I'm sad to say that Mark Albert is no longer with us. He died in Early 2023 of unknown illness. To me and many others, he was a friend, mentor and colleague. His contributions to the plant community, especially the fruit enthusiast community, was very significant. He was largely responsible for setting me on the path I'm on with fruit growing, partly through his work organizing the local scion exchange and teaching grafting. All the people I've inspired or taught grafting to, are largely due to the positive ripples that Mark made in the world. I personally miss him quite a lot as we communicated regularly and I'm always thinking of things I want to ask him or tell him. I never got to give him the new cactus selections that I grew from seed he gave me, or feed him very many of the new apples I've grown from seed. He was a very active and generous man though, and he left a wake of good works behind him. 'So Bon Voyage to a remarkable man whos works live on through many others. I'm glad we pulled off the two videos I shot with him, but I sure wish we had shot the others I was hoping to do. At least we have these though. Life is short folks and the clock is always ticking. What kind of ripples can you set out into the world from the people that inspire you and affect your life?
Oh man sad to hear that Plantsman Mark Albert has grown on to the spirit world. I just watched the UA-cam video @skillcult and took notes the whole time. I was about to search for the next scion exchange to try and meet him this winter. But as you said his legacy lives on in his cultivars and in the people he’s influenced.
@@FarmerPete-un3sd Eventually the best of these varieties will be available through nurseries. Hopefully I can sort out the names from old videos and recordings. We have not been able to find his notes, but I know Freddy Menge came up and propagated the best ones, so hopefully he has the right names on them and not just numbers. I'll try to figure it out this year and get cuttings to nursery people. He definitely made some good ripples.
We are deeply sorry to hear of Mr. Albert's passing last month. Such a loss. I hope someone will continue his work. His name will live on through his cultivars
Yes, very sad. He was a good friend and I miss him. I know he sent a lot of those Feijoa seedlings out into the world. More importantly, he had a major influence on a lot of people, including me. There are major ripple effects from him through me alone, and many others.
I’m in southeast Phoenix, chandler to be exact. I just bought on last summer of 19 it’s been in ground for a half year it’s doing really good. Grown a lot so far, I know it’s a slow grower though. I can’t wait for flowers I heard they are delightful. Nice video, thank you.
They're big hear in NZ, very unique flavour. Some people don't like them, but many people do. A lot of people have one or a hedge of them in their backyard and many people can't eat them all so they just try to give bags of them away, very prolific
I live in New Zealand and am a former commercial grower of Feijoas. Here in NZ there is a long traditiion of people growing and eating Feijoas and in the last 20 years or so they have been grown commercially. Back in the day Horticultural New Zealand which was a government hort research facility, developed a number of different varieties in their facility in Kerikeri. The varieties include early, mid and late season types, and the fruit ranges from small to very large. When we sold our Orchatd in Kerikeri in 2004 we had about 1,000 trees. There are number of much larger Feijoa orchards in that area of NZ. Some fruit is exported, the rest is for the local market. For commercial purposes, the fruit must be touch picked rather than allowed to fall to the ground which creates bruising. Fallen fruit is also too ripe to survive the time it takes to get to the supermarket. Any bruising shows up after a day or two and severely effects pricing and shelf life. Learning to touch pick is critical if you are growing Feijoas commercially and want top dollar. Bruised and marked fruit goes to juicing and pulp markets here in NZ. I am so happy that you are so into Feijoas. They are my favorite fruit and so delicious in many ways. We eat them fresh, preserve them, make chutneys and jams, they make amazing smoothies and appear in all sorts of products here like Gin and Icecream. And they are such an easy tree to grow. Here, the main pollinator are blackbirds who eat the flower petals as you descibed the starlings doing. We carefully prune the trees to promote bigger fruit, but also to create room for the blackbirds to hop around in the trees. We leave fist sized gaps. Best wishes for your feijoa journey.
I heard that Nz breeding programs developed some superior cultivars, especially in size, but they are hard to find in the rest of the world. Is that true? I mean 200 gr feijoas are pretty cool😮
@@notmyproblem3072it's probably about right for the very large fruit. It's surprising that there is such a strong following for feijoa here. They should start being sold in the supermarkets later this month, last year they were $19.95 per kg. I have a few planted at my house but they are still too young to fruit. I just came back from a trip to Valencia, Spain where I noticed they had planted a few feijoas at the aquarium. I jumped into the bushes and grabbed a few fruit to eat, they were tiny but tasty 😅
Yeah, there are up to 300gram sweet fruits now, all the way down to a dwarf with little inch long fruit call 'bambina' and the skin is edible. Hopefully there are some exciting varieties to come in the next few decades. @@notmyproblem3072
Hooray! Thahk you for this video. I stumbled upon your videos two years ago and was very interested in your Apple breeding series, mainly because i am breeding with Feijoa's myself! And now you suddenly post a feijoa breding video! That is awesome!
