My
Psidium striatulums flowered and fruited this summer for the first time. I probably could have induced fruiting earlier, but I tend not to be as diligent in up-potting plants as I should be. Still, fruiting at three years of age is not too bad considering the shorter growing season I have in north Alabama than in south Florida or their native Brazil. Also, they do not live outside year-round; they only spend Summer (and parts of Spring and Fall) outside since my winter temperatures would certainly kill them.
Their fruits have taken a little while to develop. The above photographs were taken in late August. The fruits had started forming in July. The fruit in the first photograph fully ripened yesterday. The rest are getting close. They spent quite a while small, green, and rock-hard. All told, it was between three to four months from flowering to fruit.
My first fruit was 2.5" long. It did not develop a rich yellow color like some other ripe
striatulum fruits I have seen photos of. I think this can be ascribed to the relatively cool late summer and early fall temperatures in my area; I have already had to move my plants indoors, two weeks earlier than usual. Still, the fruit had softened, developed a nice scent, and came right off the plant, so it was ripe. It's flesh did not develop the bright red coloration of nana7b's fruits; it looked like the fruits in Miguel's photos at the beginning of this topic, a nice pink color.
The taste was that of a good guava. It was sweet, though not overtly so. It had very little sourness. There was no bitterness or off-notes or strange aftertaste. The seeds, though still hard, were smaller than in commercial guavas (
Psidium guajava) and did not seem to have guava's teeth-breaking quality.
I am quite happy with
striatulum fruit and the plant itself. Considering that the fruit of most plants improves with age, I think I will be even happier with them in, say, five years. The plant is also more manageable as a container plant than
guajava. My Columbian Red Guava of the same age has not only not produced any fruit, despite being in a much larger pot than my
striatulums, but it also requires regular pruning to keep it a manageable size. The only pruning I have done with my two
striatulums was on a few branches to give them a better shape. They are much better behaved container plants. Certainly ones that will stay in my collection permanently.
Topic: Psidium striatulum... anyone growing this rare Psidium? (Read 6278 times)