Surprising Survivors Part 4 – Pineapple Guava

These are the flowers of the Pineapple Guava (Acca sellowiana or Feijoa) as pretty as anything you’ll find in the garden. They grow on a small evergreen tree which has lovely gaucous green leaves. In its native Brazil it will reach 25ft, but will struggle to get above one third of that height here. The flowers are edible and are quite tasty, so they are brilliant at decorating a salad. In its native habitat the Pineapple Guava produces fruit which look like an elongated lime, although my specimen, which flowers very freely, has never produced any fruit. I’m told that if you keep it in a container, with the roots restricted, it has a better chance of fruiting. In spite of its exotic appearance it does seem to be hardy.