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Feijoa - Feijoa sellowiana


We have been enjoying a bumper crop of feijoas from our orchard at the nursery this year. Our fruit fly controls are certainly paying off as the fruits are 90% free of fruit fly grubs. Greg has been spraying the orchard with eco-naturlure since August 2006 on a weekly basis. The underside of the leaves of selected trees are sprayed so that it sticks to the back of the leaf and does not get washed of in rain. Feijoas and guavas are particularly attractive to fruit flies so it is wonderful to be eating fruits that are not infected with fly. This is an Apollo feijoa, it has large elongated oval fruits that are delicious and it has cropped well in the orchard this year. They are sweet and have a delicate flavour that is a combination of pineapple, guava, strawberry, passion fruit and lemon. Fruits are refreshing and delicious eaten fresh and they can be used in desserts and preserves.

Feijoas are well known and popular in New Zealand where many of the modern cultivars have been developed, they do however originate from south America where they are common in the mountains of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Feijoas are easy to grow, they are hardy and can be grown in full sun or part shade, they are even tolerant of maritime conditions although this will slow their growth and will reduce the crop. They are ideal to use as a wind break, flowering and fruiting hedge to protect more sensitive plants in your garden.

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KathAdd Your Comment (28)
Published: Kath ,Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Comments so far: 28

Blogger Correy said ...
Just wondering how a Feijoa would go in pots.
Time: Thursday, March 15, 2007  
Blogger Kath said ...
With regular moisture and a good organic mulch they should do well in a large container.
Time: Thursday, March 15, 2007  
Blogger Joanna Terpstra said ...
My bumper crop of Feijoas is full of fruit-fly.
I have multiple allergy syndrome so am doing research into the best method of controlling these pests without making myself ill.
Spraying is not something I am keen on.
Are there any organic bait recipes that you could recommend?
Also, any ideas on recycling plastic bottles for bait lures would be welcome.
Cheers,
Joanna
Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2007  
Blogger Kath said ...
Joanna, I would recommend that you try the organic product eco naturalure, it is working beautifully here in the nursery orchard, you do not spray the fruit but instead spray the product nearby where it attracts and kills the flies, we have enjoyed our feijoas this year because we have worked consistently to control fruit flies. You can recycle your bottles into traps and monitor the flies with Wild May as we do.
Time: Wednesday, March 28, 2007  
Anonymous Homesick Kiwi said ...
Does anyone have any suggestions where I can buy feijoas in Central Sydney??
Time: Wednesday, April 18, 2007  
Blogger david said ...
would feijoa grow in south australia,about 100 km north of adelaide,thankyou.
Time: Thursday, April 19, 2007  
Blogger Kath said ...
David I think the feijoa will grow for you, make sure you give it enough water to establish it and then regular moisture during fruit set will benefit the crop.
Time: Monday, April 23, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said ...
Hi David - I live in Adelaide and we are growing a couple of feijoa plants. Funnily enough you can spot them in the suburbs but people don't really know what they so let fruit go to waste. They just don't know what they are missing out on. Our mammoth is going particularly well. Good luck.
Time: Sunday, May 06, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said ...
I live in Far North Queensland in a very wet spot called Tully. Will Fijoa's grow in these tropical conditions? If so what variety will be best for these conditions?
issy
Time: Sunday, June 03, 2007  
Blogger Kath said ...
Issy,
I would give the feijoa a go in Tully, if you find that your soil is too wet for an extended period they will happily grow in a large container which would improve the drainage.
Time: Friday, June 08, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said ...
Just wondering what PH thy grow best in we are growing them but can not get them to set fruit very little flowering
Time: Saturday, July 28, 2007  
Blogger jeffrey said ...
hi there kath,i just got 3 feijo,and i planted them next to a fruit tree,about 1 meter apart is that ok.
Time: Friday, August 17, 2007  
Blogger Madeleine said ...
hi kath, im in a bit of a pickle. My feijoa tree has all of a sudden died after 15years of prosperous growth. It has all the necessary requirements for growth but has failed me. Do you know of any rampant diseases that may have affected my tree?..concerned feijoa lover
Time: Tuesday, September 11, 2007  
Blogger Kathryn said ...
Madeleine, this is very unfortunate and unusual as feijoas are normally as tough as a pair of old boots. Have you changed anything around the tree? Fertilizer, digging around the roots, moisture levels, or anything that could have effected your tree? They do not have any significant pests or diseases, although they don't much like foliar applications of nutrients.
Time: Wednesday, September 12, 2007  
Blogger Madeleine said ...
Ohhhh kath, you may have hit the nail on the head!..See come two months ago we planted a citrus tree 10ft from the feijoa tree and fertilized it..kath you are a hell of a legend, i will sleep better now. Shame i have lost it forever.
Feijoa lovers
Time: Saturday, September 15, 2007  
Blogger ian said ...
Hello. We're growing a Feijoa in British Columbia and it is doing great and about a foot tall. I was curious if there are any pruning techniques that i should be aware of for now or in the future.
Thanks,
Ian
Time: Friday, October 26, 2007  
Anonymous Anonymous said ...
I have never had fruit trees before but we now have 2 feijoias. Last year every fruit was infected with fruit fly. I have just been to the nursery and bought some eco-naturalure but it doesn't specify when I should start spraying. It's now late October and the flowers are just starting to come on. Should I spray now or wait?
Time: Sunday, October 28, 2007  
Blogger Jacquei said ...
Hello there,
My cousin in Australia has just sent your website because I have never heard of the fruit Feijoa. They sound a delicious fruit and wondered if I could grow them in Spain, that is if I can find a small tree in our local nursery.

