Feijoa

Description
Slow growing evergreen shrub that can grow  three to four metres 12 to 15ft high and almost as wide.  The leaves are thick and leathery with a shiny green colour on top and silvery underneath.  It produces bright red flowers in early Summer and the fruit ripen in late Autumn to early Winter, a time when few other fruit trees ripen.

Close up of Feijoa fruit. Feijoas do not dramatically change colour when they ripen.  They simply turn a slightly lighter shade of green.

Feijoa trees do not need to be pruned in order to produce a good crop of fruit.

Fruit
The skin of the fruit is blue to olive green in colour with a waxy feel to it. The shape of the fruit varies from almost round to elongated pear shape and are about five to ten centimetres 2 to 4 inches long. It has an unusual flavour, having a bitter sweet taste  that can best be described as like a tropical fruit salad.

Climate
Feijoas come from Southern Brazil and Northern Argentina.  They prefer a cooler climate with moderate Summers and need about fifty hours of chilling a year to set flowers and fruit. 

Cultivation
Feijoa bushes will grow in a wide variety of soils, but will do better if  the ground is well drained.  They are fairly salt tolerate. The Feijoa pictured here was planted using the same method described for PLANTING CITRUS TREES on the Garden Management web page. 

While Feijoas will tolerate quite dry conditions crop yields will be enhanced with irrigation.  As they are fairly slow growers there is no real need to apply any fertiliser.  Pruning is generally not required, though a light prune just after harvesting will encourage new growth for the next season. When planted close together Feijoas can be pruned into a hedge or screen. They can also be espaliered.

SOURCE REFERENCE MATERIAL
Feijoa Fruit Facts on the Californian Rare Fruit Growers Website at
http://www.crfg.org/index.html.

Growing Fruit in Australia  by Paul Baxter and Glen Tankard  ISBN 0 17 006915 X