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kawaiineko_gardener

pineapple guava in zone 7b?

I tried posting this in the NJ gardening forum, but I wasn't sure where to post it; I didn't really get any responses advice there, so I re-posted it here because apparently putting it in the NJ forum was a poor place to post it.

I am not referring to growing pineapple guava in my current zone, and where I currently live, I know it won't grow.

Eventually I'd like to grow a garden (including fruit trees, berries, etc.) in southern NJ.

It'd be at the southern most part of NJ In the coastal part of NJ; it'd be zone 7b with the grow zone.

I'm wondering if it's possible to grow pineapple guava in this part of NJ. It'd be grown outdoors in the ground.

Comments (12)

  • puglvr1
    10 years ago

    I attached a link below...

    But it does say this "under climate"

    " Climate

    The feijoa needs a subtropical climate with low humidity. The optimum annual rainfall is 30 to 40 in (762-1,016 mm). The plant thrives where the weather is cool part of the year and it can withstand temperatures as low as 12ú to 15ú F (-11.11ú-9.44ú C). The flavor of the fruit is much better in cool than in warm regions. "

    I'm not familiar with how cold your temps get so that should tell you if your tree will survive?

    I have a Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana" growing in FL...its a seedling. It grows very well and Blooms every spring, but hasn't given me but a couple of fruits since I've had it...we get down in the 30's here. I have another bush (another seedling) and that one gives me more fruits than my standard PG tree...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pineapple Guava (Feijoa sellowiana )

  • puglvr1
    10 years ago

    Close up picture of the tree...many blooms. Hoping to see some of them get pollinated this year, but won't get my hopes up if the previous years are any indication :o(

  • kawaiineko_gardener
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I don't really know what the temperatures are in the area, as I don't currently live there. I do know it's in the southern most part of New Jersey (the very tip) and the gardening zone is 7b.

    Would I have to do anything to protect the plant? If so, what would this involve?

    All the temps listed are in Farenheit. The place I'd like to grow the pineapple guava (if possible) is in Cape May.

    I know it'll be warmer in comparison to other parts of the state as result of being located on the coast.

    Here is a list of temperatures (the averages and the lows). I know the temps will vary from the list but it gives you an idea...

    Average temps...

    Jan 46.3
    Feb 44.3
    March 51
    April 60
    May 70.3
    June 79.4
    July 84.5
    August 83.4
    Sept. 77.8
    Oct. 67.1
    Nov. 56.9
    Dec. 46.8

    Low temps...

    Jan 27.9
    Feb 29.2
    Mar 35.2
    April 43.8
    May 52.7
    June 62.5
    July 67.7
    Aug 66.8
    Sept 60
    Oct 49
    Nov 41
    Dec 31

    Also supposedly (again not sure cause I don't live here currently) the springs are cooler due to the area being in a coastal area.

  • tropicbreezent
    10 years ago

    I used to have one in zone 10 and it flowered and fruited well. I planted one where I am now, zone 12, and in about 6 years it's hardly grown, never flowered, and obviously never fruited. So it does prefer it colder.

  • puglvr1
    10 years ago

    Looking at your low averages I would think you should be able to grow it? According to the link I sent you above it says this"

    " Climate

    The feijoa needs a subtropical climate with low humidity. The optimum annual rainfall is 30 to 40 in (762-1,016 mm). The plant thrives where the weather is cool part of the year and it can withstand temperatures as low as 12ú to 15ú F (-11.11ú-9.44ú C). The flavor of the fruit is much better in cool than in warm regions."

    If you get anything lower than 15F degrees I would build a small frame around the tree and add some type of heat like a light source and cover it completely with frost cloth...If you do a search on this forum you can see some of the "frost protection" we've built for our Mango and Lychee trees...

  • bananafan
    10 years ago

    Puglvr,

    That is a very beautiful PG tree of yours. . I like the single trunk your plant has there. Did you have to prune it to have a single trunk? The ones I have are all very bushy. I have planted some of them in the ground and some are still in pots. I only have a couple that have bloomed. They don't bloom a lot and I haven't seen any fruit out of them yet. A fruit tree vendor told me that they don't produce fruit easily for consumption. He told me to grow strawberry guava instead.
    Apparently, I got a lot of the PG because I was attracted by the beautiful blooms. Now I'm seeing one of them blooming again. Maybe I'll have to hand pollinate them. Do you just brush the blooms with a brush?

  • puglvr1
    10 years ago

    Hi John, I tried hand pollinating mine and still had little to NO luck. Guess I just really suck at it,lol...

    Thanks Banana! I bought that tree almost 7 years ago and it was in a 10 or 15 gallon pot and had been trained as a single trunk tree already which is the main reason I decided to buy it ...exactly what I was looking for. I also have a "bush" one not nearly as pretty as that one...although that tree has been a horrible fruit producer lo....I grow it mostly as an ornamental and for its very pretty blooms :o) I still wish one day I would get some fruits from it...

  • greenleaf_organic
    10 years ago

    I have a really cool book called "All about citrus and subtropical fruits" and they say you can eat the flowers too. That also say that lack of watering will cause the fruit to drop. They also list 14 cultivars which should fruit much better than from seed. Top ones seem to be Nazemetz and varieties of Evendale. Good luck finding one. I have all but given up. They also did say that they do better in cooler coastal areas than really hot summers.

  • greenleaf_organic
    10 years ago

    Also, many of the pineapple guavas need a pollinator.

  • plantedworld
    10 years ago

    I believe the feijoa is very hardy as a plant, but fickle when it comes to fruit set.

    I have two that flower and fruit profusely in socal. I am less than 5 miles from coast and in a canyon, so I get temps in the 90+ F range in summer and temporary/infrequent freezes in winter. Both of my feijoa shrubs are in flower now and I expect a couple hundred fruit from them.

    The flowers, as a previous poster mentioned, are edible and very tasty. You can pull the petals after the stamen has been polinated - have your cake and eat it too. Some dress salads with the leaves, but I enjoy them out of hand.

  • jbclem
    10 years ago

    I live in a canyon near Los Angeles, and temperatures get down to 28F every year two or three times, and the last two years I've seen 25-26F. I have two feijoa trees/bushes, and they've never shown any signs of damage from the cold. In 2007 the temps dropped to 18F and I don't remember any signs of damage then, and if there was any there's no sign of it now.

    The past two years I've been getting lots of blooms, and I've been hand pollinating like crazy, but having no results, zero fruit. I've read that unless the feijoa is a known self fertile variety, it has to be cross pollinated from another variety. I don't know what varieties I have, so I just bought a Nazametz feijoa to use for pollination...also because it's known to be a pretty good variety.

    Plantedworld, do you know what varieties you have?

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