Ice cream feijoa

The first time I walked past a blooming Feijoa bush in full flower, I thought someone was baking sugar cookies in the middle of my orchard. That sweet, musky scent is the calling card of one of San Diego’s most underrated champions: the Ice Cream Feijoa.

While the rest of the country scrambles to grow temperamental citrus, we have the perfect Mediterranean climate to host this rugged, drought-tolerant gem. Whether you call it Pineapple Guava, Guavasteen, or by its botanical handle Acca sellowiana, this plant belongs in your backyard.

Alexander Mitchell

My journey with this plant began fifteen years ago on a hillside in Fallbrook with heavy clay soil and a dream. I planted twenty bushes, thinking they would just survive on their own. I was wrong. While they lived, they didn't thrive until I understood their specific rhythm.

Today, I harvest hundreds of pounds of these green, egg-shaped delights every autumn, and the flavor profile—a mix of pineapple, strawberry, and mint—is unlike anything you can buy at a standard grocery store.

Here at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables, we’ve found that the Feijoa is unique because it is one of the few subtropical fruits that actually appreciates a little winter chill, requiring about 50 to 100 chill hours to set a heavy crop.

Understanding the Ice Cream Feijoa

Native to the highlands of southern Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina, the Feijoa is perfectly adapted to our Southern California microclimates. It is not a true guava (Psidium), though it belongs to the same Myrtaceae family.

The plant itself is an attractive evergreen shrub with silvery-backed leaves that can be trained into a tree or a dense privacy hedge. In San Diego, they perform exceptionally well from the coastal fog belt of Encinitas out to the heat of Alpine, provided you adjust your watering schedule accordingly.

One aspect that confuses new growers is the name “Ice Cream” Feijoa. This isn’t just a marketing gimmick; the interior texture of a perfectly ripe fruit is creamy, almost gelatinous, and best eaten by slicing it in half and scooping it out with a spoon. The flavor intensity varies significantly depending on the variety you choose and the soil nutrition you provide.

Ever wonder why some Feijoa fruits taste bitter or medicinal while others are pure sugar?

The secret often lies in the water. Stressing the plant during fruit development concentrates tannins rather than sugars. I once ruined an entire batch by cutting irrigation in September, thinking the plants were hardening off for winter. The result was fruit that tasted like turpentine. You need consistent moisture right up until harvest.

Site Selection and Preparation

Feijoas are tough, but they aren’t invincible. While they can handle temperatures down to 15°F, they despise wet feet. If you are gardening in the heavy adobe soil common in Mira Mesa or Poway, you must plant on a mound or in a raised bed. I recommend a planting site that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. While they will grow in partial shade, they get leggy and refuse to fruit, becoming nothing more than expensive ornamental bushes.

Soil preparation is like building a foundation for a house; you only get one shot to do it right. I dig my holes three times as wide as the pot but no deeper. For every shovel of native soil, I mix in 30% cactus mix (for drainage) and 20% aged compost. This creates a transition zone that encourages roots to spread laterally.

My breakthrough came when I discovered that adding 1 cup of bone meal to the bottom of the planting hole doubled my flower production in the second year compared to plants without it.

The Pollination Puzzle

This is where most San Diego gardeners fail. Many older varieties require cross-pollination. If you plant a single ‘Mammoth’ Feijoa, you will get spectacular flowers but zero fruit. You need a second variety to act as a partner. Self-fertile varieties like ‘Coolidge’ or ‘Apollo’ exist, but even they produce 40% larger fruit when cross-pollinated.

For the heaviest yields in Southern California, always plant at least two different varieties within 20 feet of each other.

