Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
otherchuck

Pineapple guava -- advice re fertilize, hand-pollinate?

otherchuck
11 years ago

Greetings,

I have two pineapple guavas I planted maybe ten years ago, and while they appear to be healthy (despite having their leaves occasionally grazed a bit by ground squirrels), neither has ever produced any fruit. One is about 7 feet tall, and the other is about 5 feet tall, and it SEEMS to me that they are growing in ideal conditions (sun, soil, climate, water, etc.). I live in the Santa Ynez Valley, north of Santa Barbara, CA, USA, which is zone 14 according to the Sunset paradigm.

I am not a big fertilizer at all by nature. I grow mostly native-style plants that really don't seem to need or want much fertilizer, so I am nervous about fertilizing the pineapple guavas. However, should I fertilize these two trees in hopes of boosting their growth? If so, how much, and what kind of fertilizer should I use? It is now the end of May...is that an acceptable season to fertilize these trees?

The two trees are about 50 yards away from each other, so I am thinking maybe it wouldn't hurt to hand pollinate these guys (I don't know if these are self-fruiting or not). How does one hand pollinate these kind of trees?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Chuck

Comments (4)