What pineapple guava should i grow?

[Ognin525]

Looking to add a pineapple guava to the collection and not sure what variety (s) to grow. I have room for 1-2 trees hoping someone can chime in on what ones are worth growing and what ones are over hyped , due to my limited space id rather not find out on my own haha. Thanks!

[Tropicaltoba]

Not sure which ones, I’m  still trying to figure it out. They need pollinators and sometimes their flowering barely overlaps. I had nikita but it was so early it would only be able to set a couple of fruit cause its flowering period was over before others started. The New Zealand ones sound like they may be best tasting. Mutligrafted varieties look cool, one of the members (perhaps platynum sp?) had an awesome looking tree. I’m trying unique and Coolidge this year as they apparently self pollinating, but unsure of fruit quality. Check for other posts on this topic.

[K-Rimes]

Get an improved coolidge, nikita, etc from a nursery then top work it with some NZ types They take very well to cleft grafting. They have nice 5 gallon ones here at Home Depot for $35-$45 usually but I am sure not quite the same stock in Manitoba!

I grafted a ton of those NZ types up and can't say much about their flavor... But I did have some coolidge and nikita last year off my grafts and they were yum. I cannot express adequately how much productivity improves when there is diversity. I never got fruit off the tree till I grafted it.

[JCorte]

Ognin525, Marta Matvienko has several posts on fejoia tastings.  Here is a link to one of them, there are a few more in October as well as previous years.  A lot of these cultivars are new introductions in the US and until recently have been difficult to source, so most of us have not tried them.

From everything I've read including info from Australia, Kaiteri is top tier, but you should plant more than one for better fruit set.
https://fruitsandgardening.blogspot.com/2021/10/feijoa-tasting-on-october-10-2021.html

Janet

[Ognin525]

Thanks for the suggestions! Helps me out alot i shouldnt of even started going down this rabbit hole but i jumped in head first! I seen some 1 gal at hd last year about 16~inches tall, they were gettin about 25 for em. Hd has the most "exotic" plants around me hahaha no joke (i live in hell). I might end up grabbin 2 and grafting thoes . Ok so now just to look up the suggested ones, pick a few , get to hd , find the scions , graft the scions ,cross my fingers and bam done haha! We sure do love plants lol thanks again everyone

[SD Dan]

Anyone know how Mark Albert's selections compare to some of the NZs selections?

[Lovetoplant]

Can anyone confirm that pineapple guava can be grafted on regular guava and vise versa?

[drymifolia]

Can anyone confirm that pineapple guava can be grafted on regular guava and vise versa?

I don't think so, they are not even in the same genus, but I guess I'm not sure. I've at least never heard of anyone doing that. Feijoa is more closely related to Eugenia than Psidium, despite the "guava" common name.

[GardenAndGame]

Are the named varieties significantly better than seedling fruit? Pineapple guava is fairly common here but they are usually not named varieties and I think are mostly sold as landscape plants. I've tasted the fruit and it was OK at best, nothing I'd go out of my way to grow.

[JCorte]

Yes, there is a huge difference in quality of fruit from random seedlings.

Janet

[GardenAndGame]

Thanks JCorte. I'll have to track down some good varieties to try.

[K-Rimes]

Can anyone confirm that pineapple guava can be grafted on regular guava and vise versa?

Doubt it would work. The wood is very different. I don't really see why you would try to graft feijoa to guajava when feijoa is so much more cold hardy, and stout growing. They are straight up bulletproof. My feijoa didn't even blink under snow and weeks of frosty nights, my guajava lost almost 2' of growth during that time.

Now, guajava on feijoa could be interesting, but again, pretty far off wood wise. Feijoa stays wooden whereas guava gets that kinda peeling bark.

[Lovetoplant]

Can anyone confirm that pineapple guava can be grafted on regular guava and vise versa?

Doubt it would work. The wood is very different. I don't really see why you would try to graft feijoa to guajava when feijoa is so much more cold hardy, and stout growing. They are straight up bulletproof. My feijoa didn't even blink under snow and weeks of frosty nights, my guajava lost almost 2' of growth during that time.

Now, guajava on feijoa could be interesting, but again, pretty far off wood wise. Feijoa stays wooden whereas guava gets that kinda peeling bark.

I have a limited space.  Besides that I am not too fond with pineapple guava, only can eat a few of the fruits.  It is also not on my must to have lists.

[Jack, Nipomo]

Having tasted and grown most of Frank Serpa's varieties (https://feijoarecipes.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/frank-serpa-fremonts-feijoa-king/) from Edenvale Farms, I believe my New Zealand varieties Mammoth and Triumph surpass them in size and flavor.  Had a good friend in John Moore who collected many and even named his favorite (Moore). The Edenvale varieties, Improved Cooledge, Edenvale Supreme, Edenvale Late are quite good, but really enjoy the New Zealand ones.  Pointed out before is their hardiness and productivity in suboptimal conditions that warrants their being planted.

[K-Rimes]

I'm real glad I topworked my tree with NZ stuff in this case!

[JCorte]

Jack, thank you for the link to the article on Frank Serpa.  My husband and I are in our 50's and only recently realized our dream of starting a farm.  I am inspired by how much he was able to accomplish starting his nursery in the later stages of his life and the legacy he leaves behind from his love of plants and growing.

Janet

[Jack, Nipomo]

Janet...like many of us, Frank left behind a legacy of his selections for others to enjoy in the future. 

[Kevinthegarden]

Not sure if you have lowes or home depot in your area, but they have named varieties such as nazemetz and coolidge available in my area right now. Bigger 4 foot trees and smaller shrub sizes with good pricing.