That's great. It's sort of a small world I guess. I have a few growing here, but now I want to get early mid and late season recommendations from Mark and plant a row of them somewhere.
I’ve now found my new uncommon fruit to start breeding, thanks bro!! Already breeding Pawpaws & this seems like a perfect fruit for me to grow like a weed in southernmost Appalachia!
I grow pawpaw also and lost some of my Russian pomegranates and figs to record low -3 temps in Texas. The cold didn't affect my Pawpaw's. I'm going to replace the pomegranates and figs with Feijoa. I'd like to know what his 3 best for taste are now if anything has changed since this was recorded 4 years ago.
@@jamesbarron1202 that’s awesome man!! Yeah I ordered 10 Feijoa right after watching this video, they’re select seedlings but couldn’t find any grafted varieties available they were all sold out online
I grow these up in Northern Ohio. They taste really great but like you said, the smell is amazing. Whenever I have a few ripe they just fill the entire house with such an incredible smell.
Hi there, in new zealand we have been breeding and growing feijoa for a long time, First introduced into New Zealand in the early 1900's the fruit was small and it was not for another 20 years before new cultivars were imported that were larger with improved flavor., I have seedling grown trees grown from the Mammoth type that have 220 gram, half a pound fruit, one of 7 trees the other's all have small fruit with very thin edible skins that are very sweet, every street in nz ''many different climates'' have tens of trees many from seed as there offered as the cheapest feijoa trees for sale, sold as a Sellowiana they often come from the Unique type and a few others that tend to come true to seed more often. here is a list of some of the types we have in nz. Apollo Arhart™ Bambina™ Den's Choice Gemini Golden Goose Kakapo Karamea Mammoth Marion Opal Star™ Pounamu Triumph Unique White Goose™ Wiki Tu (Anilvinkoru) ™
Neat. It would be fun to do a feijoa tour there. I know Mark has been in touch with people over there, but not sure if he has tried many of the cultivars or grown seed maybe.
Just got today HomeDepot seven gallon for 34 dollars. Not a bad deal My work has it as a hedge in front of the building. And I had no clue what kind of hedge it was until I was looking at fruit plants online. Jacksonville,Fl
I'm in the Seattle area and am looking to get Alberts Pride or Joy in the form of cuttings, seedlings or small tree. As a kid in S. Cali a neighbor would get bags of small green fruits that we'd cut open and scoop out the insides. I had no idea what they were, but they were the most delicious fruit I'd ever tasted. I finally found them!
I can't help you as of now, but possibly in the future. I may start propagating them or distributing seedlings or something, since no one else really does.
@@SkillCult I’d definitely buy some from you if you decide to propagate them. Thanks so much for letting me know. I have a feeling there’s some demand for them. The fruit is addicting!
I'm not sure actually I would err on the side of caution I guess and put a chicken wire cage just to get it established if your gopher population is high.
If I had more room I would get some of Mark Alberts seeds shipped here to Australia but I think the 7 white goose 2 duffys 1 nazemaste 6 mammoth and one seedling tree should do us . It has been said often that the bunnings warehouse seedlings are no good which may be true since the one we have grown out was selected from 11 bunnings seedlings as the keeper , which was singled out for its vigour and that now stands nearly three metres tall with the delicious thin skinned fruit taking on a red blush when ripe .
Cool video. Not sure these fruits could ever be relevant to my growing conditions...perhaps in a greenhouse. But very interesting all the same! Watching passionate people is easily done.
I'm not sure how much it's worth extreme effort to grow outside it's range of hardiness. You can only eat so many of them in the relatively short season. Then again, you could talk to North Tropics about that. He says he's growing them in Ohio. seem comment here. @North Tropics does tagging work on youtube? I guess I'll find out.
I absolutely love this. The knowledge and passion is a really beautiful thing, also a lovely friendship, i really enjoy how you guys talk to each other. also my favorite fruit, I have many I have sprouted but none are old enough to fruit yet. I can be hopeful to have more than just lovely shrubs some day.
