Feijoa is a plant with leathery leaves and beautiful red-white flowers. A resident of the subtropics adapts to room conditions and is used for landscaping apartments, offices, winter gardens. Feijoa fruits are delicious and nutritious. They contain iodine, fruit acids and B vitamins.
What feijoa looks like
The genus Akka, to which feijoa belongs, unites several species naturally found in South America. These fruit and ornamental plants are common in many subtropical countries. There is no point in arguing about feijoa, what is it - a bush or a tree. This species includes shrubs and evergreen trees.
Feijoa in the open ground
A plant with a rough light brown bark and a dense crown reaches 4 m in height. The outer part of the oval hard leaves is dark green, glossy, and the lower part of the leaf plate is silver gray, pubescent. When rubbed, the leaves emit the smell of myrtle (the plant belongs to the myrtle family) and secrete substances that inhibit bacteria and fungi.
Feijoa flowering time is June. On the shoots of the current year, in the axils of the leaves, flowers are formed, single or in small inflorescences. Flowers on long pedicels, four-petalled. Petals are oval, smooth, purple-pink inside, white outside. Numerous long pink stamens are crowned with golden anthers. Feijoa blooms for about three weeks.
Flowering feijoa
On a note! Feijoa flowers are juicy and sweet in taste. In South America, they are eaten.
Feijoa is a fruit or berry
Feijoa matures when it passes four months after pollination. Green oval fruits are formed up to 7 cm long. The pulp is dense, creamy, sweet and sour taste. The seeds are small, located in four small seed nests. Many doubt: is the feijoa fruit a fruit or a berry? Despite the fact that the fruits ripen on a tree, the international classification classifies them as berries.
Aromatic berries have a refreshing pleasant taste and are quickly absorbed. Feijoa surpasses other berries in the amount of iodine in the fruits and can even compete with seafood. Fruits contain many vitamins, minerals, sodium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc and pectins. The benefit of feijoa is undeniable, not without reason it is called the berry of youth and health.
Fruits are most often consumed fresh, sometimes seasoned with sugar. Also, berries are made from jam, compotes, jams, marmalade are made.
With the regular use of feijoa for a long period (at least a month), a positive effect on human health is noted. Occurs:
- normalization of the thyroid gland as a result of iodine intake;
- increased hemoglobin due to the high iron content in the fruit;
- regulation of blood glucose due to the low glycemic index of the product;
- improvement of the genitourinary system due to the diuretic properties of berries;
- strengthening immunity.
Contraindication for the use of feijoa is an individual intolerance to the product. In order not to harm, provoking an allergic reaction to any of the components of the berries, you need to start with small doses, gradually increasing the amount of product consumed. Recommended by nutritionists, the norm for an adult is 5 fruits per day.
Feijoa fruits
Popular varieties
Varietal variety cultivated in feijoa gardens is limited. Usually three grades are preferred:
- Superba (Superba), characterized by a wide pear-shaped. Berries with a smooth peel and a pleasant strong aroma;
- Choyoseana (Choiseana) - an early ripening variety with large fruits that resemble the taste of a banana;
- Coolidge - flowers of this species are able to pollinate with pollen from trees of the same variety. The fruits are even, smooth, weighing up to 60 g. The peel is slightly corrugated, dark green.
Varieties of feijoa Sellou have spread in room culture, which grow, bloom and bear fruit well in an apartment. In order for a plant grown indoors to regularly bear fruit, it is advisable to acquire self-pollinating varieties, such as Nikitsky fragrant, early Crimean, Firstborn.
Interesting! The name of the genus was given in honor of the famous naturalist Joan da Silva Feijoa. Many believe that this name is Spanish and perceive "j" as the Russian letter "x". As a result, the most common sound is feijoa. However, the surname is Portuguese and more correct is the pronunciation of Fey-zho-a (feijoa). Moreover, the emphasis will be on the middle syllable. This is what the plant is called in France and in other European countries.
Growing feijoa at home
Feijoa is a moisture-loving tree and in need of good lighting. The plant is located on the lightest window sill in the apartment, even direct sunlight is not afraid of it. In the autumn-winter period, backlighting is necessary, with insufficient lighting a tree throws off leaves.
Maintenance temperature and watering rules
Feijoa grows well in rooms where the temperature ranges from +18 to +20 ℃. In winter, it is desirable to reduce it to +14 ℃. The plant is not afraid of temperature extremes.
Watering should be moderate, drying out of the earth is not allowed. Young plants are more demanding on moisture, in the summer they require abundant watering and regular spraying. Lack of moisture leads to loss of leaves, drying out of branches and roots. The plant does not tolerate stagnation of moisture, therefore, at the bottom of the pot, a layer of drainage is necessary, and the excess water from the pan is immediately drained.
