🌿 פג'ויה (פיג'ואה) | המדריך המלא לגידול וטיפול

🌿 Pejua | The Complete Guide to Growing and Care

עץ פג'ויה על דשא סינטטי בכלי שחור המוצר מהמדריך זמין באתר Pejoya 10 liters 95.00 ₪

📋 Quick Summary - Everything you need to know at a glance

☀️ Light:
Full sun / partial shade
At least 6 hours
💧 Watering:
Low to moderate
Water-efficient!
📊 Difficulty:
Easy
Resilient and hardy
🌸 Blooming:
April-May
Edible flowers!
🍐 Fruit:
October-December
Pineapple-guava flavor
❄️ Hardiness:
Down to -10°C
Cold-resistant!

🌱 Getting to know the Feijoa

Names and Identification

  • Hebrew name: Feijoa
  • Scientific name: Feijoa sellowiana (Acca sellowiana)
  • Common names: Pineapple Guava
  • Family: Myrtaceae

Origin and History

It originates from South America - Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. It arrived in Israel during the British Mandate (1920s) as an ornamental plant.

In the 1970s, Ephraim Slor developed the "Slor" variety - an Israeli cultivar with exceptionally large fruit!

Why Feijoa?

  • 🍐 Delicious fruit: Unique pineapple-guava taste
  • 🌸 Edible flowers: Sweet like candy!
  • 💧 Water-efficient: Requires very little
  • ❄️ Cold-resistant: Down to -10 degrees!
  • 🎨 Beautiful ornamental tree: Silvery-green leaves
  • 🌳 Excellent hedge: Dense and stable

Characteristics

  • Height: 2-5 meters (shrub/small tree)
  • Leaves: Silvery-green, evergreen
  • Flowers: Stunning white-red
  • Growth: Slow

⭐ Why is the Feijoa so special?

The Feijoa is one of the easiest and most rewarding fruit trees to grow in Israel!

🌸

Edible flowers
Sweet as candy!

💧

Water-efficient
Perfect for our climate

❄️

Cold-resistant
Survives down to -10°C!

💪

Disease-resistant
Almost no care needed

🎨 Ornamental and fruit tree: The Feijoa combines beauty and utility - stunning silvery leaves, amazing blooms, and delicious fruit!

🎨 Popular Feijoa Varieties

There are many varieties - here are the most common in Israel and worldwide:

🇮🇱 Slor - The Israeli variety!

Extra large fruits, excellent taste. Developed in Israel by Ephraim Slor. The most common variety in the country.

🌟 Apollo

Medium-large fruits, high yield. Productive and tasty. Pollinates Gemini.

🦣 Mammoth

As its name implies - giant fruits! Wrinkled skin. Requires a pollinator for best results.

✨ Unique

Self-fertile! Medium, sweet fruits. Starts blooming at a young age. Recommended for balconies.

🎋 Bambina

Dwarf variety! Perfect for pots and balconies. Self-fertile, small but tasty fruits.

🌿 Coolidge

Fully self-fertile! Reliable and heavy cropper. Ideal if you only have space for one tree.

💡 Important tip: Even "self-fertile" varieties will produce more and larger fruits if there is another tree of a different variety nearby!

🌤️ Growing conditions - The key to success

☀️ Light

Light requirement: Feijoa loves full sun but will also manage in partial shade.

✅ Ideal:
Full sun (6+ hours)
⚡ Acceptable:
Partial shade (reduced flowering)
💡 Please note: The more sun it gets, the more abundant the flowering and the sweeter the fruit!

💧 Watering - Water-efficient!

Key principle: Feijoa is drought-resistant and requires relatively little water!

Watering frequency:

  • Mature tree: Once every week or two in summer, less in winter
  • Young tree: More regular watering in the first year
  • In a pot: As needed, when the soil dries out

When to increase watering:

  • 🌸 During flowering and fruit set
  • 🍐 During fruit ripening (crucial for quality!)
  • ☀️ On especially hot days
⚠️ Important: Lack of water during fruit development will cause the fruit to be bitter, dry, and drop early!

🪴 Soil

The Feijoa is not picky! It adapts to most soil types in Israel.

