The first Spanish explorers of the 16th century discovered that the strawberry guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.’, grew as a native tree in America, where it was firmly established from Mexico south to Peru. History records that the Seminole Indians grew guavas in North Florida in 1816.
Strawberry guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.’, can grow into 25-foot tall trees and are often planted by homeowners as a privacy hedge that can easily be trimmed or cultivated as an untrimmed windbreak. The guava tree can be trained to have one or more trunks by pruning and it will make an excellent specimen plant to be covered with exotic flowers in late spring. The wood is gray in color and the grain is very hard and dense. The leaves are small, distinctive plain green in color, making the plants easily recognizable from a distance.
The guava tree or shrub is slow growing and requires the planting of two plants for cross pollination. The tree is cold hardy up to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and is tolerant of salt water. Bees and hummingbirds visit the red and yellow flowers, and pollination visits result in a large number of fruits.
Most botanists classify guava as a berry and it comes in clusters with individual berries in sizes just under an inch. Each guava berry is covered by a rough rind and the pulp inside is presented in white, pink or red colors.
The guava tree grows best in partial shade on acidic soils. The plants are virtually disease free, and the fruit is generally harvested by shaking the ripe guavas when the color change occurs, then harvested on sheets or tarps. The fruit will keep well in the refrigerator for up to a week and can be peeled and eaten as fresh fruit, as a dessert, or in salads. If the fruit is dipped in diluted lemon juice, the color of the pulp will remain bright.
The fruit is commercially made into puddings, cakes, juices, and jellies, and is a rich source of vitamin A and C, as well as many beneficial minerals. Guava is grown commercially in Florida and California, and in many southern forests the shrub has become naturalized and mistaken for a native historical plant.
“Guavaween” is a traditional central Florida fundraising event held each year to celebrate the advent of the guava corresponding to the parades and festivals that are scheduled around Halloween on the holidays of Ybor City, Florida, a periphery of Tampa, Florida. This “Guavaween” event is held during the last month of October of each year.
There are many kinds of guavas; a tropical guava, ‘Psidium guajava L.’, is an important crop in Hawaii, with a fruit production that exceeds 15 million pounds per year. These guava fruits are technically considered berries, and the trees grow in the wild on the island of Kuawai as a native plant. Before harvest, the plants are vigorously pruned, fertilized, and watered. Fresh, vigorous shoots grow in response to pruning, and luscious fruit forms within flowers that ripen on new wood to form guavas and require around seven months to fully develop.
Most travelers who traveled to Florida in the last century will remember the many tourist stops on US # 1 and US 41 that have now been transformed into I-1 and I-75. Tourist shops like “Stuckeys” were full of souvenirs like logs of walnuts. One of the most memorable items on display for sale was jelly, jam, guava paste, or any other imaginable product that involves the use of the magical fruit of the guava tree. All of these little jars of jelly and other guava products were visually stunning, revealing their contents in mint green, red, yellow, and blue colors.