History Of The Guava
Author: Pat Malcolm

The early Spanish explorers of the 1500's found Strawberry
Guava, 'Acca sellowiana O.,' growing as a native tree in
America, where they were firmly established from Mexico
southward to Peru. History records that Seminole Indians were
growing guava trees in Northern Florida in 1816.

Strawberry Guava, 'Acca sellowiana O.,' can grow into trees 25
feet tall and frequently they are planted by homeowners as a
privacy hedge that is easily trimmed or grown as an untrimmed
windbreak. The guava tree can be trained to single or multiple
trunks by pruning and will grow into an excellent specimen
plant that is covered with exotic flowers during late spring.
The wood is gray in color, and the grain is very hard and
dense. The leaves are small, distinctly colored flat green,
making the plants easily recognized at 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 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and is salt water tolerant. Bees
and hummingbirds visit the red and yellow flowers, and the
pollination visits result in a heavy fruit set.

The guava fruit is classified as a berry by most botanists, and
it occurs in clusters with individual berries in sizes just
under one inch. Each guava berry is covered by a rough rind and
the pulp inside occurs in colors of white, pink, or red.

The guava tree grows best in partial shade in acidic soils. The
plants are virtually disease free, and the fruit is usually
harvested by shaking off the mature guavas when the color
change occurs, then, they are collected onto sheets or tarps.
The fruit will keep well in a refrigerator up to a week and can
be peeled and eaten as fresh fruit, as a dessert, or in salads.
If the fruit is dipped into diluted lemon juice, the color of
the pulp will remain bright.

The fruit is commercially made into puddings, pies, juices, and
jellies, and is a rich source of Vitamin A and C, as well as
many beneficial minerals. The guava is grown commercially in
Florida and California, and in many southern forests the shrub
has become naturalized and mistaken as a native historical
plant

"Guavaween" is a traditional central Florida event and fund
raiser that is held every year to celebrate the advent of the
guava corresponding to parades and festivals that are scheduled
near Halloween at holidays Ybor City, Florida, an outskirt of
Tampa, Florida. This "Guavaween" event is celebrated during the
last of October each year.

There are many kinds of guavas; one tropical guava, 'Psidium
guajava L.,' is an important crop in Hawaii, with fruit
production exceeding 15 million pounds per year. These guava
fruits are technically considered to be berries, and the trees
grow in the wild on the island of Kuawai as a native plant.
Before harvesting, the plants are vigorously pruned,
fertilized, and irrigated. Fresh vigorous shoots grow in
response to the pruning, and the delicious fruit forms within
the flowers that mature on the new wood to form guavas and
require about seven months to fully develop.

Most travelers to Florida last century will remember the many
tourist stops on U.S. Highway #1 and U.S. 41 that have now been
transformed into interstate highways I-1 and I-75. Tourist shops
such as "Stuckeys" were loaded with souvenirs such as pecan
logs. One of the most memorable items displayed for sale was
guava jelly, jam, paste, or any other conceivable product that
involved the use of the magical fruit of the guava tree. All
these little jars of jelly and other guava products were
visually stunning to the eye, revealing their contents in
colors of mint green, red, yellow, and blue.


About The Author: Patrick A. Malcolm, owner of TyTy Nursery,
has an M.S. degree in Biochemistry and has cultivated fruit
trees for over three decades. http://www.tytyga.com