I don't think there is any chance of that. They might be able to take low teens or something like that, but not zero and below weather. He doesn't have a web presence and I'm not sure there is currently anyone propagating his stuff. maybe patrick schaefer if you can find him online. But I sent a box of mark's fruit to chris homanics who is starting a nursery, so hopefully he will talk to mark and end up with the best of those varieties and start grafting them and selling them.
@@SkillCult Long Island temps seldom get to zero. The teens are rare. Normally in the winter the temps stay in the low 30's because of the Ocean and LI Sound surrounding it. Cold spells are normally in the mid 20's. I am buying some plants from a local in Florida where I spend winters but was hoping to find a variety that has some cold hardy tendencies. Thanks for the reply.
@@jimschultz9465 I have a few small feijoas planted outside in NJ, zone 7a. They survived 6f and freezing rain but dropped all their leaves. Did not flower in the spring though. My potted specimens flowered and fruited, so they are easy enough to bring in and out if you keep them in a container.
Nice to see his setup. I bought 25 seedlings of mixed Pride, Joy and Abadaba at the exchange last year and have them planted out in the front of my place as a privacy hedge. Plants are healthy and chugging along; can't wait for the fruit someday. Also curious about how much variability they'll have given that they're seedlings
He seems to think they are fairly consistent, but there is definitely some variability. If they are from Marks trees, then they are cross pollinating with all the stuff in those rows. The abadaba was good when we tasted it.
How can I find & buy these specialty varieties? Anywhere I find feijoa trees, the variety is unspecified. I can find lots of information on specific varieties but not where to find them. Any tips would be very helpful!
I have a feijoa seedling that has 3 leaves on the stem instead of 2. I can't find any info if this is a new mutation or not. Its the only one with 3 leaves of the 20 seedlings I started.
Very happy to find this video. thanks. Been hunting for cultivars for a long time...NONE found. Would love to get some seeds/seedling/wood from Mr. Albert but have struck out so far. At least at this time of the year nothing found on any of the above mentioned sources. I did email the coolhybrids person so unless there is another way to contact Mr Albert I'm stuck again!
Amazing!!! I acquired two pineapple guava bushes from a homeowner who no longer wanted them. It looks like one did not survive the transplant, and the one that did needs lots of care. May have a fungus. I am so excited, though. I’m fascinated by this plant and really want to try the fruit. Is it true that they need morning sun/afternoon shade or can they tolerate full sun in the hot, Texas summer?
There's a nursery in California called "Fruitwood nursery" They have rooted cuttings of pineapple guavas, figs, pomegranates, etc. I've been ordering from them for two years now and their prices are very reasonable.
I know that guy. He's really cool and has a large selection. I need to go visit him and talk shop. I will talk to him about making sure he gets Marks selections going if he doesn't have them already.
Thank you for the information you shared. I am very interested in planting these plants and I live in Massachusetts, Is it ok to plant them here ? I would appreciate your response. Thank you.
One of my grafted white goose feijoa is showing polyploid traits , never seen anything like it . The branches are twinned like two branches fused together and split into further twinned shoots at each node , early days yet as its only been in the ground for 18 months the one fruit that dropped off was also a twin .Very unusual .
It is only just showing now in this current seasons growth , more happening on one side though . Just looked up what a sport is and yes that pretty well describes what looks to be going on with that tree . Hopefully next year it will hold its fruit .
Hello Mark, Great video! I live in Ventura CA and I’m starting a plot of pineapple guavas here. The ones that I have are thriving and giving huge fruit, I’m wondering if I could buy a few of your varieties and try them out here? Please let me know Cheers, Matt
This is so sad! I was planning on going to his farm next year and taking pineapple guava seeds back home to germany. Do you know if there is somone continuing his work on his orchard? The 2 videos with him are awesome, he seemed to be such an interestig man and mentor :)
I'm hoping to collect seed this season. That's the plan. I can send to Germany. I don't think anyone has found the map yet, but worst case scenario, I'll have to taste my way through to find the best ones.