jacquei
Costa Calida
Spain
Time: Monday, November 12, 2007  
Anonymous Hungry Kiwi mmmm said ...
please can you tell me if to sucessfully grow fruit do you need two trees or can you grow fruit with just one tree.
Time: Saturday, December 29, 2007  
Blogger Larry said ...
I had 2 Feijoa trees of different varieties in my backyard.They tended to cross pollinate and produced a hybrid fruit which was gelatinous and not sweet. I removed one of them and gave it away. Now the tree produce a lot of flowers but very few fruit.I assume I really need a cross pollinator? Anyone?
Time: Friday, January 25, 2008  
Blogger Dargen said ...
Can I grow a row of feijoa's near limes and oranges? What is a compatable fertilizer for both?
Is the Mid North coast of NSW an okay climate?
Time: Sunday, March 16, 2008  
Anonymous Anonymous said ...
I have a small feijoa plant growing in my garden in Holland. Took some pits back when l was in NZ and only one is stil alive.
Will l get fruit only having one plant and would you get the plant inside when the frost comes?
Bye from Marianne Ex kiwi
Time: Tuesday, March 25, 2008  
Anonymous Marianne said ...
I have one feijoa plant (small) growing in my garden in Holland.
When l was in NZ l took some pits back from the feijoa and only one is still alive.
Would you take the plant inside with frost and shall l get fruit with only one plant?
Bye from Ex Kiwi Marianne
Time: Tuesday, March 25, 2008  
Blogger monika said ...
How old does a feijoa have to be before it fruits, Ta
Time: Tuesday, April 29, 2008  
Anonymous Marianne said ...
I am a ex kiwi living in Holland and you can buy the Feijoa for the first time here.
Do you need two to have fruit and would they be able to have frost?
Time: Saturday, May 03, 2008  
Anonymous Jonathan said ...
Feijoas can tolerate quite a lot of frost. We are just harvesting our feijoas now (variety E6) after several days of -2C frosts here in Canberra. The currawongs eat the flowers.
Time: Sunday, May 04, 2008  
Anonymous Pam said ...
In NZ as a kid (20 yrs ago +) we had a huge feijoa tree, fruited well each season, but was attacked by ants and died..slowly, we never realised. I am in Gladstone Qld and am very keen on growing a feijoa in a large pot. I gather that fertilising is not a good move...Pam
Time: Thursday, May 15, 2008  
Blogger Carolyn said ...
I have two feijoas growing in my garden. They fruit prolifically but we find the fruit tasteless and uninteresting. I hate to waste it so perhaps someone could tell me some good recipes.

Carolyn
Time: Saturday, June 07, 2008  

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