What works:

  • ✅ Well-drained soil (most important!)
  • ✅ Sandy, clay, or rocky soil
  • ✅ pH 5.5-7.0
  • ✅ Soil rich in organic matter (preferred)
  • ❌ Waterlogged soil - leads to root rot!

Planting intervals:

  • Single tree: 3-5 meters from other trees
  • Hedge: 1 meter between trees
  • Orchard: 4-5 meters between rows

🌡️ Temperature - Cold resistant!

Major advantage: Feijoa is more cold-resistant than most fruit trees!

  • ❄️ Cold resistance: Down to -8-10 degrees!
  • ☀️ Ideal range: 15-28°C
  • 🥶 Chilling requirements: About 50 chill hours for good yield
  • 🏔️ Suitable for all parts of the country - including the Judean Hills and the Galilee!
❄️ Amazing resilience: Feijoa survives frosts and snow! Few fruit trees are as hardy as it is.

🐝 Pollination - The key to yield!

Most Feijoa varieties require cross-pollination from another tree!

What does this mean in practice?

  • 🌳🌳 Plant at least 2 trees of different varieties
  • 🐝 Bees and birds transfer pollen
  • 🌸 Birds eat the petals and pollinate!
  • ✋ Hand pollination with a brush is also possible

Self-pollinating varieties (for a single tree):

  • ✅ Unique
  • ✅ Coolidge
  • ✅ Bambina (dwarf)
  • ✅ Sellowiana (the original)

But! Even these will produce more and larger fruits with a pollinator!

💡 Tip: If you only have space for one tree, check if your neighbor has a Feijoa - that will be enough!

🌸 Blooming - Edible flowers!

One of the most special things about the Feijoa: The flowers are edible and sweet!

🌺 Flower appearance

  • White petals on the outside
  • Prominent red stamens
  • Single flowers on stalks
  • Look like small "fireworks"!

😋 How to eat?

  • Eat only the white petals
  • Taste is sweet like candy
  • Hint of strawberry/pineapple flavor
  • Add to salads and desserts
⚠️ Tip from the experts: Don't tell the kids the flowers are edible - you will be out of flowers (and fruit) very quickly! 😄

📅 Blooming season

In Israel: April-May (about a month)

🍐 Fruit and harvesting

🥝 Fruit description

  • Green color (even when ripe!)
  • Egg-shaped
  • Size: 4-8 cm (depending on variety)
  • Internal flesh is creamy and fragrant
  • Taste of pineapple + guava + strawberry

📅 Fruit season

  • Start: October
  • Peak: November-December
  • End: January
  • About 2-3 months of harvesting!

🎯 How do you know the fruit is ripe?

The big secret: Ripe Feijoa falls from the tree!

  • ✅ Collect fruits that have fallen to the ground
  • ✅ Check gently - ripe fruit detaches easily
  • ✅ The fruit should be slightly soft to the touch
  • ❌ Don't pick hard fruit - it won't be tasty!

💡 Tip: Keep the grass short under the tree - it's easier to find the fruit!

🥄 How to eat?

  1. Cut the fruit crosswise
  2. "Scoop out" the content with a spoon
  3. Eat the inner flesh + the seeds (they are edible!)
  4. Do not eat the skin

✂️ Pruning and Maintenance

Feijoa doesn't require much pruning, but proper pruning will improve the yield!

When to prune?

  • 📅 After harvesting (winter) - the ideal time
  • ❄️ Avoid pruning in areas with late frosts
  • 🌱 Feijoa flowers on new growth - pruning encourages flowering!

What to prune?

  • ✂️ Weak and spindly branches
  • ✂️ Dead or damaged branches
  • ✂️ Branches that block light and air to the center of the tree
  • ✂️ Lower branches (to make harvesting easier)
  • ✂️ Height - you can keep it at 2.5-3.5 meters

Growing as a hedge

Feijoa is excellent for a hedge:

  • Dense and full
  • Can be pruned into shapes
  • ⚠️ Heavy pruning will reduce flowering and fruit
💡 Tip: Thin out the center of the tree to allow pollinating birds and light to reach the fruit!

🧪 Fertilization

Feijoa is not "hungry" - moderate fertilization is enough!

