Yellow Strawberry Guava is a tropical to sub-tropical evergreen shrub native to Brazil, prized for its fragrant white spring flowers and delicious spicy-sweet fruit. Hardy to zone 9, this slow-growing plant reaches 3 to 6 feet tall in containers, making it well-suited to indoor gardening in cooler climates. The fruit ripens to a golden hue and combines the tartness of guava with the sweetness of strawberry, earning its common name. In the St. Louis area and similar regions, it thrives as a container plant moved indoors during winter, rewarding patient growers with reliable harvests when given full sun and consistent care.
Full Sun
Moderate
9-10
72in H x 36in W
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Moderate
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The yellow fruit offers a distinctive spicy-sweet flavor that bridges strawberry and tropical guava, with greenish-gray to yellowish-brown bark adding year-round textural interest. Spring brings delicate, fragrant white flowers that signal the coming harvest. This plant performs best with a companion for cross-pollination, though it can fruit solo, and it rarely troubles gardeners with serious pest or disease pressure. Container cultivation keeps it manageable indoors while preserving the lush evergreen foliage that makes it as ornamental as it is productive.
Yellow Strawberry Guava is grown primarily for fresh eating, where the spicy-sweet flavor shines. The fruit can be eaten straight from the hand or used in jams, preserves, and desserts where its distinctive taste adds complexity. The plant also serves an ornamental purpose indoors, with showy flowers in spring and colorful edible fruit adding visual interest year-round.
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Start seeds indoors in a warm location maintained between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Seeds should germinate within this temperature range; provide consistent warmth and moisture without waterlogging. Transplant seedlings into containers once they have developed true leaves and are large enough to handle.
In zones 9-10, transplant hardened seedlings outdoors in spring after the last frost has passed, spacing plants 2 to 3 feet apart if planting in-ground or in large containers. In cooler zones, grow in containers year-round, moving them outdoors in spring once temperatures reliably stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit and bringing them inside before fall frost.
Harvest fruit when it turns yellow and yields slightly to gentle pressure. The fruit will develop its full spicy-sweet flavor once fully ripe; underripe fruit tastes more tart. Berries are ripe typically in late spring through early summer, following the April to May bloom period. Pick regularly to encourage continued fruiting throughout the season.
Prune to maintain a manageable multi-stemmed shrub form, especially when growing in containers. Remove crossing or dead branches to encourage air circulation and light penetration. Spring pruning before the growing season encourages denser growth and more flowering branches.
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“Psidium littorale is native to Brazil, where it grew wild in coastal regions, hence its scientific name littorale meaning 'of the shore.' The plant has a long history as a tropical fruit species, later introduced to cultivation in subtropical regions worldwide. Its dual name, strawberry guava, reflects how growers and eaters recognized its unique flavor profile as distinct from its larger Psidium guajava cousin, earning recognition as a worthy cultivar in its own right.”