Pineapple Guava / Feijoa

Pineapple Guava / Feijoa

  • Edible, sweet-tasting flower petals
  • Unique pineapple-mint-guava fruit flavor
  • Evergreen with beautiful silvery foliage
  • Makes an excellent hedge or specimen shrub
  • Very cold-hardy for a tropical fruit

Botanical Name: Acca sellowiana
Format: Fruit shrub/tree

Pineapple Guava (also called Feijoa) is an evergreen fruiting shrub producing aromatic petals and pineapple-like fruit flavor. This unique plant is grown as much for its ornamental value as for its fruit. The leaves are silvery-green on top and fuzzy white underneath. In late spring to early summer, it produces spectacular showy flowers with fleshy, edible petals that taste sweet and spicy – you can pluck and eat them right off the plant. The fruit ripens in fall: a green, oval berry the size of an egg with a texture like a gritty pear and a flavor combining pineapple, mint, and guava. Also useful as an ornamental hedge with silvery foliage.

Taste note (petals): Sweet, spicy, marshmallow-like.
Taste note (fruit): Pineapple, mint, guava, and pear – truly unique.

Key Highlights
Feature Details
Light Full Sun to Partial Shade
Plant Spacing 8–10 ft (hedge: 4–5 ft)
Plant Height 8–15 ft (can be pruned to 6–8 ft)
Planting Time Spring or fall
Hardiness USDA Zones 8–11
Propagation Seedling or grafted
Fruit Season Fall (September–November)
Self-fertile Most varieties require cross-pollination (plant two)

Feijoa is one of the most cold-hardy “tropical” fruits, tolerating temperatures down to 15°F once established. It thrives in full sun to partial shade and well-drained soil. It is drought tolerant after establishment, but regular watering improves fruit quality. Most varieties are not self-fertile – you need two different cultivars for good fruit set. Prune after harvest to maintain shape and size. Feijoa makes an excellent hedge – plant 4–5 feet apart and prune as needed. It has few pests and is generally disease-free.

  1. Remove Packaging– Unpack carefully.
  2. Check the Soil– Keep moist.
  3. Adjustment Period– 2–3 days in shade, then move to sun.
  • Location: Full sun to partial shade. More sun = more flowers and fruit.
  • Soil & Drainage: Well-drained, slightly acidic to neutral. Tolerates poor soil.
  • Feeding: Light feeding in spring with balanced fertilizer.
  • Watering: Drought tolerant but fruit suffers without water.
  • Pruning: Prune after harvest. Can be pruned as hedge or tree form.
  • Frost protection: Very cold-hardy once established. No protection needed in zone 8+.

Flowers: Pick petals in late spring. Eat fresh in salads or as a sweet snack.

Fruit: Harvest in fall when fruit drops to the ground (ripe). Or pick when slightly soft. Cut in half and scoop out the jelly-like interior. Use fresh, in smoothies, or make into feijoa chutney or jam.

Feijoa shrubs shipped in pots. Free shipping over $50.

📧 info@globalflora.org

Global Flora sources grafted citrus from registered, disease-tested nurseries. All plants are non-GMO.

 

  • Zones:8–11. One of the best tropical fruits for cooler climates.
  • Pollination:Plant two different varieties for best fruit production.