I always knew that there were round ones and oval ones though I just assumed that all the other variation was mostly due to the conditions of the plant. I thought it was just soil conditions, water, fertilizers and trimming/pruning that made the difference for everything else! I'm going to need to order some seeds from him immediately! I can't imagine what Mark Albert has done in the last 4 years, and with CRISPER genetic engineering so accessible and easy now days he might even be able to create a genetically perfect variety or something that he can bring to market. Hmm I know there is a way to do it. Possibly something like planting them as hedges in the suburbs along tract housing instead of having plants that do nothing and then farming them like that. You could plant The apartment complex or housing units pay to water them and then the guava company does the trimming up keep of the trees and then around the end of summer the company hires on workers to go around and pick them all at all the different places! If you plant trees to fruit in a specific season close together you can control the rest with water to make sure you are only going to a few places each day. A team of something like 5 people can run the company and you would need to find a creative way to package them but I'm sure restaurants would want them and you could find a way to preserve them and create a product for shelves, the best of the best looking ones go directly to the store to be sold as a South American Super fruit with anti-cancer properties ect. (find and fund more research on them and their benefits). I know fruit leather is easy with them, maybe preserve if you can industrially de seed them some how like a reverse osmosis style pit strainer, or you could do frozen bars of mash for fruit shakes and cooking with lemon or citric acid to stop the oxidation. You might even get grants from the city\state for finding a way to utilize housing land for farming in a way that minimally impacts the community. A small team of gardeners and trimmers come every once and a while maybe monthly in the off season and more often when they start to flower. If you have 20 different hedge complexes then the gardeners can go to one every week day and when they fruit you will have 7 places to go a day to harvest the fruit from, hopefully grouped by season. the gardening team of 2-3 people could take care all the harvesting. You would need a place to sort them and process/pack them but you could rent a kitchen out for 3 months of the year. Processing would be the most labor intensive especially checking each one for bad spots though this is still the kind of business that someone could start at home in their spare time by producing the clones or grafts and making deals with one land owner at a time as you find ways to sell them.
I think marketing these and growing commercially would be a tough nut to crack. Maybe by breeding durable fruits, but those are usually not the best fruits. Probably better off selling plants and selling the edible flowers to eating establishments.
Our chickens don't like them. Which is great, because they are my favorite! Would love to get some of those varieties. I have a seedling that is amazing as well.
what do u think of the nazemetz variety? i'm thinking of planting a whole row of them on my property for privacy screen plus the fruit.i'm in central valley.
I have no idea and Mark is never on here, but unless you're planting for market, it sounds like a better idea to plant several varieties for a longer season. Or, if you have that much room you could trial a whole bunch of varieties like mark is doing. That is probably what I would do.
At my first house 7 trees, 5 styles of fruit. Some are scoopable, one is so thin the skin is not noticeable when eating. The last tree starts after the others ones and has lemonade flavor to it.
No, and it is hard to get anything out of him, just because he doesn't have time. We need some nurseries to pick up his stuff and start propagating it. The only guy I knew that did quit I think.
Can these be grown in zone 7a? I purchased some from one green world and they say the varieties they have can be grown in zone 7. I’m wondering if I made a wrong purchase. They are beautiful but it gets cold here in the winter.
I don't know anyone that does it. There may very well be a way. I would try air layering before just taking cuttings and sticking them. Usually they are grafted.
u have another email for Patrick Schaefer.i emailed him days agoand havent heard from him.trying to get a good amount of some Feijoas.does mark sell the seedlings? looking for ones that can stand the hot heat.thanks
HI, thank you for this interview. I am very interested in getting in touch with Mark to ask for some seeds or cuttings. I have googled him but can not find an article with his contact email or mailing address. Please help! Thank you!
The fruits on your tree are really small. Mark Albert in Northern California and Nigel Ritson in New Zealand have spent the last twenty or more years developing new and improved varieties of pineapple guavas that have twice the size, fruit with much smoother texture and improved flavor. It’s worth ordering name varieties on line when possible than wasting time and garden space with these no name seedlings you find at the local nursery.
Did you watch the video? Mark Albert is the speaker. He actually found that some smaller varieties were better. I've tasted my way through this collection a few times and that was my conclusion as well. He was surprised to find that, but it seems to be the case? When I collect budwood from the trees, I'll be growing just a handfull of this collection and mostly smaller fruits. some of the larger and medium sized were good to okay, but the best ones turned out to be small. The average of them is not very good, so there is a big difference in flavor. Anyway, maybe watch the video.
There's a nursery in California called FRUITWOOD NURSERY. They have a big selection of all kinds of fruit trees cuttings, scionwood, starter plugs, seedlings and rooted cuttings. I've been ordering from them for two years now. They have many varieties of figs, pomegranates, prickly pears, persimmons etc. They run out of stock frequently, so you need to keep checking their web site. The page is quite extensive so plan on been there for a while. I hope that helps.
