Gardener972

Someone on Gardenweb said they grew a guava in east Texas. Can that be so? The guavas I've seen at the grocery store were big... like a large orange. Recently we were in Mexico and I bought some guavas at a market and they were very round and about the size of a lime. What's the difference? What type do you suppose grew in Texas?

buffy

I'm guessing that guy/gal was growing Pineapple Guave. It's not a true guava, but taste about like the name suggest. They produce a pretty flower in the spring that's edible. Fruits late summer. The scientific name is Feijoa sellowiana. These will actually do pretty well there in Dallas. They need a good bit of sun to thrive, but otherwise, you can hedge them, prune them, whatever. Easy breezy. I've found them at Lowe's on occasion.

Feijoa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P.S. Both my father and I have plenty of these in our garden.

xavierdlc61887

i got a pineapple guava.... 1 gallon size though need to plant it so it can take off....by the way i live in texas 5 miles away from the mexico border gotta love that heat

Gardener972

What part of Texas do you live in? What are the conditions of your guava and how big does the bush/tree get?

Richard

Several varieties will grown in Texas, since many will just magically become deciduous when the temperatures drop below 45. A hard freeze can be fatal though.

As for plants called "guava", there are
Psidium guajava -- which produce larger fruits
Psidium cattleianum -- which produce tart fruits about 1 inch in diameter
Acca sellowiana -- the pineapple guava
... to name a few

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Gardener972

Thanks! Of those varieties, which one would do the best in a pot (if any) AND fruit, and which one would be the smallest?

Richard

Psidium cattleianum is the smallest fruit. At the time of its discovery by European peoples, it was not cultivated or liked by native peoples.

To make matters worse, some growers distribute P. cattleianum varieties such as "strawberry guava", "lemon guava", etc. under the botanical name Psidium guajava -- which they are not.

All of the "guava" fruits can be grown in a container -- esp. the more desirable true tropical guavas. They are vigorous plants and produce an abundance of fruit when grown in a 25 gallon or larger pot. The tropical guavas do not come true from seed, but suckers torn off from the base with a "heel" can be easily rooted with a hormone powder or liquid.

Be sure you like the taste of guavas before growing them. A good nick-name for them is pineapple pear -- without the sugar content. One test is to see if you like the taste of the spice tamarind.

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Gardener972

There must be a nutrient in guava that my body needs because I crave anything guava. Where would you suggest I get that variety?

Richard

Actually, Psidium guajava fruit contains small amounts of a compound that is mildly stimulating. If I remember correctly (probably not) it envigorates the blood system and not the nervous system.

Everyone who likes guavas enjoys the variety "Thai Pink". There is a good white variety called "White" or "Indonesian White". These are propagated en mass by wholesalers: you might just find one at a Fort Worth nursery with a good selection of fruit trees. As of yesterday, they were for sale at my local Home Depot store here in San Diego. There is also an active CRFG chapter in Texas which can probably help you as well: see "local chapters" under California Rare Fruit Growers.

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Gardener972

Fort Worth Nursery? I'm not familiar with that and am not finding it. More info?

chong

This nursery in Richardson has tropical fruit trees. The could have guavas.
Bruce Miller Nursery
(972) 238-0204
1000 E Belt Line Rd
Richardson, TX 75081


When I was doing some work in Dallas, I used to see myrtle in landscapes there. They look so much like guava trees. So, they should grow there. But to be sure, ask the nurseryman.

chong

I just received four of these plants from this eBay Seller, last Saturday. Although she has only one left on this auction, I believe she has more. So, if you want more, instead of paying right away, send her a message that you would like to buy more. Shipping for one is 8.00$, additional is only $1.50 ea.

LEMON GUAVA - but how sweet it is! Live plant - eBay (item 260234875746 end time May-04-08 16:30:39 PDT)

The plants I got were 8-inches to 10-inches tall. Given proper care, fertilizer, warmth and humidity, they could fruit next year.

Richard

"a Fort Worth nursery". Last summer I met a woman at the CRFG Fruit Festival who lives in Fort Worth. She was describing the varieties of fruits available from one of the local nurseries, which included fruiting bananas and loquats. If you can locate a nursery that is willing to special order plants, then they can obtain the 'Tropic Pink' and 'Tropic White' Psidium guajava from the wholesaler La Verne Nursery.

The 'Lemon Guava' chong mentions is a variety of Psidium cattleianum which you can learn more about at Species in GRIN for genus Psidium. It is agriculturally cultivated for juice.

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chong

Richard,
The "Lemon Guava" that I got from eBay is Psidium Guajava, not P. Clattleianum. The Seller just calls it "Lemon" because it ripens lemon yellow, skin is textured, sized and shaped like the citrus Lemon. If I were to make an educated guess, it is more of the "White Indian" variety. If it were a P. Cattleianum, I wouldn't have bought it. Here's the photo in the ad.

Richard

LOL! That's definately a white Psidium guajava!

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Gardener972

Why wouldn't you have bought the P. Cattleianum? What's the difference?

Richard

It has sour fruits about 1" diameter with a lot of seeds. It is grown mainly for juice. Commercially, the juice is used in condiments such as sweet & sour sauce.

As you see though, sellers incorrectly name guava fruits all the time. I have seen Pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana) sold as Tropical Guava (Psidium guajava).

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Gardener972

OK, thanks for the heads up. So, which variety should I get for growing and fruiting in a pot? AND who will sell the correct one? I might add that the guava I had in Mexico was about 1 1/2 to 2 inches diameter and very thin, smooth skinned. It was also sweet.

Richard

You had a tropical guava (Psidium guajava), a white variety. As I posted below, all guavas can be grown to fruit in a 25-gallon or larger pot. The pineapple guavas usually need two varieties in the same pot for cross pollination. To obtain a tropical guava like the one you had in Mexico, make sure the seller knows you are looking for the white-fleshed tropical guava that produces fruit at least 2 inches in diameter.

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chong

Richard is right on. The P. Cattleianum, either the Lemon or Strawberry, have similar fruit structure. They have thin meat(pulp) and larger seeds that are packed in the middle, similar to pomegranate. The meat can be sweet when picked at the proper stage of ripeness. But the texture becomes another issue. I had both the lemon and the strawberry types. And they fruit quickly (12" height), but I didn't like the taste, and worse, the texture.

Any standard P. gaujava, is great to me. I bought guavas from the Taipei Costco, when I was inspecting the construction of the store, the size of big Pummelo. They were not very sweet, but sweet, nevertheless. And very little acid.

Oh! and the guava from Taipei Costco, if you imagine the fruit in the photo that I attached earlier, make it about 8" in dia, that's what the Taipei guava looked like. Even the color and texture is the same. Nice and meaty, and very few seeds.