Transplant and fertilizer
Young plants are transplanted annually, adults - as needed. Large fruiting plants in tubs are replanted every 5 years, but annually replace the topsoil. A mixture consisting of three parts of turf and two humus land with the addition of one part of sand and sheet soil is suitable. The soil should be neutral or slightly acidic.
Spacious containers are chosen so that plants have a place to develop. When transplanting, the roots are not completely cleaned from the ground, they carefully move the tree into a new pot and fall asleep with fresh soil, leaving the root neck at the same level relative to the ground.
In spring and summer, regular feeding is carried out, combining mineral and organic fertilizers, as well as for growing garden crops. Specialists recommend feijoa to be fertilized with superphosphate, fly ash and horse manure (1:10). A tablespoon of ash of deciduous trees is insisted in a liter of water for a week to obtain an ash extract. Before applying fertilizer, the plant is watered. During the active growing season, fertilizers are applied once every two weeks, depending on how the feijoa blooms.
Feijoa in a tub
Cropping Features
Regular pruning helps maintain a high decorative effect. When grown in a house, as soon as a young plant reaches a height of 30 cm, it is cut by a third. Next, regularly tweak the side branches to obtain the correct skeletal base.
Additional Information! Root shoots are regularly removed, as its presence negatively affects the fruiting of the plant. Dry, weak, damaged branches are removed annually.
How to propagate a tree
Feijoa is propagated by several vegetative methods - cuttings, root offspring, layering and vaccinations. Good results are given by seed propagation.
Seed way
The simplest and most common way to obtain new feijoa specimens is seed propagation. This method also has a drawback. What is feijoa from seed? It is impossible to predict how the seedling will look - the result is heterogeneous planting material. Seedlings vary in strength of growth, foliage and other vegetative signs.
To obtain high-quality planting material, seeds are harvested from the very best specimens with high taste and decorative properties. Fruits are chosen large, ripe and are waiting for their complete softening, while avoiding decay. Then the fruits are gently crushed and with repeated washing with water, the seeds are separated from the residues of the pulp. Then the seeds are dried.
Note! One feijoa fruit contains up to 30 small seeds. Accordingly, from a kilogram of fresh berries, you can get about three grams of seeds.
Sowing is carried out in February - March in a low tank filled with a mixture of earth, horse peat and sand (2: 2: 1). Before sowing, the soil is slightly compacted and moistened. 5 mm deep grooves are made on the surface of the earth and seeds are distributed in them at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other. Crops are covered with soil and moistened with a spray bottle. The container is covered with cellophane and put in a bright place. The temperature is maintained in the range of 16-20 ℃.
In a month shoots appear. The greenhouse is aired daily, and eventually the cellophane is completely removed. When young plants appear 2-3 pairs of true leaves, they are transplanted into separate containers, pinching the root root. The substrate for the grown seedlings is heavier and more fertile: 6 parts of sod land, 4 parts of leaf and one part of sand and humus.
Feijoa seedlings
Cuttings
In autumn, cuttings are cut from the upper and middle parts of the semi-lignified shoots. Their length is 8-10 cm, each should have three nodes. The handle is treated with Kornevin and placed obliquely in the substrate, deepening the lower node into the ground. The earth is moistened and covered with a glass jar. Feijoa cuttings are difficult to root, for stimulation, you can use the lower heating. In case of successful rooting, after about two months, the seedlings are transferred to pots with a nutrient substrate.
Layering
A more reliable way of vegetative propagation is reproduction by layering. But this method requires a long time and the availability of suitable branches. For layering, the lower part of the bush is used, having a limited number of shoots.
Feijoa fruiting
In the spring, small cuts are made on the lower shoots. Twigs are pressed to the ground, securing with brackets in shallow grooves. Top layers are covered with nutritious loose earth. The soil above the layers is regularly moistened. Rooting occurs after 5 months, after which the layers are separated from the uterine plants and planted in separate containers.
Additional Information! Feijoa seedlings give fruit at 5-6 years of age, and plants obtained as a result of vegetative propagation begin to bloom and bear fruit in the second or third year.
Possible problems in growing
Both garden and indoor feijoa forms are disease resistant. In tubular specimens, vegetation problems may be associated with improper care - excessive watering or, on the contrary, overdrying of an earthen coma. These issues are addressed through the optimization of conditions of detention.
Sometimes sucking pests settle on feijoa: scale insects and ticks. Scabies are crawling insects having a wax shield in the form of a convex growth. Ticks are very small pests, the presence of which can be determined by the presence of a thin cobweb on plants. With severe infection, insect and acaricides are used. If the lesions are single, pests can be collected manually and wash the plant with soap and water.
Akka is a plant as decorative as useful. Along with the healing and delicious fruits, feijoa has a beautiful crown and spectacular flowering, which allows the culture to compete successfully with other indoor plants.