@@Lisa1950 yes I did purchase a few seedlings of feijoa before they sold out completely. I was hoping there would be some other leads on available plant material or small starts. Guess I’ll be keeping my out for restock on the Fruitwood nursery site.
@@SkillCult ahh that's what I was afraid of. I don't know what the sweet part is like though. I'd be able to tell I think if I ate it and see the texture. Anytime I see a good useful fruit tree, especially perishable ones, I want to know how they dry down. It could work even if they oxidize fast but you'd have to have a dehydrator on the hottest setting and slice each piece and put it in the dehydrator that's already heated up. Slice one throw it on close it and slice another one and keep doing that so you get a skin around the cut quickly.
looking for help. i grow figs outside in zone 6a northeast USA. i have been successful with around 40 variety's getting them to fruit in-ground and in pots. i would like to try my luck with Pineapple Guava. they seem similar to figs in cold tolerance. does anyone have experience pushing guava plants in colder areas? im able to protect and wrap figs because they go dormant. this gives me 1 or 2 grow zones extra. maybe something can be done with guavas? if guava doesn't go dormant this maybe difficult. ive seen many plants online listed as cold hardy guava but i doubt these claims. i believe Mark has some superior genetics going on and would like to try his plants out. don't know to many tropical fruits that can be grown in colder areas without a green house. there is smaller kiwis that can make it in my area but take up to much area.
my idea for pots would be use clear painters wrap. use about 4 bamboo polls around the pot. making a green house in effect. if they went dormant it would be easy. but by the looks of the guava they seem a bit large so this maybe impractical. i know people that bring there citrus inside in a window for winter. everyone ive seen without supplemental light doesn't produce good fruit. with figs the struggle is worth the effort for fruit. i cant speak about good guava though lol hoping to get a response from the guy who is growing guava in 6a Ohio.
Feijoa its like -16,-17 C .Somme figs are much more cold hardy.You could still try the feijoa in a microclimate but better than the feijoa and a bit more cold hardy is the Ugni Molinae,chilean guava that its a real guava and its also the best tasting from all guavas.
@SkillCult ok yes I know how it goes. So how can I purchase those seeds from you? Also if they are dried seeds would you recommend presoaking in a weak solution of Hydrogen peroxide or Gibberillic acid solution prior to planting out?
@@geriannroth449 I have not grown them before, so I can't be much help. They would be dried. You can check my webstore www.skillcult.com/store this winter. I will announce on social media and my blog too.
Excellent video as always. I've just planted a small feijoa hedge to windbreak my large veggie patch. I'll eventually expand it. I'm in Australia in a cool mountain climate down to -5c in winter. What varieties did you get from NZ?
Certainly got your daily dose of fruit on the visit haha. Think I'm a couple zones too cold for them here, but will keep an eye out for a genetically engineered version that is hardy, sweet, and can handle continual herbicide application.
OK buddy, you were too busy eating like 6 of these in one go and couldn't even focus on the interview! I know you are excited to eat but come on now... a little embarrassing.
Part of this video is the experience and personal aspect of going on a trip and interacting with Mark and our experience of tasting fruit. A lot of people like that. If you don't like it, that's fine, but no need to criticize. Not everyone likes or wants the same thing. Imagine that.
Wow, you've completely missed the point here. You are stuck with your own negativity in your head. I was simply saying that you CAN eat then talk, or talk then eat, it's OK to do.
No, you don't understand. It was a rude and patronizing comment suggesting that I should be embarrassed in the context of your preference and lack of understanding or maybe affinity with, my motives and intentions. I'm there to taste fruit and spend time with Mark and that's what we do. Tasting the fruit is important. I'm tasting different fruits of different ripeness and varieties. This one is grainy, that one is over ripe, this one is under ripe etc. I didn't need to concentrate on the interview. It wasn't an interview anyway, Mark did quite well with very little prompting. If you don't like it, don't watch it or you can comment without being a patronizing dick. your choice of words in both cases reveal a lot. I can also talk and eat and that's what I do when I hang out with my friend and talk about eating fruit and what it tastes like. That after all is the point, the fruit and it's quality! Get over yourself. And you're welcome.
