Hi Marcia, I also live in zone 9...2 hours south of Orlando.I have a standard tree and a bush. I also bought two because I read that they needed a couple to pollinate. Having said said I had my tree(not my shrub) set a few fruits...but unfortunately when the fruits were small they fell off. I've had this tree for almost three and a half years and have yet to taste the fruit. I tried hand pollinating mine with a small artist's brush because at the time my shrub wasn't flowering. I'm not positive if it was my hand pollinating or not...but it did set a few fruits. I'm hoping for a taste this summer? I've read that they needed some chilling hours and let's face it we sure got a lot of that this winter. Keeping fingers crossed.

There used to be a post here not too long ago where we talked about how some of us in zones 9 and higher seemed to have problems getting this one to fruit...we thought maybe it wasn't cold enough...like I said I'm hoping because this winter had been so cold that will make a difference? But the post seemed to have disappeared.

Below is a picture of my tree:Click to enlarge

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That's a lovely little tree. The plant I have is multiple (thin) stems, so I will probably let it grow as a bush and see how it does. Always time later to trim into a tree, I guess. At this point I'll be happy to just get the flowers! If it doesn't set fruit, I'll think about getting another plant. It's hard to have everything you want on less than a quarter acre :-)

Thanks for sharing your experience, puglvr1.
Marcia

Your Welcome Marcia. I am okay with this tree if it never fruits, I really love it...the fruits are of course a bonus, but the tree itself is quite pretty with the blueish green leaves. My other one is like yours, a bush/shrub. Good luck with yours, and you will love the flowers,they are very pretty...and edible for salads from what I've read?

I bought 5 bushes of this for the fruit but has never got any. I do believe it needs a polinator an also needs some chilling hours to be able to set fruit

I think in 9b it won't get as much cold as needed. I also remember of a posting saying that there are 2 kinds one with the small round fruit an the other for a bigger fruit but this later one is not the one that can be found in this area.

The fruit is great. It is common in my country.

I had one. It was a very attractive tree with pretty flowers and it set fruit here, in Deland. Trouble was, the Cardinals considered the fruit ready for eating when they were about the size of a bean, so I never got any. One of the cold years got it, 1989 I think, and I never replaced it.
john

I'm resurrecting this thread in hopes that someone can tell me how long it takes for feijoa(pineapple guava) to ripen. Finally something good came out of this brutal cold winter we had and my feijoa bush seems to be holding a few fruits for the very first time since I planted it almost four years ago...although my larger tree had tons of blooms...NOT one single fruit set on that one. Thanks for any help!

The fruits set around late June...they're about the size of a large globe grapes right now.
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I bought a cultivar here in France which the supplier claims is self-fertile. It's called 'Coolidge'. However, I've been growing the plant in a large pot for three years, and although it's flowered profusely and I've hand pollinated them, it's never shown any sign of setting a fruit. The flowers just fall off without even an embryo fruit forming.
I've just got a couple of green fruit from the botanic gardens in Gijon in Spain, so will extract the seeds and grow some more plants, but from previous experience it could take me years before a seed grown one flowers.
Does anyone have any experience of so-called autofertile cultivars, or is this just a scam to sell what is an expensive plant over here?

Guava trees/shrubs in general do not produce much fruit for the first 3 to 4 years.
It is perfectly normal for the flowers to drop off during their early years of growth.
Guavas like full sun.
If they are planted close to other trees, they will not produce fruit due to the shading.
Guavas are fertilizer hogs but do not produce well with lawn
fertilizer= too much nitrogen.
I tried to copy a chart to give you an idea of how much fertilizer Guavas like but the copy did not translate well.
Refer to the link below for a better look.

Tables
Table 2. Cultural practices for producing guava in the home landscape.
Operation Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
General1

Apply NPK

Apply NPK Apply NPK Apply NPK
Nutritional sprays2

Apply micronutrients Apply micronutrients Apply micronutrients Apply micronutrients
Iron applications3

Apply iron Apply iron Apply iron
Watering
Water trees during dry periods, every 7 to 10 days and 1 time per week during flowering and fruit development.

Insect control
Monitor for Caribbean fruit fly, mites, and moth larvae. Bag young fruit and monitor for leaf pests year-round.

Disease control
Monitor for red alga and anthracnose. Apply copper along with nutritional sprays or apply alone once or twice especially during the wet season (May to October).

Pruning4

Prune to reduce tree size and open up the canopy.

1, NPK, nitrogen-phosphate-potash. Dry fertilizer mix which includes nitrogen, phosphate, potash, and magnesium. Apply fertilizer 1 time during early fruit development and at the end of harvest.

2, Nutritional sprays are most effective during the warm parts of the year. See text for makeup of nutritional sprays.

3, Iron applications are most effective during the warm parts of the year.

4, Pruning may be done anytime during the year to control tree size and induce off-season fruit production. Severe pruning should be avoided during November through February to avoid possible damage due to freezing temperatures.

Here is a link that might be useful: Guava Growing in the Florida Home Landscape

My plant hasn't grown too much since April when I planted it. I see that perhaps in the winter it gets too much shade. I wonder if I should move it now?
Marcia

gatormom's response is for guavas. Feijoa (pineapple guava) are NOT guavas. Feijoas are not prone to anthracnose the way that true guavas are.

I am the one that previously posted that there are 2 types of feijoa. The ornamental variety can be found in landscape nurseries. The one for fruiting - producing much larger,tastier fruits, need to be purchased from an edible nursery, such as, Hopkins Nursery, and Just Fruits and Exotics Nursery.

I have 3 feijoa bushes that I bought from both of the nurseries I just mentioned. They are only about 2 years old so I have a ways to go before getting fruit. They did flower last spring so I have high hopes for the future. They make an attractive landscape plant but, puglver, you have an exceptionally beautiful one!

Christine

I have 6 bushes, all unnamed varieties. They have been dropping their fruit for about 2 weeks. I had more fruit than I expected, as they are green soemtimes hard to see in the bush.

I've eaten about 30 or so fruits. Some have been very good, some average. I just wish they had more pulp inside each fruit. I left one spot in the row for a named cv, which I do plan on getting one to compare.

Pug, have you tasted your fruits yet?

jb

Thanks Christine for the kind compliments on my tree. It's one of my favorite trees in my yard for being carefree. I just throw some fertilizer a couple of times a year before a rainstorm and that's about it! The best part about it is I don't have to Cover/heat during a freeze like my Mango trees,lol...Feijoa can handle down to 15ð according to my book, a real plus.

Jb, Yes...I got quite a few from my "bush" they were quite good...like you some were much better than the others. Didn't get any from my tree though...I hope I get some next year.

Hi Marcia, I forgot to respond to your question...in my experience they aren't the fastest growing shrubs/trees but having said that they do grow best if grown in full sun for at least 5-6 hours if possible. If the tree isn't very big maybe its best to move it now while you still can...just try and not damage too many of the feeder roots. Good luck!

My Feijoa is just a no-name landscape variety. I decided to move it. It was only a one gallon plant to begin with. I put a pot of fakahatchee grass in the shady place. The grass wasn't doing well in its sunny, dry spot. I also moved a small butterfly cassia from another dry spot (both along our driveway). Now to decide what, if anything, to put in those hot, dry holes!
Marcia

I planted a pair 7 years ago. The 7-8 ft. bushes finally produced some fruits this year. They were wormy and fell off. I'm considering digging them up and using the space for something useful.