  • Louisiana_botanist
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Sorry for my late reply. Lately I've been engaged in yard work, cutting pecan logs in my back yard, and harvesting honey from my bee farm and maintaining the bees.

    The pineapple guavas (Feijoa sellowiana) I have are the ones you sometimes find at Lowes', Coyote Creek, Louisiana Nursery, or Cleggs. I obtained most of mine at Lowes' in 5-gallon pots and a few at Coyote Creek in one gallon pots. I've read on one of the Gardenweb forums that the cultivars are much better, but none of the nurseries I have been to from Baton Rouge to New Orleans carry the cultivars or know where to obtain them. I've seen the cultivar ones on the Web at out-of-state nurseries, but only in 1-gallon pots. Can't afford freight on the large shrubs. The flower petal are edible and kind of tasty.....perhaps if you haven't eaten all day.

    I found that when the fruit is shed from the bushes, let them sit in a sunny window for a week or two. They will still be green, but after a couple of weeks, mine taste pretty sweet and are soft.

    Joe (aka Lightworld):

    I can mail you a couple of fruit I have remaining, but nurseries will likely have the large shrubs for sale. I haven't been to Bantings since before Katrina came for a visit, so I don't know if they are open. They would likely have pineapple guava.

    You and anyone else are welcome to stop by my home in Melrose Place Subdivision in Baton Rouge and take some cuttings of pineapple guava and anything else you like. See my garden website (North Leighton Gardens) for directions. Click on my address for a map.

    James

    Here is a link that might be useful: North Leighton Gardens

  • keiththibodeaux
    18 years ago

    My work carries me into New Orleans via the West Bank on Hwy 90. Last trip I saw sign boards on the highway saying "Bantings Nursery Now Open." Unfortunately they didn't say where to find it. I would like to have stopped by. So yes they are open again. Now, where exactly are they?

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