I'm sad to say that Mark Albert is no longer with us. He died in Early 2023 of unknown illness. To me and many others, he was a friend, mentor and colleague. His contributions to the plant community, especially the fruit enthusiast community, was very significant. He was largely responsible for setting me on the path I'm on with fruit growing, partly through his work organizing the local scion exchange and teaching grafting. All the people I've inspired or taught grafting to, are largely due to the positive ripples that Mark made in the world. I personally miss him quite a lot as we communicated regularly and I'm always thinking of things I want to ask him or tell him. I never got to give him the new cactus selections that I grew from seed he gave me, or feed him very many of the new apples I've grown from seed. He was a very active and generous man though, and he left a wake of good works behind him. 'So Bon Voyage to a remarkable man whos works live on through many others. I'm glad we pulled off the two videos I shot with him, but I sure wish we had shot the others I was hoping to do. At least we have these though. Life is short folks and the clock is always ticking. What kind of ripples can you set out into the world from the people that inspire you and affect your life?
Where can I get his genetics?
Sorry to hear about this. Wonderful video.
Oh man sad to hear that Plantsman Mark Albert has grown on to the spirit world. I just watched the UA-cam video @skillcult and took notes the whole time. I was about to search for the next scion exchange to try and meet him this winter. But as you said his legacy lives on in his cultivars and in the people he’s influenced.
@@FarmerPete-un3sd Eventually the best of these varieties will be available through nurseries. Hopefully I can sort out the names from old videos and recordings. We have not been able to find his notes, but I know Freddy Menge came up and propagated the best ones, so hopefully he has the right names on them and not just numbers. I'll try to figure it out this year and get cuttings to nursery people. He definitely made some good ripples.
@@SkillCultI would absolutely grow out these plants to sell and give cuttings would keep it alive if I can get it
We are deeply sorry to hear of Mr. Albert's passing last month. Such a loss. I hope someone will continue his work. His name will live on through his cultivars
Yes, very sad. He was a good friend and I miss him. I know he sent a lot of those Feijoa seedlings out into the world. More importantly, he had a major influence on a lot of people, including me. There are major ripple effects from him through me alone, and many others.
@@SkillCult I do hope you will be propagating them in the future so that they may spread and continue.
Having a conversation with someone about their life's work is so fulfilling. Especially if they are driven by passion or pursuits other than money.
Yes that's Mark. He's just making his contribution doing something he's excited about without expectation of personal gain.
I’m in southeast Phoenix, chandler to be exact. I just bought on last summer of 19 it’s been in ground for a half year it’s doing really good. Grown a lot so far, I know it’s a slow grower though. I can’t wait for flowers I heard they are delightful. Nice video, thank you.
Just when I thought I was done "collecting" plants for a bit. I feel inspired to grow a few of these out.
They're big hear in NZ, very unique flavour. Some people don't like them, but many people do. A lot of people have one or a hedge of them in their backyard and many people can't eat them all so they just try to give bags of them away, very prolific
We need a Fruit Trees Anonymous. Hi, I'm Jeff and I'm powerless to stop buying fruit trees.
You will not regret it. I love this fruit.
@@jeffreydustin5303 hi Jeffrey; welcome.😁
I live in New Zealand and am a former commercial grower of Feijoas. Here in NZ there is a long traditiion of people growing and eating Feijoas and in the last 20 years or so they have been grown commercially. Back in the day Horticultural New Zealand which was a government hort research facility, developed a number of different varieties in their facility in Kerikeri. The varieties include early, mid and late season types, and the fruit ranges from small to very large.
When we sold our Orchatd in Kerikeri in 2004 we had about 1,000 trees. There are number of much larger Feijoa orchards in that area of NZ. Some fruit is exported, the rest is for the local market.
For commercial purposes, the fruit must be touch picked rather than allowed to fall to the ground which creates bruising. Fallen fruit is also too ripe to survive the time it takes to get to the supermarket. Any bruising shows up after a day or two and severely effects pricing and shelf life. Learning to touch pick is critical if you are growing Feijoas commercially and want top dollar. Bruised and marked fruit goes to juicing and pulp markets here in NZ.
I am so happy that you are so into Feijoas. They are my favorite fruit and so delicious in many ways. We eat them fresh, preserve them, make chutneys and jams, they make amazing smoothies and appear in all sorts of products here like Gin and Icecream. And they are such an easy tree to grow.
Here, the main pollinator are blackbirds who eat the flower petals as you descibed the starlings doing. We carefully prune the trees to promote bigger fruit, but also to create room for the blackbirds to hop around in the trees. We leave fist sized gaps.
Best wishes for your feijoa journey.
