How to grow Feijoa in New Zealand

Where to plant

Plant feijoa in a sunny spot with at least six hours of sun. It handles most soils, from heavy clay to light sand, as long as water does not sit around the roots. Established bushes are hardy to frost and wind, which is why feijoa is so often grown as a hedge or shelter belt, but young plants need protection from hard frosts in their first winter or two.

Feijoa flowers are pollinated mostly by birds such as blackbirds and thrushes, along with bees. Most varieties set some fruit on their own, but nearly all crop better with a second variety flowering at the same time nearby. In towns, neighbours' feijoas often do this job for you.

• Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty: plant in autumn (March to May) or spring (September and October). Guava moth is the main pest in the upper North Island, so plan to protect the fruit.
• Wellington and Nelson and Marlborough: plant in autumn or spring in a spot out of the strongest wind while young.
• Central North Island: plant in October or November rather than autumn, so young plants are not hit by plateau frosts before they establish.
• Canterbury: plant in October or November after the frosts, sheltered from the nor'wester, and cover young plants on hard frosts.
• Canterbury: plant in October or November after the frosts, sheltered from the nor'wester, and cover young plants on hard frosts. Apollo, Pounamu and Unique are the varieties recommended for the south.
• Otago and Southland: plant in November or December in a warm, sheltered spot, and choose early varieties such as Unique, Apollo or Pounamu so the crop ripens before the cold.

Choosing a variety

Grafted or named varieties fruit sooner and more reliably than seedlings, whose fruit varies. Growing an early and a later variety that flower at the same time gives better pollination and a longer season. Waimea Nurseries suggests any variety for the North Island, the top of the South Island and the West Coast, and Apollo, Pounamu or Unique for Canterbury, Otago and Southland. Varieties widely sold in New Zealand include these.

• Unique: early, with medium fruit. It is the one to plant if you have room for only one bush, as Waimea Nurseries describes it as the only truly self-fertile feijoa.
• Apollo: medium to large fruit with excellent flavour. Partly self-fertile, so it crops alone but gives larger crops of bigger fruit with another variety nearby. Nurseries list it as early or mid season.
• Pounamu and Kakapo: Pounamu is early with tangy medium fruit; Kakapo is mid season with small to medium, strongly flavoured fruit.
• Kākāriki, Kaiteri and Anatoki: very early varieties with large, sweet fruit, useful where autumn frosts come early.
• Opal Star: late season, compact and bushy, and a good choice for a hedge.
• Bambina: a dwarf kept below about 1.5 m, with small sweet fruit, for pots and small gardens. Wiki Tu is another compact choice, to about 2.5 m, with very large fruit.

How to plant

1. Before planting, dig compost or an organic plant food through the soil over a wide area.
2. Dig a hole twice as wide as the root ball and to the same depth.
3. Tease out the roots and cut away any that circle the pot.
4. Plant at the same depth the plant sat in its pot, backfill and water in well.
5. Mulch with bark or compost to keep the shallow roots cool and moist, keeping it clear of the stem.
6. On young plants, pinch out the growing tips to make a bushier shrub. For a hedge, plant closer than 3 m.

Watering and feeding

Keep the soil moist while the plant establishes. Once settled, feijoa tolerates dry spells, but it is healthier and fruits far better if watered regularly, and in long hot, dry periods a deep soak once or twice a week makes a real difference while the fruit fills out.

Feed established plants from spring to the end of harvest with a fertiliser for citrus and fruit trees that is rich in potassium, at the rate on the pack, and renew the mulch each spring.

Pruning and care through the year

• Feijoa flowers at the base of the new season's growth, so do any pruning straight after harvest and before spring growth starts. Thin crowded inner branches to open up the bush, remove weak or damaged wood, and shorten long shoots to keep it a size you can net and pick.
• Hedges can be clipped to shape once the fruit is picked. Heavy trimming in spring removes the wood that would flower.
• Plant flowering plants nearby and leave room for birds to reach the flowers, as they are the main pollinators.
• In the upper North Island, cover the bush with fine insect mesh after flowering, sealed at the base, or bag fruit in organza bags to keep guava moth out.

Harvesting

Feijoas ripen from March in early varieties to June in late ones. The fruit stays green when ripe, so colour is no guide. It is ready when it falls naturally or comes away at the lightest touch, so gather fallen fruit from under the bush every day, ideally from a layer of mulch or a sheet.

Ripe fruit is slightly soft, fragrant and jelly-like in the centre. Firm fruit softens on the bench in a day or two. Keep ripe fruit in the fridge for about a week, or scoop out and freeze the pulp for months.

Growing in pots

Feijoa grows well in a pot at least 50 cm across, filled with a quality potting mix and with good drainage. Water often, as pots dry quickly, and feed through spring and summer. Prune each year straight after harvest to keep it a manageable size. Bambina is the best choice for a pot, and Unique also does well.

Using it

Cut a feijoa in half and scoop out the flesh with a teaspoon. The skin is edible but usually left. Feijoas go into crumbles, muffins, cakes, chutney, jam, smoothies and cocktails. The fleshy flower petals are edible too, with a sweet, mild taste, and they look good in salads.

Propagation and saving seed

Named varieties are grafted or grown from cuttings by nurseries, so they come true. Feijoa grows easily from seed, but seedlings take up to seven years to fruit and the fruit varies, so buy a named variety if you want a reliable crop.