Pineapple Guava (Acca sellowiana)

Acca sellowiana is a multistemmed, evergreen shrub that can be grown as a hedge, pruned to a desired shape or form, or trained as a small tree with a single trunk. Although adaptable to most types of soil, it prefers a slightly acid, well drained soil. If grown in very dry climates, supplemental watering will be needed. Pineapple Guava is also tolerant of salt spray, which makes it suitable for coastal gardens. This is a relatively disease and pest free, low maintenance plant with very beautiful flowers that usually appear during April and May.

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Makes a beautiful shrub or small tree. The flowers supposedly taste like popcorn, others say marshmallows. I couldn't taste either one. I trimmed up one to make a small tree. Another is still in a pot, but had fruit this past year in spite of the drought.

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Acca sellowiana, or pineapple guava as it is commonly called, is not a guava at all. It is actually in the Myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is native to South America.
The flower petals are edible, and picking the petals will not inhibit the fruit from forming. As has been mentioned in another comment, the petals are reputed to have the flavor of either popcorn or marshmallows, but I tasted them & could not identify either of those flavors. They were pretty tasteless, actually. other than a very slight sweetness. Frankly, I wouldn't bother with trying to gather the petals & eat them.
The fruit matures in the fall and is ripe when it falls to the ground. The fruit can vary in size from roughly 1 inch wide by 1.5 inches long to the size of a chicken egg. The fragrance of the fruit is very nice, fruity of course & sort of like perfume. To eat, you cut in half width wise, take a spoon, and scoop out the fruit from the skin. To me, it tastes neither much like a pineapple nor like a guava, but I would say it's much more like the flavor of kiwi & I do find it appealing. It is a bit grainy, but in a soft way, not a gritty, sandy way.
It requires 50 hours of winter chill in order to fruit & the plant is frost tolerant.
Cuttings should be taken in November.

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My understanding is that it takes 2 plants to produce a good quantity of fruit. Although it will produce some with only 1 plant, cross pollination greatly increases fruit set, and perhaps taste and size? Can anyone confirm this?

I have also read that grafted plants are much better than seedling plants. Is this mainly fruit-set? Taste? Size?

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