Feijoa Pineapple Guava

Feijoa, or pineapple guava (Acca sellowiana), is the rare plant that screens a boundary and feeds you at the same time. It grows to about 3m tall and 2.5m wide, holds grey green foliage with silver undersides, and carries unusual red and white flowers in spring whose fleshy petals are sweet and edible. The fruit follows in autumn, tasting somewhere between pineapple, guava and mint.

Why you'll love it

• A hedge you can eat. Clipped or left loose it screens to about 3m and still produces a worthwhile crop.
• Edible flowers as well as fruit. The petals are sweet and good straight off the bush in spring, months before the fruit ripens.
• It handles wind and salt. Coastal and salt tolerant with genuine wind tolerance, so it works on exposed boundaries where most fruiting plants fail. It is frost hardy too, from subtropical gardens down to cool temperate ones.
• Safe around pets, good for birds. Not toxic to cats or dogs, and the spring flowers bring honeyeaters through the garden.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1.5m apart in a single row for a productive hedge that closes at 2.5m to 3m. Trim after fruiting rather than before flowering, or you cut off the crop.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. The tough leaf and dense low branching handle salt wind, which is why feijoa turns up in coastal plantings where citrus and stone fruit struggle.

Feature planting. Left unpruned it makes a handsome multi stemmed small tree. Lift the lower branches to show the pale bark.

Growing feijoa in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun for the heaviest crop; part shade grows a fine hedge but much less fruit. It suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, though young plants want shelter through their first two winters. In the wet tropics it grows well and fruits poorly, because it needs some winter chill to set a crop.

Soil. Free draining and slightly acidic is ideal, and it forgives ordinary garden soil more readily than most fruiting plants. Avoid waterlogged ground, and mulch 75mm deep clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Water deeply twice a week through the first summer, then weekly in dry spells. Consistent water while the fruit is sizing makes a real difference to size. Feed a citrus or fruit tree fertiliser in early spring and again after harvest.

Pruning. Trim straight after fruiting, in late autumn or winter. Fruit forms on the current season's new wood, so a light annual trim keeps the hedge dense and the crop coming.

What to expect when it arrives

Feijoa is sold here as tube stock, a young seedling of roughly 15 to 25cm. It is the value choice for a hedge run, but be realistic about the timeline: two to three years to a closed hedge, and three to four years to a first useful crop.

Because this is grown from seed rather than as a named grafted cultivar, fruit size and flavour vary a little plant to plant, and planting several improves cross pollination and gives a heavier crop. Tubes travel well with almost no top growth to damage. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Planting tips for fruit trees through the seasons
• Browse the fruit tree range
• Compare hedging and screening plants
• Plants that handle coastal conditions

Common questions

Do I need two plants to get fruit?

Not strictly, but you will get a much heavier crop with two or more. Feijoa is only partly self fertile, and cross pollination lifts both fruit set and size.

When is the fruit ready?

Autumn. Ripe feijoas drop rather than needing to be picked, so collect them off the ground daily and let them soften indoors for a day or two.

Is it safe around cats and dogs?

Yes. Feijoa is not toxic to cats or dogs, and the dropped fruit is harmless if a dog decides to help with the harvest.