Feijoa
New Zealand's favourite backyard fruit tree - hardy, easy-care and heavy-cropping once established, dropping ripe fruit from autumn into early winter. Grafted trees typically bear their first fruit 2-3 years after planting (most varieties crop far better with a second, different variety nearby for cross-pollination). Frost-tender while young but tolerant of most NZ gardens once established. Watch for guava moth grubs in the fruit, now well established from Northland down to Waikato.
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- Sun
- full sun
- Water
- moderate
- Spacing
- 200cm
- Harvest
- Ready in about 2-3 years
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Grows in
- Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Hamilton / Waikato, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Napier / Hawke's Bay, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson, Tasman, Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago, Invercargill / Southland
- Expected yield
- 10-20kg of fruit per mature tree per season
- Cost to grow
- ~$30 NZD
- Grocery value
- ~$120 NZD
- Mature height
- 3m
- Attracts wildlife
- Bees, Birds (eat the sweet fleshy flower petals)
- Evergreen
- Yes
- Common diseases
- Anthracnose
- Common pests
- Guava moth, Bronze beetle, Scale insects, Feijoa bud mite
When to plant by region
In Whangārei / Northland, Auckland, Tauranga / Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Napier / Hawke's Bay: March-April and September-November. In Hamilton / Waikato, New Plymouth / Taranaki, Palmerston North / Manawatū-Whanganui, Wellington, Nelson and Tasman: September-November. In Blenheim / Marlborough, West Coast, Christchurch / Canterbury, Dunedin / Otago and Invercargill / Southland: September-October.
Growing stages
Planting & establishmentFirst few months
- Water consistently while young, even though this becomes a moderate-water tree once established
- Frost-tender while young, so shelter or delay planting until frost risk has passed
- Plant a second, different variety nearby; most feijoas crop far better with a cross-pollinator close by
Early growthFirst 1-2 years
- Check new growth for bronze beetle and scale insects
- Anthracnose can appear on stressed young growth in humid weather
- First fruit is typically 2-3 years away; full sun and shelter help trees bulk up steadily
Flowering & fruiting
- Flowers attract bees, and birds eat the sweet fleshy petals, so avoid spraying nearby during this period
- Feijoa bud mite can distort flower buds and reduce fruit set
- Guava moth grubs, now well established from Northland to Waikato, tunnel into developing fruit
MaturityOngoing harvest from autumn into early winter
- Fruit ripens and drops from the tree from autumn into early winter; collect windfalls promptly
- Keep monitoring for guava moth in affected northern regions and anthracnose in humid weather
- Established trees yield 10-20kg of fruit per season with minimal ongoing care