I heard that Nz breeding programs developed some superior cultivars, especially in size, but they are hard to find in the rest of the world. Is that true? I mean 200 gr feijoas are pretty cool😮
@@notmyproblem3072it's probably about right for the very large fruit. It's surprising that there is such a strong following for feijoa here.
They should start being sold in the supermarkets later this month, last year they were $19.95 per kg. I have a few planted at my house but they are still too young to fruit.
I just came back from a trip to Valencia, Spain where I noticed they had planted a few feijoas at the aquarium. I jumped into the bushes and grabbed a few fruit to eat, they were tiny but tasty 😅
Yeah, there are up to 300gram sweet fruits now, all the way down to a dwarf with little inch long fruit call 'bambina' and the skin is edible. Hopefully there are some exciting varieties to come in the next few decades. @@notmyproblem3072
Wow. Just put in a couple of feijoas in Liverpool UK. Mark has given me botanical and horticultural knowledge through your video. ❤
I just ordered two of these to plant in Louisiana. They say you need two for great fruit production.
Nice tour! It is 5 years old now, but interesting info and I hope Mark Albert is still doing this work!
He's still at it!
Hooray! Thahk you for this video. I stumbled upon your videos two years ago and was very interested in your Apple breeding series, mainly because i am breeding with Feijoa's myself! And now you suddenly post a feijoa breding video! That is awesome!
That's great. It's sort of a small world I guess. I have a few growing here, but now I want to get early mid and late season recommendations from Mark and plant a row of them somewhere.
I’ve now found my new uncommon fruit to start breeding, thanks bro!! Already breeding Pawpaws & this seems like a perfect fruit for me to grow like a weed in southernmost Appalachia!
And loquats!
I grow pawpaw also and lost some of my Russian pomegranates and figs to record low -3 temps in Texas. The cold didn't affect my Pawpaw's. I'm going to replace the pomegranates and figs with Feijoa. I'd like to know what his 3 best for taste are now if anything has changed since this was recorded 4 years ago.
@@SkillCult I’m on it! I’ll add them to my Pawpaw/Heirloom Apple Orchard. Love your Apple Breeding project!
@@jamesbarron1202 that’s awesome man!! Yeah I ordered 10 Feijoa right after watching this video, they’re select seedlings but couldn’t find any grafted varieties available they were all sold out online
@@northgeorgiaorganics8927 Where did you find them please?
I grow these up in Northern Ohio. They taste really great but like you said, the smell is amazing. Whenever I have a few ripe they just fill the entire house with such an incredible smell.
Wow, now that's stretching the climate zone!
What is your zone in Ohio?
Zone 6a
Excellent! Where did you source the seeds or plants from? I am in zone 5b so might be worth a try
I keep them in big pots so I can bring them inside for the winter. I bought live plants from Logees.
Hi there, in new zealand we have been breeding and growing feijoa for a long time, First introduced into New Zealand in the early 1900's the fruit was small and it was not for another 20 years before new cultivars were imported that were larger with improved flavor., I have seedling grown trees grown from the Mammoth type that have 220 gram, half a pound fruit, one of 7 trees the other's all have small fruit with very thin edible skins that are very sweet, every street in nz ''many different climates'' have tens of trees many from seed as there offered as the cheapest feijoa trees for sale, sold as a Sellowiana they often come from the Unique type and a few others that tend to come true to seed more often. here is a list of some of the types we have in nz.
Apollo
Arhart™
Bambina™
Den's Choice
Gemini
Golden Goose
Kakapo
Karamea
Mammoth
Marion
Opal Star™
Pounamu
Triumph
Unique
White Goose™
Wiki Tu (Anilvinkoru) ™
Neat. It would be fun to do a feijoa tour there. I know Mark has been in touch with people over there, but not sure if he has tried many of the cultivars or grown seed maybe.
I have two older sellowianas and have just added a couple of bambinas, a golden goose, a unique, and a kaiteri. It's all a bit exciting.
Just got today HomeDepot seven gallon for 34 dollars. Not a bad deal My work has it as a hedge in front of the building. And I had no clue what kind of hedge it was until I was looking at fruit plants online. Jacksonville,Fl
Feijoa are really common in New Zealand. They're really nice when baked into a feijoa crumble.
they are somewhat common here in mild areas as a landscape plant, but they aren't consumed regularly, and very rarely available to purchase.
