Feijoa (forum)

Irene starts with ...
Please can you tell me where the Feijoa originated or is it an Australian native.
Just a point of dicussion and I volunteered to find out. Thank you!!

Time: 21st March 2012 4:15pm

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Rowan says...
Google is your friend. From Wikipedia - Acca sellowiana, a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, is native to the highlands of southern Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, and northern Argentina.[1] It is widely cultivated as a garden plant and fruiting tree in New Zealand, and can be found as a garden plant in Australia and Azerbaijan.[2] Common names include feijoa ( /feɪˈʒoʊ.ə/, /feɪˈdʒoʊ.ə/,[3] or /feɪˈhoʊ.ə/)[4] pineapple guava and guavasteen.

Time: 21st March 2012 4:26pm

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Irene says...
Thank you for your help, this will provoke further discussion while we enjoy eating the fruit.

Time: 23rd March 2012 11:12am

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Gus says...
Anyone got any Feijoas ripenening up right now?
I have a couple of trees with a fair few on them but the fruit is not quite what it should be. The softish ones are a bit brown and average inside, and the others are nice enough in the very centre but have hard linings.
Even a bad feijoa is good, but these just don't have that beautiful jellyish centre that you get in the shops or NZ

Time: 11th April 2012 9:45pm

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John Mc says...
Seedlings Gus? my three are worlds apart. Only one is worth eating. That's why I bought some grafted cv's, at least I know what fruit to expect.

Time: 12th April 2012 12:04pm

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About the Author JohnMc1
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Dave says...
There are many good varieties to grow here in southern Victoria. My favourites would have to be Mammoth (for its great taste and size of course) and Nazemetz has a great flavour also. Others I quite like are Apollo, Gemini and Triumph...I live right next to a feijoa farm so I have tried quite a few varieties (think they have 12 cultivars). I have 4 varieties on my property and some seedlings growing but the seedlings will be a long way off for fruit and I may graft them to a named yet.
I really like this site and have been following it for a few years now, everything for the feijoa fanatic (me)
http://feijoafeijoa.wordpress.com/
check out the recipes....I am stunned how underrated feijoa is Australia...maybe a name change would boost its profile...Fijiapple anyone?

Time: 12th April 2012 12:36pm

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About the Author Dave
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Gus says...
My two are Mammoth and Nazimet.
I Don't know why they are so poor, but suspect it has more to do with our sun?

Maybe I am just doing something wrong?

Time: 12th April 2012 3:28pm

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About the Author gus
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Julie says...
Gus, I have lived in two houses that had a feijoa already planted. I neglected them both, and they produced lots of fruit. They did attract fruit fly, unfortunately, but at that stage I knew a lot less than I do now.

I have a tree which was a seedling given to me by a friend, which has never fruited. Don't feed or water it now (since I realised there was no point), but it still looks good.

Time: 12th April 2012 9:07pm

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About the Author Julie
Roleystone WA
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Gus says...
I have no problem producing fruit, both small trees have heaps on them, just changeable quality.

Maybe the trick is just to leave them alone. I have fertilised them and given them potash at the right times and was so looking forward to the fruit.
Maybe next year they will taste better if that is possible?

Time: 12th April 2012 10:52pm

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Rebecca says...
Hello people - Rebecca from Southport Gold Coast checking in again..I have a young feijoa around 80cm high - a palm frond fell on it & cracked it right down the middle. Somehow it managed to survive & branches are growing quite leggy. Am I able to tip prune to encourage more robust growth & can I propogate those off-cuts? It's around mid-20's temps on the Gold Coast, humid..I'd love to produce lots & lots if I could..Bunnings sell them here around $14.00 per tree that are barely 20cm high..any hints re fertilising? Many thanks..

Time: 12th April 2012 11:17pm

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About the Author 72
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Phil@Tyalgum says...
Rebecca feijoas only flower on new growth so it is essential to keep them fairly well clipped to get decent fruit formation, otherwise you'll get spindly branches with just a few flowers at the tips. Interestingly, named varieties are somewhat difficult to propagate but often seedlings or rootstock do ok with ordinary methods. Mine do well with a bit of blood and bone as well as some ash out of the wood fire to stimulate flowering in spring.

Time: 13th April 2012 6:15pm

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Gus says...
How hot is it where you live phil?
Do you have nice quality fruit?

