Grow Your Own Food:
Costa Rican Guava - Guava for Drinking!

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...Looking for a handsome, unusual fruit tree for container culture with healthy and flavorful fruit? Or simply want an easy fruit tree that is hardy and undemanding? Psidium friedrichsthalianum (family Myrtaceae), the Costa Rican Guava or Cas Guava, is a perfect small guava tree that can be very rewarding. In Nicaragua it is called "Guava for Drinking" or "Fresco de Guava". Despite the tartness, the flavor is excellent with passionfruit and pineapple tones and is much more pronounced than the subtle flavor of the common Guava. These fruits are very much a part of the culture and cuisine of Costa Rica. Also it has been successfully grown in California now and can be grown in many subtropical regions or as a container plant - "condo" fruit tree...

Guava, the easiest container fruit tree

Grow Your Own Food

Guava is one of the most popular and well-known tropical fruit because it is so tasty, sweet, juicy and flavorful! Many people are familiar with it because of the large number of products made from this aromatic fruit. But very few people know that Guava tree culture is very easy and this plant can fruit in a pot right away. Guava tree start blooming and producing fruit as small as 1 gal pot size. It can be kept in compact shape, responds well to pruning, stays bushy and grows very fast. It is a perfect container fruit tree or a specimen for a tropical garden of any size.
Upon ripening, the fruit becomes soft and juicy. It may be eaten fresh, made into a juice or nectar contain fruit pulp, or made into preserves, jam, jelly, or paste. A distinctive, savory-fresh aroma of fruit is thermo-stable, thus survives processing. The guava is an excellent source of vitamins C and A.
The plant is relatively cold hardy. Our young trees, 3 months after being planted in the ground were exposed to a short period of freeze last winter (mid-20's) but they grew back without significant damage. Try to keep Guava cold-protected for the first winter, then it will be much hardier once established.
Guavas are fast growers and heavy feeders, and benefit from regular applications of fertilizer. Make sure to get some Sunshine Boosters fertilizer: Sunshine C-Cibus - Crop Booster, and feed them your round.

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Collect them all!

Exciting news: Fresh Adenium arrivals straight from Thailand! Behold an array of breathtaking varieties in an explosion of colors.

Adeniums are a must-have for gardeners, with enthusiasts avidly collecting diverse strains. These resilient plants flourish in pots, whether adorning outdoor gardens or brightening indoor spaces. With their charming compactness and eye-catching caudex, Adeniums effortlessly spark conversation and make memorable gifts.

Every year, new hybrids emerge, boasting double and triple blooms in an array of captivating hues - think vibrant reds, pinks, yellows, regal purples, and even dramatic blacks. Each variety is a masterpiece, showcasing unique patterns from dots to stripes to variegations.

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Photo above: selected varieties that just have arrived.

New Video:
Dwarf Guava Hawaiian Rainbow

Psidium guajava "Nana"

Put a little Aloha in your garden... A guava that will bring a taste of the Islands!
This is a very small version of the favorite aromatic Guava - Nana. It grows only up to 5-6 ft tall with a short trunk and a branching, bushy habit. It is perfect for those who have limited space. It can be grown in a pot and fruits heavily. Provided with warm conditions, the tree can bear fruit almost year around. The fruit is round, about 2", pretty good size for a dwarf tree. The flesh is sweet, aromatic, and varies from white to yellow to pink.

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