Growing Guava for Landscaping

Landscape Uses

• Guavas are evergreen plants that can be trained as either large shrubs or small trees. Under ideal conditions, they grow quickly to 8 or 10 feet tall as shrubs or 15 to 20 feet tall as single-trunked trees. Trained as a hedge, guavas can be used as a screen for privacy and as a windbreak for garden areas. They have a dense growth habit when cut back on a regular basis but take on a very elegant form if trained as trees. The bark on all species is highly ornamental, as are the glossy, green leaves and flowers. In spring, pineapple guavas have particularly showy red and white flowers that are frequented by hummingbirds. All three guava varieties can be used as patio trees either in the ground or in large pots or planters. Use a one-half wine barrel or other container at least 25 gallons in size for each tree for the best results.

Growing Requirements

• All guavas fruit best when they receive full-sun exposure, but the plants will grow in partial shade and still produce some fruit. They are very adaptable to soil type but thrive and produce the best fruit when they are in loose, well-drained soil with a mildly acidic pH, between 5.5 and 7. Although guavas are drought-tolerant, their fruit production is poor without regular moisture. Pineapple guavas are normally free of pests and disease, though the common and strawberry guavas are frequently attacked by fruit flies, which can render the plants' fruits inedible.

Care

• One of the easiest, most effective maintenance tasks for guavas is to provide a 2- to 4-inch layer of mulch over each tree's root zone each year. The mulch protects the roots from heat, erosion and moisture loss, and it slowly enriches the soil with organic matter. Guavas fruit well in rich garden soil. In poor soil, fertilizer is beneficial to the plants' health and productivity. Monthly applications of a balanced tree and shrub fertilizer at the low end of the recommended dosage is sufficient. The trees do not require pruning for good fruit production but can be pruned for shaping after their fruits are harvested.

Further Considerations

• Guavas are partially self-fertile. The best fruit production, however, occurs when two or more guavas are planted together for cross-pollination. The fruit of pineapple and strawberry guavas ranges from 1 to 2 inches in diameter while common guava can have very large fruit weighing several pounds. Common and strawberry guavas grow a little too easily in some places; they are considered highly invasive in parts of southern Florida and Hawaii.