Guava Growing Guide
Growing Guava is easier than you think. This guide walks you through everything you need — from planting your first seed to harvesting.
At a Glance
Difficulty
Easy
Category
Tropical Fruit
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Frost Tolerance
Frost Tender
Cold Hardiness
Survives to -3°C
Plant Family
Myrtaceae
Growing Season
Warm Season
Plant Lifecycle
Perennial
Also grows well as
How to Start It
★ Recommended for beginners
A potted guava fruits fast and lets you pick a good variety — the simplest route.
One of the easiest tropical fruits — self-fertile, fast, forgiving of poor soil, and quick to crop (often within 2 years). It's a small evergreen tree/shrub that takes hard pruning well, so it's easily kept pot-sized and moved indoors over winter. Frost-tender but among the more cold-tolerant tropicals (to about -3°C briefly).
When To Start
First Chance to Plant
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Last Chance to Plant
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When should you plant Guava?
Your planting dates depend on your local climate. Sign up and add your location to unlock personalized dates.
Your Guava Planting Window
Start planting
May 15, 2026
Last chance
Sep 10, 2026
The Journey Ahead
Guava's Lifecycle
Seedling
Mature Plant
Seed Production
Step 1
Prepare Your Space
200 cm
Plant Spacing
300 cm
Row Spacing
Vertical Growing
No.
Succession Planting
No.
Good Companions
Bad Companions
Step 2
Planting & Sprouting
Growing Tips
- 1Guava is hard to get wrong — full sun, decent water, occasional feeding, and it crops generously.
- 2Prune it hard to keep it compact (it fruits on new growth, so pruning boosts yield) and pot-friendly.
- 3In cool climates grow in a container and overwinter bright and frost-free.
- 4Net it if birds find the fragrant fruit first.
Seedling Phase
Step 3
Growth & Maturity
300 cm
Mature Height
250 cm
Mature Width
Pests to Watch For
Diseases to Watch For
Mature Plant
Step 4
Harvesting
Harvest Window
30 days
When to Pick
Pick as the skin softens and turns from green to yellow and smells strongly fragrant
How to Harvest
- 1Pick guavas when they soften slightly, the skin pales from green to yellow, and that unmistakable sweet-musky perfume fills the air — they bruise easily, so handle gently and use quickly.
- 2A plant fruits over a long season, so harvest as they ripen.
Step 5
Saving Seeds
Seed Production
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