Feijoa
The fruit may be more well-known than the shrub in NZ. In April and May each year the fruit ripens and is picked or falls to the ground for picking up. Their rather subtropical fragrance is amplified once you cut them open.
When ripe they are ready to eat. Unfortunately their shelf life is short providing a window of opportunity to harvest, sell and use them. Pick them dayly They can be eaten raw, stewed, in chutneys and jam, in smoothies and have been used for ice cream flavour. No doubt there will be more uses for this fruit in the future. With new varieties shelf life will be extended and keeping ability improved.
Flowering in November/December the flowers look similar to Pohutukawa as they both belong to the same family. Pollinated by birds like blackbirds (petals) and silvereyes (nectar) it is good to grow at least two varieties to ensure pollination.
This hardy shrub is ideal for NZ conditions as it will withstand wind and exposure to coastal conditions because of its touch leathery leaves and downy grey underside of its leaves. They do better when grown together in warm and sunny conditions with good drainage. They are often grown as a windbreak or shelter. Water young plants well and older plants will withstand dryer conditions.
Ensure they are supplied with a general fertiliser and mulch. Prune in spring to manage the shrub for fruiting with a light prune and thin it out a little to let the birds in.
Feijoas are grown commercially. Dick Endt was one of the first to grow them on a commercial scale in NZ.
Varieties
Kaiteri – Early ripening large fruit, early
Pounamu – Dark skin, early
Unique self fertile, early
Apollo – self fertile, early
Kakapo – Mid season
Wiki Tu – large fruits, Mid season
Triumph– Reliable and sturdy, late season
Opal Star – late season
Mammoth – Reliable and sturdy
Coolidge– Reliable and sturdy
Pearl – sweet and creamy
Feijoa, Acca sellowiana, previously known as Feijoa sellowiana is from the genus which the German botanist, Ernst Berger, named after João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese naturalist, and the specific name honours Friedrich Sellow, a German who first collected specimens of feijoa in southern Brazil about 1821.They are also found in other South American countries. It was introduced to Europe in 1890. It is unknown when it arrived in NZ but is recorded in literature in 1950 and it has been suggested it arrived in the 1920's.
When ripe they are ready to eat. Unfortunately their shelf life is short providing a window of opportunity to harvest, sell and use them. Pick them dayly They can be eaten raw, stewed, in chutneys and jam, in smoothies and have been used for ice cream flavour. No doubt there will be more uses for this fruit in the future. With new varieties shelf life will be extended and keeping ability improved.
Flowering in November/December the flowers look similar to Pohutukawa as they both belong to the same family. Pollinated by birds like blackbirds (petals) and silvereyes (nectar) it is good to grow at least two varieties to ensure pollination.
This hardy shrub is ideal for NZ conditions as it will withstand wind and exposure to coastal conditions because of its touch leathery leaves and downy grey underside of its leaves. They do better when grown together in warm and sunny conditions with good drainage. They are often grown as a windbreak or shelter. Water young plants well and older plants will withstand dryer conditions.
Ensure they are supplied with a general fertiliser and mulch. Prune in spring to manage the shrub for fruiting with a light prune and thin it out a little to let the birds in.
Feijoas are grown commercially. Dick Endt was one of the first to grow them on a commercial scale in NZ.
Varieties
Kaiteri – Early ripening large fruit, early
Pounamu – Dark skin, early
Unique self fertile, early
Apollo – self fertile, early
Kakapo – Mid season
Wiki Tu – large fruits, Mid season
Triumph– Reliable and sturdy, late season
Opal Star – late season
Mammoth – Reliable and sturdy
Coolidge– Reliable and sturdy
Pearl – sweet and creamy
Feijoa, Acca sellowiana, previously known as Feijoa sellowiana is from the genus which the German botanist, Ernst Berger, named after João da Silva Feijó, a Portuguese naturalist, and the specific name honours Friedrich Sellow, a German who first collected specimens of feijoa in southern Brazil about 1821.They are also found in other South American countries. It was introduced to Europe in 1890. It is unknown when it arrived in NZ but is recorded in literature in 1950 and it has been suggested it arrived in the 1920's.