Guava
Psidium guajava
Also called Common guava, Apple guava and Psidium
Garden plant · Herbs, veg & fruitA conservatory fruit in Britain and a good one — it flowers on NEW wood, so prune it hard each spring and it fruits within two years from a cutting. Not to be confused with the pineapple guava, which is a different plant altogether and will live outdoors in Britain.
Care at a glance
- Ease
- Hard
- Water
- Every 5 daysKeep it moist — water at the first hint of dryness — don't wait for a dry pot.
- Light
- As much direct sun as you can give it
- Feed
- Every 21 days
- Humidity
- High
- Hardiness
- Indoors, or out for the summer RHS H1C, to 5°C
- Size
- 3 m tall · 2 m across
- Lifecycle
- Tree
- Origin
- Central America and northern South America
Is it safe for pets and people?
No animal-poison authority lists this plant either way.
Nobody has checked this one against a source for us yet, so treat it as unknown rather than safe.
Neither authority names Psidium. That is an absence and not a clean bill.
Checked against ASPCA and RHS on 2026-09-22. Where a source says nothing, we say nothing.
A guide, not veterinary or medical advice. If a pet or a person has eaten a plant and you are worried, call your vet or doctor now — don’t wait for signs to appear. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
First signs of trouble
- Every leaf off within a week of the conservatory dropping below about 10°C. It usually recovers from the wood; keep it above that and it does not happen.Leaf drop in a cold snap · disorder
- White woolly specks in the leaf joints and along the flaking bark, with a sticky shine and sooty black below them.Mealybug · pest