Guavas
A number of South American myrtle fruits can be successfully grown in our region, especially near the coast, where temperatures are mild and water is abundant.
Related to true guavas, feijoas, guava berries, and luma berries are relatively unknown in the Pacific Northwest but have promise as fruiting plants for our region.
Species
Feijoas
Feijoa (Acca sellowiana)
Ugni berries
Chilean guava (Ugni molinae)
‘Villarica’
Black Chilean guava (Ugni myricoides)
Luma berries
Luma (Amomyrtus luma)
Arráyan (Luma apiculata)
White arráyan (Luma chequen)
Feijoas
The feijoa (Acca sellowiana) or pineapple guava is closely related to true guavas. Both feijoas and true guavas (genus Psidium) are in the myrtle family.
Feijoas are from subtropical highlands ranging from southeast Brazil down into Argentina. Thanks to their highland origins, they are better adapted to cold temperatures and are able to withstand temperatures as low as 5°F. Feijoas need full sun to produce well, but seem to like having their roots shaded.
Feijoas are especially popular in New Zealand, a leading producer of the fruit. Many cultivars have been developed in the country. Another important market for feijoas is Russia and the Ukraine, which import feijoas from other countries such as Georgia and Azerbaijan.
In the US, they are rare. In Oregon, I only know of one farm that offers them (Vial Family Farms in Hillsboro, where there is a full-size, highly productive hedge), though I’ve seen many feijoas planted as ornamentals in Portland. Most of our the domestic feijoa crop is grown in California, but the Pacific Northwest may be particularly well-suited to its cultivation. The plants don’t like hot summer weather and are said to produce superior fruit when grown in cooler areas. The Northwest Coast actually stands to be among the best regions for producing this fruit. In Portland, they ripen in late fall, from November to December.
Cooking with feijoas
Feijoas have a sweetly aromatic flavor that is somewhere between a guava and a pear. The fruit is green, egg-shaped, and contains soft pulp that you can scoop out to eat. The pulp is tangy and sweet, with a pleasant texture and a slight grit reminiscent of a pear. The peels are also edible, but have the herbal, bitter edge that is found in many myrtle fruits. I prefer to scoop or peel the feijoas.
The fruit can eaten fresh, cooked, or made into jam. In Russia, it’s often seen as a soda flavor or processed into “kompot”, a drink made with the cooked whole fruit.
Kept in cold storage, the fruit can be stored for about two weeks. Without refrigeration, it only stays good for a few days. The fruits bruise easily but can still be cooked.
The thick petals of the flowers are edible. They evolved to attract birds, who eat them as a reward for pollinating the plants. These petals can be removed without affecting fruit set. So far, I have found them to be somewhat bland, but others say they have a cinnamon taste. I’ll keep trying them.
Other myrtle fruit
There are other fruits commonly referred to as guavas that can be grown in our region.
Like feijoas, these are not true guavas, but related plants in the myrtle family. These uncommon plants are planted primarily in private gardens.
Guava berries
The guava berry is a fruit from the myrtle family of plants. Whereas the fruit is produced commercially in Chile, guava berries are not grown commercially in our region. It’s a shame; their flavor is excellent.
The standard variety of guava berry shrub or Chilean guava (Ugni molinae) found in nurseries is hardy down to 18°F, but horticulturist Paul Barney of Edulis Nursery has introduced the variety ‘Villarica’, which is from upper elevations in Chile and hardy down to 5°F. The variety is an excellent choice for most of the Northwest Coast and Northern California.
The small berries are sweet and taste like lightly mentholated berries. The minty resinous notes are similar to those found in related myrtle fruits, such as luma berries.
A similar related species, black Chilean guava (Ugni myricoides), is thought to have the same hardiness as the standard Chilean guava. Black chilean guava has larger fruit.
Luma berries
Luma berries are the blueberry-sized fruit of several different trees in the genera Amomyrtus and Luma.
Both the luma tree (Amomyrtus luma) and the white luma tree (Amomyrtus meli) are hardy in the Northwest Coast and Northern California regions. Both trees produce edible fruit.
The arráyan tree (Luma apiculata) is often referred to as the Chilean myrtle. The tree is occasionally planted in local gardens. It’s hardy to about 15°F when young, and down to 5°F when it gets older. The flavor of its berries is sweet, with a noticeable but pleasant mentholated taste. I’ve found several trees producing fruit in Portland, even in fairly shaded positions.
There is also similar, but slightly less cold-hardy species, the white Chilean myrtle (Luma chequen).
True guavas
True guavas are likely only viable in the Northern California region where temperatures don’t fall below 20°F during cold spells.
There are two related species with greater hardiness, the lemon guava (Psidium littorale) and the strawberry guava (Psidium cattleianum). I know both of these can do well in the Bay Area, but so far I haven’t been able to determine if they can succeed further north.
