Guava History
Early Spanish explorers in the 16th century found the strawberry guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.’, growing as a native tree in the Americas, where they became firmly established from Mexico south to Peru. History records that Seminole Indians were growing guava trees in North Florida in 1816.
Strawberry guava, ‘Acca sellowiana O.’, can grow to be 25-foot-tall trees and are often planted by homeowners as an easily trimmed privacy hedge or grown as an unpruned windbreak. The guava tree can be trained to single or multiple trunks by pruning and will make an excellent specimen plant that is covered in exotic flowers in late spring. The wood is gray in color, and the grain is very hard and dense. The leaves are small, clearly colored flat green, making the plants easily recognizable from a distance.
The guava tree or shrub is slow growing and requires the planting of two plants for cross pollination. The tree is cold hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit and is tolerant of salt water. Bees and hummingbirds visit the red and yellow flowers, and pollination visits result in abundant fruit production.
The guava fruit is classified as a berry by most botanists, occurring in clusters with individual berries in sizes just under an inch. Each guava berry is covered by a rough shell and the pulp inside comes in white, pink or red colors.
The guava tree grows best in partial shade in acidic soil. The plants are virtually disease free, and the fruit is usually harvested by shaking the ripe guavas when the color change occurs, then harvested in sheets or tarps. The fruit will keep well in the refrigerator for up to a week and can be peeled and eaten as fresh fruit, as a dessert, or in salads. If the fruit is dipped in diluted lemon juice, the color of the pulp will remain bright.
The fruit is commercially made into puddings, tarts, juices, and jellies, and is a rich source of vitamins A and C, as well as many beneficial minerals. Guava is grown commercially in Florida and California, and in many southern forests the shrub has become naturalized and mistaken for a historic native plant.
“Guavaween” is a central Florida traditional event and fundraiser held each year to celebrate the advent of the guava corresponding to parades and festivals scheduled around Halloween in the Ybor City, Florida festivities outside of Tampa, Florida. This “Guavaween” event is held during the last month of October each year.
There are many kinds of guavas; a tropical guava, ‘Psidium guajava L.’, is a major crop in Hawaii, with fruit production exceeding 15 million pounds per year. These guava fruits are technically considered berries, and the trees grow in the wild on the island of Kuawai as a native plant. Before harvest, the plants are vigorously pruned, fertilized and watered. Fresh, vigorous shoots grow in response to pruning, and luscious fruit forms within flowers that mature on new wood to form guavas and require about seven months to fully develop.
Most travelers who visited Florida in the last century will remember the many tourist stops on US Highway #1 and US 41 that have now become Interstates I-1 and I-75. Tourist shops like “Stuckeys” were filled with souvenirs like pecan logs. One of the most memorable items on display for sale was jelly, jam, paste, or any other product imaginable that involved the use of the magical fruit of the guava tree. All of these little jars of jam and other guava products were visually stunning to look at, revealing their contents in mint green, red, yellow and blue colors.