Fertilization schedule:

🌸 Spring:
Balanced fertilizer before flowering
☀️ Summer:
Additional fertilizer if needed
🍂 Autumn:
Pause before harvest

Recommendations:

  • First year: 250 grams of balanced fertilizer
  • Add 250 grams each year up to a maximum of 5 kg for a mature tree
  • Organic fertilizers: Compost, sheep manure, blood and bone meal
  • In a pot: Liquid citrus and fruit fertilizer

🔧 Common Problems and Solutions

Feijoa is a very hardy tree! But there are a few things to know:

🪰 Mediterranean Fruit Fly

The main problem! The fly loves the fruit.

Solutions:

  • Pheromone traps
  • Netting on the fruit
  • Preventive treatment after flowering
  • Collection of fallen infested fruit

🍂 No fruit / low yield

Possible reasons:

  • Lack of pollination - you need another tree!
  • Tree is too young (3-7 years to bear fruit)
  • Excessive pruning
  • Lack of sun

🥀 Flowers dropping

Possible reasons:

  • Dryness (the tree drops flowers)
  • Lack of pollination
  • Tree is too dense (birds cannot enter)

🍐 Small / tasteless fruit

Possible reasons:

  • The variety itself (seed-grown vs. grafted)
  • Lack of water during fruit development
  • You harvested too early

🐛 Other pests (rare)

Scale

Brown lumps on branches.
Treatment: Winter oil, potassium soap

Leaf roller moth

Rolled leaves with caterpillars.
Treatment: Manual removal, Bt

💪 The good news: Feijoa almost never suffers from diseases! The tree itself is healthy and hardy.

🪴 Growing Feijoa in a pot

Yes, you can grow Feijoa in a pot! Perfect for balconies and rooftops.

🏺 Pot size

At least 50 liters for a mature tree. Start with 25 liters and move to a larger one.

🌱 Recommended variety

Bambina - a dwarf variety! Or Unique - self-pollinating.

💧 Irrigation

More frequent than in a garden. Check soil moisture regularly.

✂️ Pruning

More assertive pruning to maintain size. After harvest.

🥗 Culinary uses

Feijoa is a versatile fruit with a unique taste!

🥄

Fresh
Half + spoon!

🍦

Ice creams
and frozen sorbets

🫙

Jams
and chutneys

🍹

Smoothies
and juices

🍰

Baking
cakes and muffins

🌸

Flowers
for salads and desserts

⏰ Short shelf life: Ripe feijoa lasts only 3-5 days in the refrigerator. Eat quickly or process it!

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

How long until the tree bears fruit?

Grafted tree: 2-3 years. Tree from seed: 5-7 years! Therefore, it is recommended to buy a grafted tree of a known variety.

Do I need two trees?

Highly recommended! Even "self-pollinating" varieties will bear more fruit with a pollinator. Check if the neighbor has a tree.

Why is my fruit small?

Several possible reasons: A variety that produces small fruit (seed-grown), lack of pollination, or lack of water while the fruit is growing.

Does the flower have to be red to have fruit?

Not necessarily. The flowers are always white with red stamens. If the flower is pollinated - there will be fruit.

How do I know the fruit is ripe?

The secret: A ripe feijoa falls from the tree! Collect fruit that has fallen, or pull gently - a ripe fruit will detach easily.

Is Feijoa cold hardy?

Very! Survives down to minus 10 degrees. Suitable for all areas of the country including mountains.

🛒 Recommended products from Deco Garden

🌳

Feijoa trees

Sellowiana variety and others

🧪

Citrus and fruit fertilizer

For fruit trees

🪤

Fruit fly traps

Fruit protection

🌱

Soil for fruit trees

Draining and rich

✂️

Pruning shears and grafting knife

For professional pruning

🏺

Large pots

For balcony growing

📊 Summary table - all information in one place

Category Details
☀️ Light Full sun to partial shade
💧 Irrigation Low-medium, water-efficient
🌡️ Temperature Cold hardy up to -10°C!
🌱 Soil Well-draining, undemanding
📏 Size 2-5 meters (shrub/small tree)
🌸 Flowering April-May (edible flowers!)
🍐 Fruit October-December
🐝 Pollination Preferably 2 trees of different varieties
📊 Difficulty level Easy - a hardy and unpretentious tree

🌿 Deco Garden - Love for plants

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The guide was written by the Deco Garden team of experts

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