Grow Your Own Fruit — Chilean Guava

Taste of wild strawberries in Autumn

Fresh berries grown in the garden at this time of year are a rarity in the UK. These beautiful Chilean Guavas are ready to pick and bring a delicious flavour of Alpine strawberries to any recipe where you might use blueberries.

They are easy to grow, and highly prolific, as you can see. They prefer acidic soil, so they won’t do well in the ground if yours is chalky. I have mine growing in large pots of ericaceous compost. This helps keep the size down as they can grow to three metres high. Pruning is limited to cutting out dead or diseased wood.

Chilean guavas grow best in full sun, where they also produce the sweetest flavour. They are very ornamental, with evergreen leaves plus scented flowers in spring. The berries can be seen from around August, but it takes until the autumn for them to ripen when they give slightly to pressure.

In their country of origin, these plants are found in a woodland habitat, so as well as acidic soil, they like plenty of organic matter. This will also help retain moisture, which they thrive on. Regular watering with an organic feed such as comfrey tea will give the biggest harvest.

Chilean guavas are hardy down to -10C, so if you are likely to get more severe weather over winter, it’s best to grow them in large pots that you can move them to a sheltered spot.