Do feijoa trees need lots of sun?

Nothing beats the morning routine of walking through my orchard here in San Diego, coffee in hand, checking the dew on the leaves. Today, I found myself standing in front of my Acca sellowiana trees—better known to most of you as Pineapple Guava or Feijoa—and thinking about the most common question I get at the farmers market.

A customer usually points to a basket of these green, egg-sized gems and asks, “Do I really need a scorching spot in the yard to get fruit like this?”

The short answer is yes, but the long answer is where the magic happens. I have killed more trees than I care to admit learning exactly how much light these South American natives actually crave. While they are often sold as “drought-tolerant hedges,” treating them that way guarantees you mostly leaves and very few of the aromatic, tangy fruits we love.

Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we’ve found that understanding the nuance of “full sun” is the difference between a harvest of 5 pounds and a harvest of 50 pounds.

Ever wonder why some Feijoa trees grow ten feet tall but never produce a single piece of fruit?

The Solar Equation: Defining “Full Sun”

In the gardening world, “full sun” is a vague term that often gets people into trouble. For Feijoas, specific inputs yield specific outputs. These trees require a minimum of 6 to 8 hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily to trigger flower production. If your tree receives less than 6 hours, it will likely survive and stay green, acting as a lovely ornamental shrub, but its energy production will remain too low to support the heavy caloric cost of fruiting.

Alexander Mitchell

My property sits just enough inland that we get the marine layer burning off by 10:00 AM. I once planted a variety called 'Nazemetz' in a spot that received shade from a large Oak tree until noon. I figured afternoon sun—about 5 hours of it—would be enough.

I was wrong. That tree grew lanky, stretching its branches desperately toward the light, and produced exactly zero fruit for three years. Feijoas need morning sun to dry off the dew and intense midday sun to fuel the photosynthetic engine required for fruit set.

Be careful with “reflected heat” in inland valleys; planting a Feijoa directly against a white, south-facing stucco wall in 100°F heat can cook the foliage.

Sunlight vs. Heat Stress

There is a critical distinction between light intensity and temperature. In coastal San Diego, you can—and should—give your Feijoa 10 to 12 hours of sun if possible. However, if you are growing in El Cajon, Escondido, or other inland zones where temperatures consistently hit 95°F or higher, the rules change slightly. The sun provides the energy, but extreme heat shuts down the plant’s metabolism.

Think of the soil as a battery and the sun as the charger; if you overcharge a battery without cooling it, it degrades. In high-heat areas, I recommend positioning the tree where it gets blasted by morning and midday sun but receives some dappled shade after 4:00 PM. This prevents the leaves from scorching while still hitting that crucial 8-hour light window.

Water: The Partner of Sunlight

You cannot discuss sun exposure without discussing water, because sunlight drives transpiration. The more sun you give your Feijoa to encourage fruit, the more water it pumps from the ground to cool itself. A Feijoa in full sun with dry roots will drop its fruit prematurely—a heartbreaking sight I have witnessed firsthand.

I maintain a soil moisture level that feels like a wrung-out sponge roughly 3 inches below the surface. During our dry season, which stretches from May to October, I run my drip irrigation to deliver approximately 1.5 inches of water per week directly to the root zone.

If a heatwave hits and temperatures exceed 90°F, I increase this to 2 inches. Our experience at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables has shown that consistent moisture during the sunniest months is the primary factor in preventing fruit drop.

Apply a 3 to 4-inch layer of wood chip mulch continuously around the base of the tree (keeping it off the trunk) to reduce evaporation by up to 70%.

My breakthrough came when I stopped watering on a schedule and started watering based on the sun intensity. I installed a simple tensiometer in the soil. When the sun intensity peaked in July, the gauge showed the soil drying out in 3 days instead of 7. Adjusting my watering frequency to match the solar intensity resulted in fruit that was 30% larger that season.

