[icbradley]

Hi,

I have had a very small harvest off the one chilean guava plant that I have (and the taste is fantastic) but I was wondering if I have to protect the plant next season from birds.  Is it too exotic to be recognised as food by the local wildlife?

Ian

[BabbyAnn]

reading up on chilean guava on wikipedia, I suspect once birds find the fruits they might well eat them (red berries are attractive to them)

[New shoot]

The birds have ignored my chilean guava completely.  Even the chickens were indifferent to it.

Mine is now in the unheated greenhouse and its 2nd crop this year is nearly ready 

[Bing]

Hi,

I have had a very small harvest off the one chilean guava plant that I have (and the taste is fantastic) but I was wondering if I have to protect the plant next season from birds.  Is it too exotic to be recognised as food by the local wildlife?

Ian

are you growing it outdoor? I am thinking get one plant. not sure what should I start with, seeds or young plant or mature plant?

thanks

[icbradley]

Hi Bing,

Yes, it is in a pot outdoors.  I bought a plant from Edulis and was advised it was hardy but would not like being exposed at my windy allotment. I have also just bought another Chilean Guava plant from Crocus.  Superb specimen.

Ian

[JayG]

There are grey squirrels around here, and until I improved my garden's defences, badgers too, which used to dig their latrines right next to my sweetcorn (yuk  ), but neither they nor the squirrels have ever touched the cobs.

Others have reported on here losing their sweetcorn to both forms of wildlife, so it seems possible that individual animals do have be taught that something is a tasty treat rather than knowing it instinctively.

Never heard of Chilean guava before reading this thread - hopefully your local bird inhabitants haven't either, and also aren't too keen on experimentation  , although presumably the plant wouldn't be too difficult to protect with netting when the fruits are ripening.

[3759allen]

sorry if i'm going slightly off topic, but i've not heard of these before and am now very interested.

can you eat them straight from the bush? will they grow in a pretty how poly tunnel? what sort of size and shape will they form, can you train them (fan shape).

[icbradley]

Hi,

New Shoot is the expert on Chilean Guava.  It is like a blueberry but red berries.  Yes I ate the berries straight from the bush, mine is not trained but if I can propagate enough I may make a hedge with it.

Ian

[New shoot]

New Shoot is the expert on Chilean Guava.

Well I got mine as a pressie last year, so not really, but thank you for the compliment 

Mine was a fairly good sized shrub when I got it and is in a pot.  It was outside all spring and summer but is now in the unheated greenhouse as I have been advised it is only hardy down to -5 degrees C, plus it has a 2nd crop of fruits that are nearly ready and I'm hoping they will ripen.

You can eat them straight off the plant, but I've also discovered that half defrosted from the freezer, they are even better    Lovely tropical flavours, though hard to describe as an exact taste.

There are piccies in my diary - 14th Jan 2016 and 11th September 2016 give the best overall shots 

[3759allen]

thanks for the replies.

do they need acidic soil like blueberries? as blueberries seem to grow in bushes i take it they wouldn't be ideal to train in a flat fan shape.

[New shoot]

Not acidic soil, but either a sunny well drained spot or a pot.  They are related to Myrtle, so form a similar rounded shaped evergreen small shrub.  Not ideal for fan training really

[3759allen]

i'll bare it in mind if i find a space outside for it, but probably a no to growing in the tunnel.

i'll leave the thread to get on with the original question now.

personally i'm lucky enough not need to cover any fruit, even blue berries. our black birds seem to only have a taste for worms. but if you have birds that take any fruit i would imagine they would happily take a red berry.

[SusieB]

Crocus appears to be the only place that have them in stock.  But pricey as usual from Crocus.  Icbradley are you saying the Crocus one is a good plant and possibly worth a bit extra expense?

[icbradley]

Hi,

I am lucky to live close to Crocus so I can collect but the plant was as big as the one I had looked after for a year!
I would say it was worth the extra.

Ian