The Guava

We planted a foot of guava in our garden a little over a year ago. I know, that feels so long ago doesn't it? It is the yellow guava (coastal psidium) giving the fruit called guava and not the guava (Psidium cattleianum), a small red fruit, found in Reunion, especially at the Plaine des Cafres.

The guava is a evergreen shrub 12 – 30 feet tall. Its bark is very characteristic: coppery in hue, it detaches in plates. Our guava has developed well during the last winter and measures about 6 feet tall. That is an additional 2 feet of growth since we planted it.

For the past few weeks, we have seen buds appear at the end of the branches. Guava is usually the first to produce fruit, usually as early as the second year, which should be the case here as we planted it two seasons ago.

And for the last few days, the first buds are in bloom. Flowers are normally pollinated by insects, especially bees. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will soon give us a taste of our first guavas…

Want your own taste of fresh guava? You need to live in the right areas.

Guava grow best in zones 8 to 11. Southern subtropical states are the best. Typically, they do best in parts of Hawaii, California, Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.