Planting for Maximum Solar Gain

Getting the light right starts with the shovel. When you are scouting a location, look south. In the Northern Hemisphere, a southern exposure guarantees the most consistent light throughout the year. Here is my standard protocol for getting a new Acca sellowiana in the ground:

1. Map the Shadows: Watch your potential spot for a full day. If a neighbor’s two-story house casts a shadow at 2:00 PM in winter, pick a different spot.
2. Soil Preparation: Feijoas aren’t picky, but they hate wet feet. I amend our heavy clay with 30% organic compost and 10% perlite to ensure drainage.
3. Digging the Hole: Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot but no deeper. The root flare should sit 1 inch above the native soil line to allow for settling.
4. Orientation: If the tree has a “good side” with more foliage, point that north so the sparser side faces south to encourage new growth in the sun.
5. Initial Soak: Flood the new planting with 5 gallons of water immediately to collapse air pockets.

Feijoas are hermaphroditic, but planting two different varieties (like ‘Mammoth’ and ‘Triumph’) near each other increases cross-pollination and yields dramatically.

Pruning: Letting the Sun In

What’s the real secret to success once the tree is established? It is light penetration. A Feijoa left to its own devices becomes a dense, impenetrable bush. While the outer leaves get sun, the inner branches languish in the dark, becoming non-productive wood.

Pruning a Feijoa is like giving the plant a haircut to let the scalp breathe. I aim to create a “vase” shape or an open center. Every January, I go in with my shears and remove inward-growing branches that clutter the center. This allows sunlight to strike the interior limbs, stimulating latent buds to form flowers deeper inside the canopy, not just on the tips.

I recall a specific tree I neglected for four years. It was a massive green blob. I harvested maybe 20 fruits from the very top, where the sun hit. The next winter, I removed about 25% of the canopy mass, specifically targeting the center. Opening the canopy allowed sunlight to reach the lower branches, doubling my harvest the following autumn.

• Sanitation: Remove dead or diseased wood first to prevent fungal issues.
• Airflow: Thinning dense clusters reduces the humidity that pests like scale insects love.
• Structure: Remove branches crossing at sharp angles (less than 45 degrees) as these are weak points.
• Skirting: Trim the bottom 1-2 feet of branches to stop ants from easily climbing up to farm aphids.

Regular light pruning actually stimulates flowering wood for the next season, as Feijoas fruit on current year’s growth.

Harvesting: The Sun’s Final Gift

The sun doesn’t just grow the fruit; it flavors it. The production of sugars and the complex esters that give Feijoa its unique pineapple-mint-strawberry flavor profile are directly linked to photosynthesis rates. Fruit hidden in deep shade often tastes blander and has a grittier texture compared to the custard-like consistency of sun-ripened fruit.

In San Diego, our harvest usually runs from late September through December. Unlike many fruits, you do not pick a Feijoa. You wait for gravity to do the work. When the fruit falls to the ground, it is perfectly mature. However, if the tree is under heat stress from too much sun without water, it will drop immature fruit. You can tell the difference by squeezing it gently.

Never pull a Feijoa from the branch; if it doesn’t come off with the slightest touch, it is not ready and will never ripen properly off the tree.

As fruit enthusiasts at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we encourage you to check under your trees daily during harvest season. Fruit left on the ground in the sun for more than 24 hours will begin to ferment and rot rapidly. I gather my fallen treasures every evening and bring them inside to ripen further for 2-3 days until they yield slightly to thumb pressure, much like an avocado.

Conclusion

So, do Feijoa trees need lots of sun? Absolutely. They demand it. They thrive on it. But they also demand the respect of proper hydration and soil care to handle that solar energy. By planting them in a spot with at least 6-8 hours of direct light and ensuring their roots stay cool and moist, you unlock the full potential of this incredible South American exotic.

Success with Feijoas is about balancing the solar engine with the hydraulic cooling system of the roots. Get that balance right, and you will be gifting bags of aromatic, green fruit to neighbors who will look at you like a gardening wizard.