We bought a guava tree in the UK about 13 years ago, and kept it in a pot.
During that period, there weren’t any fruit or flowers.
When we moved here 3 years ago, we planted it out.
To our astonishment, the tree now has pretty exotic looking flowers with white / pink / red petals.
Is this a sign that it may fruit this year?
Wondered whether anyone else is growing these?
I very much hope you’re in luck. When I lived in S Africa, pink guava was my favourite fruit and their scent used to fill the house. Unfortunately the guavas one occasionally sees in Europe have been chilled for shipping and taste nothing like the real fresh fruit. I’d say the same applies to avos, mangoes and papaya. I used to buy the latter from a Zimbabean greengrocer who had a rack of them on the wall of his shop, with them ranked according to ripeness, and at weekends, he’d ask if you wanted to eat it on Saturday or Sunday, then choose your papaya on that basis.
Similarly, our first Lot Valley tomatoes appeared this week, we were buying traditional varieties on the market, straight from the producteur, who’s about 4kms up the river. I think this gets you the very best a tomato can be. Some might argue that ones straight from the garden are better, but we don’t have a huge area of cultivable garden (most of our land is cliff or forest) so I only grow expensive veg and herbs, or things you can’t buy locally like Asiatic leaves.
Give it a year or two Mark and the rate at which the climate is now changing we’ll all be able to grow them in SW France!
I’ve got a pineapple guava flowering for the first time in my greenhouse here in the UK. There won’t be any fruit though, as you need one of each sex. I have some little pineapple guavas I’m growing from seeds. Hopefully there’s more than one sex among them. The extra heat in France will help - I also planted a couple on my land near the Dordogne. Haven’t been able to get back to see how they’re doing yet.
Chilean guavas? Tried them? My little bushes are fruiting, but I haven’t tasted the fruit yet. They’d do well in France too.
Thanks for the information John.
Now the problems that I have are:
The Chilean guavas / UGNI Molinae sound very interesting.
Surprisingly many online sellers in France are sold out of them (must be popular).
I’ll order three and give them a go.
I didn’t know which sex you needed to buy, so I googled a bit and was surprised to find that pineapple guavas identify as bisexual. All you need is another plant, and then they’ll both fruit!
The fruit can ripen here in the south of the UK in a warm summer, so you’ll be fine in Charente.
I have a Chilean guava var Flambeau, which is variegated and attractive and currently has tiny fruit on it even though it is only 30cm high. I just bought 6 of the variant Kapow which is supposed to fruit well and be hardy down to -12C