Green Grass Grove
Connecting specimen records, habitat data, and the living archive.
Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa)
Acca sellowiana (O.Berg) BurretGuava / Pineapple (Feijoa) is a woody perennial shrub maintained at Green Grass Grove. It typically reaches 10–15 feet by 10–15 feet and is managed under Live Oak conditions for fruiting, propagation, storm resilience, wildlife interactions, and regional adaptation. The profile emphasizes generally hardy enough for north florida, with mature plants tolerating ordinary winter lows better than tropical guavas and preserves the existing specimen identity.
Botanical Overview
Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) is a woody perennial shrub maintained at Green Grass Grove. It typically reaches 10–15 feet by 10–15 feet and is managed under Live Oak conditions for fruiting, propagation, storm resilience, wildlife interactions, and regional adaptation. The profile emphasizes generally hardy enough for north florida, with mature plants tolerating ordinary winter lows better than tropical guavas and preserves the existing specimen identity.
Why We Feature This Specimen
Follow Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) through the Green Grass Grove living collection as it moves from dormancy and bloom through fruit development, harvest, and seasonal recovery. This record connects public botanical interpretation with real nursery, climate, scouting, and accession observations.
Climate & Protection
Cold protection trigger: Begin cold protection below 42 °F. The cold-damage threshold is the lower temperature where injury becomes likely, not the recommended waiting point.
Sun / Light: Full sun for fruiting; partial shade tolerated
Generally hardy enough for North Florida, with mature plants tolerating ordinary winter lows better than tropical guavas. Flowering and fruit set may vary with winter temperature, pollination, and cultivar; protect young plants from severe freezes.
Heat-zone and verification notes
Not assigned; use crop-specific heat and seasonal guidance.
Planting & Seasonal Guide
Starting & Germination Methods
Seed Sowing
Seed sowing is the umbrella operational method for placing botanical seed into a germination environment. It includes selection of containers or beds, medium, depth, spacing, moisture, temperature, light,…
Open Full Method ↗Direct Sowing
Direct sowing is the establishment of plants by sowing seed outdoors or into the final production bed rather than transplanting nursery-grown seedlings. It is a complete site operation…
Open Full Method ↗Generally hardy enough for North Florida, with mature plants tolerating ordinary winter lows better than tropical guavas. Flowering and fruit set may vary with winter temperature, pollination, and cultivar; protect young plants from severe freezes. Establish during the season that avoids the profile's main heat or freeze stress, and record local survival rather than treating the recommendation as universal.
Spacing: 10–15 feet
Planting Depth: Sow or set at the species-appropriate depth; keep woody root flares and herbaceous crowns at grade and do not bury stems deeply.
Pollination: Cross-pollination with a compatible genetically distinct plant can improve fruit set; preserve cultivar labels and flowering records.
Water, Soil & Nutrition
💧 Water & Moisture
Provide regular moisture during establishment and fruit enlargement, then moderate drought tolerance. Avoid wet heavy soil.
North Florida humidity increases foliar and fruit disease risk for Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa). Space and train the plant for rapid drying, use root-zone irrigation, and inspect after multi-day rain. Dense canopies, wet flowers, and damaged fruit should not remain as inoculum.
🌱 Soil & Growing Media
Preferred pH: 5.50 to 7.50
↘ Drainage & Root-Zone Behavior
✦ Nutrition & Deficiency Checks
Use soil testing and moderate balanced fertility for Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa). On sandy soil, split applications to reduce leaching and avoid excessive nitrogen that causes weak stems, delayed flowering, poor fruit quality, or pest-prone growth. Maintain the profile pH range before diagnosing micronutrient deficiency.
For Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa), pale or distorted growth may reflect nitrogen, magnesium, iron, or other nutrient limitations, but root injury, high pH, drought, waterlogging, and cold can look similar. Inspect roots and moisture first and use soil or tissue testing for persistent symptoms.
Growth, Maintenance & Harvest
Maintenance & Pruning
Train young woody plants for strong structure, remove dead or diseased wood, and make storm-risk reductions with sanitized tools. Preserve labeled propagation wood only from correctly identified healthy material.
Harvest or Observation
Harvest only fully ripe, sound fruit and document crop timing, flavor, wildlife loss, and postharvest life. Cool promptly and use a verified food-preservation method.
Storage & Preservation
Refrigerate ripe fruit promptly. Freeze, dry, cook, or preserve only with a tested method appropriate to the fruit, and discard moldy or fermented material.
Harvestable Plant Parts & Uses
Harvest only fully ripe, sound fruit and document crop timing, flavor, wildlife loss, and postharvest life. Cool promptly and use a verified food-preservation method.
Propagation, Cloning & Tissue Culture
Propagation Methods
Grafting
Grafting is the umbrella propagation method that joins a scion, bud, or stem segment to a genetically distinct rootstock so living tissues unite and function as one composite…
Open Full Method ↗Softwood Cuttings
Softwood cuttings are prepared from young current-season shoots that are actively growing and only lightly lignified. They often root rapidly because tissues are physiologically active and responsive, making…
Open Full Method ↗Seed
Seed is retained as an umbrella propagation identity for sexual reproduction through mature botanical seed. A seed normally contains an embryo, stored reserves or nutritive tissue, and protective…
Open Full Method ↗Aquaponics, Hydroponics & Aeroponics
Aquaponics
Woody fruit and landscape specimens are not appropriate for normal aquaponic beds because long-term anchorage, root volume, dormancy, and disease management conflict with the system.
Hydroponics
Long-term hydroponic culture is not recommended for this woody accession; use a drained nursery container or field planting.
Aeroponics
No profile-specific operating notes have been recorded.
Pests, Diseases, Safety & Toxicology
Inspect Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) during budbreak, bloom, fruit development, and postharvest for scales, mites, borers, beetles, fruit flies, stink bugs, birds, mammals, and crop-specific cane, trunk, or root pests. Use sanitation and physical exclusion before broad treatment.
Monitor Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) for root rots, cankers, leaf spots, rusts, anthracnose, fruit rots, and crop-specific vascular or cane diseases. Use clean planting material, airflow, correct drainage, sanitized tools, and prompt removal of mummified fruit or dead tissue.
Manage Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) as a named species, cultivar, or accession. Record source and propagation method, preserve the cultivar label, train or prune to the crop-specific fruiting system, maintain a clear root zone, document pollination needs, and harvest promptly.
Key problems for Guava / Pineapple (Feijoa) include scale insects, fruit flies / vinegar flies, leaf spot, root rot, and climate or water stress described in this profile. North Florida storms can lodge stems, saturate roots, bruise fruit, or spread leaf disease. Confirm symptoms before treatment, because nutrient imbalance, heat, freeze injury, and root damage can mimic infection.
Generally low toxicity as an edible fruit crop; monitor allergies and discard moldy fruit.
Generally low toxicity as an edible fruit crop; monitor allergies and discard moldy fruit. Wear gloves for thorny, hairy, sap-producing, or pesticide-treated material and wash edible harvests.