Time: 14th April 2012 10:13am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
It's not that far from Brisbane but a cooler, highland climate, Mt Warning area. I have two varieties in for pollination, Large Oval and Mammoth. Haven't had Mammoth fruit yet but Large Oval is in it's first year and although the rind is thicker than I'd like, the pulp is very tasty. Interestingly I visited friends in central Vic last week and had given them seedlings I had grown from a supermarket fruit about five years ago and their trees were up to the top of the fence and covered in developing fruit - they don't seem to even shiver in the cold climate there. Just have to watch for fruit fly around here in the subtropics, so far so good.

Time: 14th April 2012 10:36am

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Gus says...
I think the feijoa may enjoy cooler weather to properly develop.
They are very popular and tasty in N.Z, and I have always wondered why they don't grow them here.
Mine take a long time to mature, but I now suspect that they cook a little inside there skins on the hot Perth days. Mine are often a bit brown inside.

Time: 14th April 2012 10:43am

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About the Author gus
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Dave says...
Hey Gus.. I spoke to my neihbor that grows Feijoas today. They prefer the cooler nights and milder daytime conditions around fruiting time. Yeah, yours may be getting a bit sunburnt by the sounds of it, can you shade cloth them on those hot days when they have fruit on them? Keep the water up too.
The farm here is just starting to drop their fruit now on the earlier varieties, bumper crop for them this season. We picked up an armful of a few different types, will post some pics in a couple of days.

Time: 14th April 2012 7:19pm

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Gus says...
Thanks Dave

Interesting info, it makes a lot of sense that they are so popular in cooler climates.
My trees are still small so I will throw a shade cloth over them next year.
I have not waited for the fruit to drop like you mentioned. I have picked them off when they are a little soft. I didn't know I had to wait for them to drop, but either way I think they have cooked anyway. Perhaps some of the later developing fruit may not have seen as much of the heat, and may yet ripen nicely.
i look forward to seeing your pics

Time: 14th April 2012 8:18pm

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Dave says...
Here are a couple of pics I took with my phone cam. There is only slight variance in these varieties from outside and easy to mix up which is which. The largest on the right is an early mammoth I think, it was delicious with nice jellies in centre even though it could ripen a bit more for optimal flavours. There is also an Apollo and possibly a Gemini but I've mixed them up now so not sure if that is the second more ribbed one or first. A good Mammoth gets even larger than these. The cut section show the clear jellies and yellow/white flesh which is what you are after. The more 'jelly' the better, this is still a bit early for feijoa harvest here but by end of month the jellies will be larger and more defined. Then they are highly addictive and the kids will eat them quicker than I can cut them open...yeah my son actually eats the skin an all without flinching!
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 16th April 2012 9:30pm

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About the Author Dave
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Gus says...
They look brilliant dave.

I love that jellyish centre.

I find that no two feijoas are ever identical in flavour. There seems to always be a tiny bit of variation in the natural hydrocarbons that make them up.
I wish my fruit looked as healthy as yours!

Time: 17th April 2012 10:35am

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john says...
Gus, 'fraid there are no hydrocarbons in feijoas and you will never be able to fill the tank with feijoa juice. Maybe it's carbohydrates you had in mind. Here is what I've noticed between the varieties - Nazemetz is like an egg -one end is blunter. Large Oval is, well, large and oval. Seedings are more pappillate and tend to be more spherical. I agree, taste is not hugely different.

Time: 17th April 2012 2:44pm

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Mike says...
I think there could be a few hydrocarbons such as apocarotenals.Hydrocarbons are quite diverse.Most plants,animals,fungi and protista have a few and common ones include carotenoids and abscisic acid.Phyto-hydrocarbons have routinely been identified as having anti-cancer properties.

Time: 17th April 2012 4:27pm

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Gus says...
and a tangy flavour?

Time: 18th April 2012 10:56am

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Rebecca says...
Hi Phil..Rebecca replying to your April 13th..have you propagated from branches trimmed off & what is the preferred time to do so? I'm dying to get lots growing (only the 1 @ the moment & I can't recall what name it is)).
Thanks for info re fertilising.
From yr experience, what would types would u recommend for Gold Coast growing & any tips to keep out the BLASTED FRUIT FLY?

Thank you..

Time: 14th May 2012 10:19am

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Phil@Tyalgum says...
I think organza bags (the ones you get at weddings with sugared almonds and the like) and the best way of excluding fruit fly, as they tie up firmly at the stem. I would recommend any named variety you can find, but check on the internet as, for example, Mammoth and Triumph are good or essential pollinators for each other, but most types just need a second variety nearby to set a crop. I take cuttings of firm growth at the tips of the branches and strip off the bottom leaves, dipping in hormone gel to get them started. You're best to use cuttings about six or eight inches long, but don't cut into old wood, just where is changing from green to brownish on the stem.

Time: 14th May 2012 5:45pm

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