Mysterious And Evergreen Feijoa

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38

Such a wonderful plant as feijoa was discovered in the 19th century and named after its discoverer Joanie de Silva Feijo, director of the Museum of Natural History in Brazil. Often it is also called pineapple herb or Akka Sellova. Its fruit tastes really like pineapple, strawberry or guava. Feijoa was brought to our country from South America

Fruits - small cucumbers

Pineapple herb belongs to the myrtle family. This is a sprawling evergreen tree (sometimes a shrub), reaching a height of 6 meters in natural conditions. Opposite, hard, whole-edged leaves of green color are smooth on the outside, and slightly fluffy, silvery-gray with aromatic glands on the inside. The flowers of this plant are very remarkable - very exotic, bright, reaching 4 centimeters in diameter. They bloom from May to August. Outside, the flowers are white, and inside are crimson bright pink stamens.

The fruits are from 4 to 7 centimeters in length, somewhat reminiscent of small egg-shaped cucumbers, at the end with a flower cup. They ripen in late autumn. At home, it is recommended to grow such varieties of feijoa as: Nikitsky aromatic, Crimean early, Coolidge and Syuperba.

But this is not only a very beautiful plant: feijoa has medicinal and delicious taste. The fruits contain a lot of ascorbic acid, pectins, iodine. Feijoa is used both raw and for winter preparations: jams, jellies, juices, marmalade, wines, compotes. Fruits help well with vitamin deficiency, atherosclerosis, skin inflammations, thyroid diseases and gastritis.

Getting seeds is not easy

This plant is most often propagated by seeds and petioles. The first way is the easiest. But in this case, the fruits will have to wait for about 5 years, and the plant may lose the characteristics of the parent tree. Seeds are harvested from fully ripe fruits. In order to make the collection process easier, it is recommended to add a little warm water to the pulp and let it ferment. After that, the seeds are very easily separated. They are washed and dried well. You can store them for three years.

At the end of winter, the seeds are planted to a depth of no more than 0.5 centimeters in a mixture of high peat, leafy earth and river sand, which is then moistened with a spray bottle. Room temperature, ventilation and mandatory spraying are desirable. In this case, seedlings will appear on the 15th day. After four leaves grow, the plant must be transplanted. To do this, a mixture of leaf humus, sod land, river sand and rotted manure is placed in pots.

Cuttings are useful to soak

In order to propagate feijoa by cuttings, wait until the sprouts are covered with bark and cut off the shoots no more than 12 centimeters long with a pair of upper leaves. Soak the cuttings in a heteroauxin solution for 16 hours and plant them in a slightly tilted state, about 2/3 of the length in a mixture of river sand and leaf humus. After that, pour them with a hot, weak solution of potassium permanganate and cover with glass or plastic. With good care, rooting will occur in 2 months. Then transplant the feijoa to its permanent location.

Some growers use pineapple root shoots for propagation of pineapple grass, which are removed for normal fruiting. In this case, the fruits will appear in 4 years.

Has moderate moods

In nature, this plant is found on stony soils. For this reason, it is unpretentious to care for and withstands both drought and frost. In winter, it is advisable to move it to a bright, cool room and water it moderately. In summer, the feijoa can be transferred to the balcony or garden. It is desirable that there is diffused light and regular watering.

Experts recommend replanting the plant every year for the first three years, and then every four years. For this, a universal flower substrate is the best fit, because feijoa is not at all demanding on the composition of the soil. During flowering and subsequent fruit formation, it is important to make additional fertilizing. An adult feijoa must be pinched and its crown formed.

Feijoa is most threatened by spotting and gray rot. Of the pests, they are terrible for her: red spider mite, worm and scale insect. To combat them, regular preventive procedures are used.