Hardy Edibles

Myrtaceae

guabiroba

Campomanesia xanthocarpa

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Survives zone 8 through 9

Yellow-orange fruit — sweet, aromatic, guava-meets-lime. Among the hardiest useful Myrtaceae and the best bet in this group for a cool climate. Care: Winter protection — mulch, fleece, or a warm wall.

Hardiness
Zone 8 to 9
Habit
Shrub
Edible part
Fruit
Ripens
Summer
Mature size
Evergreen tree 5–15 m; containerable when young
Light
Full sun to partial
Soil pH
5.5–7.0 (acid–neutral; dislikes chalk)
Environment
Subtropical highland forest
Status
Both wild and cultivated
Years to fruit
3–5 yrs
Pollination
Self-fertile, better with a partner

Growing guide

Fertilizing. Brazilian growers amend the planting hole with lime, wood ash, and well-rotted organic matter, then feed twice a year with compost, manure, or leaf litter; sources differ on whether it truly needs fertile soil or merely tolerates poor ground, so treat this as provisional.

How it spreads. Grows as a single-trunked tree rather than spreading; it does throw up basal shoots at the trunk base that growers routinely prune away to keep a clean tree form.

Growing tips. Prune in late winter to remove basal shoots and crowded interior branches. It is slow to bear (roughly 3-6 years from planting) and only lightly frost-tolerant (to about -3°C/27°F). This species is rarely cultivated outside its native range, so documented growing advice is thin compared to the other species here.