Step-by-Step Cultivation Guide

Once your location is set, the maintenance is straightforward, but timing is everything. I follow this strict regimen to ensure my orchard remains productive:

1. Spring Feeding: In late February, just as new growth appears, I apply a granular citrus/avocado fertilizer with an NPK ratio of roughly 10-6-4. I spread 1 cup per inch of trunk diameter around the drip line, scratching it into the mulch.
2. Mulching: I maintain a 3-inch layer of hardwood mulch around the base, keeping it 4 inches away from the trunk. This regulates soil temperature during our August heatwaves.
3. Summer Watering: This is non-negotiable. From June through October, I provide deep irrigation. On drip lines, this translates to 5 gallons of water per plant, twice a week. If we get a Santa Ana wind event, I double that volume immediately.
4. Pruning: I prune exclusively in late spring after flowering has finished. Pruning in winter removes the wood that will bear next season’s fruit. Think of pruning like a haircut—just trim the messy tips and cross-branches to let light into the center.
5. Pest Management: Our biggest enemy here is the Black Scale. If you see ants marching up your trunk, they are farming scale. I use Tanglefoot on the trunk and spray a horticultural oil in the cool of the evening if an infestation gets bad.

Avoid heavy nitrogen fertilizers after July. This stimulates soft, leafy growth that will get scorched by our autumn winds or damaged by early winter frosts.

The Dual Harvest: Flowers and Fruit

Did you know the petals are edible? In May and June, your bushes will erupt in fleshy white petals with bright red stamens. The petals taste like cotton candy or marshmallows. I harvest about 10% of the petals to toss into summer salads. It doesn’t hurt fruit production because the ovary is left behind.

Fruit harvest requires a completely different mindset. Unlike apples or oranges, you do not pick a Feijoa from the tree. If you pull it and it resists, it is not ready. The fruit signals ripeness by falling to the ground. Gravity is your harvest tool.

Check the ground under your bushes daily starting in late September; fruit left on the ground for more than 2 days will rot or be eaten by beetles.

I once tried to “help” the harvest by shaking the tree vigorously. I ended up with 50 pounds of unripe fruit that never sweetened up on the counter. Don’t force it.

Varieties for San Diego

Through our work with Exotic Fruits and Vegetables farm, we have tested over a dozen cultivars to see which ones handle our specific microclimates best. Here is a breakdown of the top performers:

Culinary Potential and Storage

Once you have your bucket of green gold, the clock starts ticking. Feijoas have a short shelf life. They will last about 5 to 7 days on the counter, or up to 4 weeks in the refrigerator. When you cut one open, the jelly-like center should be clear. If it is brown, it is overripe; if it is white and opaque, it is underripe.

We use them in everything. The high pectin content makes them exceptional for jams and chutneys. I blend the raw pulp into smoothies to add a tropical kick that bananas just can’t provide. The gritty texture near the skin—similar to a pear—adds a nice contrast in crumbles and pies.

Why You Should Grow It

Beyond the taste, the health benefits are substantial. These fruits are packed with Vitamin C and fiber. Eating three Feijoas gives you more fiber than a bowl of oatmeal. Plus, they are virtually deer-resistant. In my area, where deer treat rose bushes like a salad bar, they walk right past the leathery leaves of the Feijoa without taking a bite.

“The Feijoa is the only plant that rewards you twice: once with flowers that taste like candy, and again with fruit that tastes like paradise.”

Growing this fruit is an exercise in patience and observation. It doesn’t give you the instant gratification of a radish, but the long-term reward of a perennial hedge that feeds your family for decades is worth the initial effort. It anchors the soil, feeds the bees, and fills the kitchen with exotic aromas.

If you have a 6-foot sunny spot in your yard, you have room for an Ice Cream Feijoa.

Final Thoughts

The Feijoa is more than just a fruit; it’s a testament to the biodiversity we can support here in Southern California. It bridges the gap between the ornamental and the edible garden seamlessly. I encourage you to go to a local nursery, pick up a ‘Nazemetz’ and a ‘Coolidge’, and get them in the ground this weekend.

Our passion at Exotic Fruits and Vegetables drives us to share these insights because we believe the best food system is the one growing right outside your back door.

So, grab a shovel. The soil is warm, the sun is shining, and your future harvests are waiting. What are you waiting for?