Psidium guajava
Family Myrtaceae
A single ripe guava announces itself to the whole house — that musky-sweet perfume is something supermarket fruit, picked hard and early, never gets to offer. On your own bush the fruit softens through summer and fall, ready for fresh eating, jelly and juice at peak fragrance.
Among tropical fruits it is the easy roommate: fast, self-fertile, drought-tough once settled, and happy for years in a pot at 4 to 6 feet, since it fruits on new wood and doesn't mind staying small. Bees and birds approve. If you try exactly one potted tropical fruit, the smart money says guava.
Full Sun
Moderate water
Fast growth
Excellent edible
Attracts bees
None winter chill
From the print shop
Our Plant Library collection carries guava — Psidium guajava, print Nº 483, “Guava.”
526 designsfrom $12.99white or black backgroundmatte poster, unframed
Will it fruit where you are?
Enter your ZIP — we look up your USDA hardiness zone (2023 map) and check it against what guava actually needs.
Life cyclePerennial zones 9–11, annual elsewherePollinationSelf-fertileGuava · Common problems
3 problems on file
2 problems on file
Guava · Growing & propagation
LightWaterDrought-tough once established
Soil
Fertilizer
PruningFruits on new growth — tip-prune after harvest to force fruiting wood and keep pot size.
SpacingPropagateSeed won't come true
Guava · Harvest & keeping
Years to first harvestTypical yieldWhat you eat
How to tell it is readyHow long it keepsA week refrigerated
Guava · Seasonal care & spray guidance
Growing season. Bag fruit or trap flies in the South.
winter, before growth starts
1 job
ProtectionIn winterSite guava in the warmest corner of your landscape to begin with, and cover young trees whenever a freeze is forecast. A young guava dies at 27 to 28F, and even a mature tree only takes 25 to 26F briefly. Growth already stalls below 60F, so a marginal spot costs you all year, not just one night.
early spring
2 jobsFeedingIn springGive a bearing tree 3 to 4 applications a year of a 6-6-6-2 or 8-3-9-2 formulation, spread through the growing season. A first-year tree wants a smaller dose every 1 to 2 months, starting near a quarter pound and working up toward a pound per application. Guava fruits on repeated flushes of new growth through the warm season, so the tree draws nutrients continuously rather than in one spring surge.
PruningIn springHead young trees back at 1 to 2 feet to force branching, and hold bearing trees between 3 and 6 feet with selective cuts. Never let a guava climb past 10 feet. Guava flowers on new growth, so a cut both controls size and induces the next bloom, and an open canopy dries faster after rain, which is the main brake on anthracnose.
at bloom
1 jobWateringAt bloomOnce flowers open, water deeply and keep the root zone evenly moist right through fruit development. In a dry spell an established tree wants water twice a week. UF singles out bloom through fruit development as the window where drought stress costs a guava its crop - this is the one stretch the tree cannot buy back later.
as the fruit sets
1 jobProtectionAfter fruit setAs soon as a fruit reaches about 1 inch in diameter, slip a paper lunch bag or a knee-high nylon over it and tie the neck shut around the branch with a twist tie or string. Leave it on until the fruit is near mature size. Caribbean fruit fly does the most damage of any guava pest: the female lays into the fruit and the larvae tunnel through it until it is inedible. A bag is a physical barrier put on at the exact stage the fly starts finding fruit.
the growing season
2 jobsFeedingIn summerSpread 3 to 4 foliar nutritional sprays carrying copper, zinc, manganese and boron across spring and summer. Sandy and high-pH soils tie these micronutrients up where roots cannot reach them, so guava takes them in faster through the leaf than through the ground.
SprayingIn summerWhen warm humid weather sets in and reddish-brown spots show on leaves, apply a copper-based fungicide periodically through the season. Cephaleuros algae colonize leaf and fruit surfaces during warm wet weather, and copper is the one material UF names as controlling them.
as it ripens, and picking
1 jobHarvestingAt harvestPull pink and red-fleshed guava when the peel turns from light green to yellow, then finish ripening it at room temperature. Pick white-fleshed types like Crystal and Lotus at full size while still green - they are eaten crisp and unripe, not soft. Guava finishes ripening off the tree, so picking at the color break gets you the fruit rather than leaving a soft, fragrant target hanging where fruit flies find it.
Guava · Calculators & field guides
Guava · Yearly calendar
No calendar activity is listed for this month.
BloomPruneHarvestBloomMarch to August
PruneFebruary to March
HarvestJune to November
These are the species' typical months — expect them a few weeks earlier in warm zones and later in cold ones. Watch the plant, not just the calendar.
Guava · Ecology & uses
Psidium guajava
AttractsMoisture
DeerProtect young plants
Origin✓ Commonly eaten
UseUseUseEdible valueFruit ripens summer-fall; softens and perfumes when ripe.
Edibility, identification, and traditional-use notes here are general reference — not medical or veterinary advice, and not a claim that any plant treats or prevents anything. Medicinal ratings record how strongly a plant features in herbal tradition, nothing more. Never eat or dose a plant you have not positively identified. More on how to use this library.
Guava · Varieties & cultivars
Named varieties of guava differ in winter-chill needs, ripening time, hardiness, and whether they set fruit on their own — pick one that fits your climate.
6 varieties
Also known as Ruby x Supreme
Partly self-fertile
sweet — A Ruby x Supreme cross and one of the pink-fleshed types UF recommends for Florida home landscapes.
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Partly self-fertile
sweet — Pink-fleshed and listed as recommended in UF's Florida guava variety table.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Partly self-fertile
subacid, mild — Pink-fleshed, milder and less sweet than Homestead or Hong Kong Pink; UF recommended.
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Partly self-fertile
mildly sweet, crunchy — A white-fleshed type eaten immature and crisp rather than ripened soft - a different fruit and a different harvest call than the pinks.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Partly self-fertile
mildly sweet, crunchy — White-fleshed crunchy type, UF recommended; harvested green like Crystal and Asian White.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Partly self-fertile
mildly sweet, crunchy — White-fleshed crunchy type on UF's recommended list, eaten immature.
Story Thyme Farms may earn a small commission from these links, at no cost to you — it never changes what we recommend.
Sources & plant identity
Psidium guajava
Hardiness, size and timing vary with your cultivar, soil and climate.
University extension research, brought together with hands-on growing experience at Story Thyme Farms.
Publisher marks identify sources, not sponsorship or endorsement.
Guava questions, answered straight.
No — guava is self-fertile, so a single plant will set a crop. A second one usually improves yields, but it isn't required.
Guava is commonly eaten and isn't considered toxic, but "commonly eaten" isn't a guarantee for any particular person or animal — allergies, quantity, and which part you eat all matter. Never eat a plant you haven't positively identified, and check with a vet before letting pets or livestock graze anything new.
Fruit ripens summer-fall; softens and perfumes when ripe.
Grafted, or from cuttings/layering (seed won't come true).
Where guava sits in the library.
Serviceberry / Juneberry
Fig
Elderberry
Blackberry