Love it. I’m growing out lots of seedlings in the Bay Area. This was inspiring
I'm in the Seattle area and am looking to get Alberts Pride or Joy in the form of cuttings, seedlings or small tree. As a kid in S. Cali a neighbor would get bags of small green fruits that we'd cut open and scoop out the insides. I had no idea what they were, but they were the most delicious fruit I'd ever tasted. I finally found them!
I can't help you as of now, but possibly in the future. I may start propagating them or distributing seedlings or something, since no one else really does.
@@SkillCult I’d definitely buy some from you if you decide to propagate them. Thanks so much for letting me know. I have a feeling there’s some demand for them. The fruit is addicting!
@@SkillCult please. do. You could go back to Mr Albert and get a Buch of good fruit and plant the seeds up by the hundreds. I'm looking to buy
Do Golpher like this plant? Or can you plant them without a root cage?
I'm not sure actually I would err on the side of caution I guess and put a chicken wire cage just to get it established if your gopher population is high.
Great video! Can't recommend pineapple guava highly enough as an edible landscaping plant.
If I had more room I would get some of Mark Alberts seeds shipped here to Australia but I think the 7 white goose 2 duffys 1 nazemaste 6 mammoth and one seedling tree should do us .
It has been said often that the bunnings warehouse seedlings are no good which may be true since the one we have grown out was selected from 11 bunnings seedlings as the keeper , which was singled out for its vigour and that now stands nearly three metres tall with the delicious thin skinned fruit taking on a red blush when ripe .
Cool video. Not sure these fruits could ever be relevant to my growing conditions...perhaps in a greenhouse. But very interesting all the same! Watching passionate people is easily done.
I'm not sure how much it's worth extreme effort to grow outside it's range of hardiness. You can only eat so many of them in the relatively short season. Then again, you could talk to North Tropics about that. He says he's growing them in Ohio. seem comment here. @North Tropics does tagging work on youtube? I guess I'll find out.
I believe you use a +
I've seen it growing in Germany and in the UK where it regularly goes below freezing during winter
I absolutely love this. The knowledge and passion is a really beautiful thing, also a lovely friendship, i really enjoy how you guys talk to each other. also my favorite fruit, I have many I have sprouted but none are old enough to fruit yet. I can be hopeful to have more than just lovely shrubs some day.
Mark is a real gem of a person for sure. Good luck with your seedlings :)
How do you contact Mark? Would love to get my hand on some of his seeds or seedlings. I can’t find contact info. =(
Is there a more recent link to Mark's page? Do either of you know if there are any varieties that might make it on Long Island in NY?
I don't think there is any chance of that. They might be able to take low teens or something like that, but not zero and below weather. He doesn't have a web presence and I'm not sure there is currently anyone propagating his stuff. maybe patrick schaefer if you can find him online. But I sent a box of mark's fruit to chris homanics who is starting a nursery, so hopefully he will talk to mark and end up with the best of those varieties and start grafting them and selling them.
@@SkillCult Long Island temps seldom get to zero. The teens are rare. Normally in the winter the temps stay in the low 30's because of the Ocean and LI Sound surrounding it. Cold spells are normally in the mid 20's. I am buying some plants from a local in Florida where I spend winters but was hoping to find a variety that has some cold hardy tendencies. Thanks for the reply.
@@jimschultz9465 I have a few small feijoas planted outside in NJ, zone 7a. They survived 6f and freezing rain but dropped all their leaves. Did not flower in the spring though. My potted specimens flowered and fruited, so they are easy enough to bring in and out if you keep them in a container.
Nice to see his setup. I bought 25 seedlings of mixed Pride, Joy and Abadaba at the exchange last year and have them planted out in the front of my place as a privacy hedge. Plants are healthy and chugging along; can't wait for the fruit someday. Also curious about how much variability they'll have given that they're seedlings
He seems to think they are fairly consistent, but there is definitely some variability. If they are from Marks trees, then they are cross pollinating with all the stuff in those rows. The abadaba was good when we tasted it.
I assume that means you bought them in person and not online?
@@olsonlr Yes in person years ago
How can I find & buy these specialty varieties? Anywhere I find feijoa trees, the variety is unspecified. I can find lots of information on specific varieties but not where to find them. Any tips would be very helpful!
I have a feijoa seedling that has 3 leaves on the stem instead of 2. I can't find any info if this is a new mutation or not. Its the only one with 3 leaves of the 20 seedlings I started.
Very happy to find this video. thanks. Been hunting for cultivars for a long time...NONE found. Would love to get some seeds/seedling/wood from Mr. Albert but have struck out so far. At least at this time of the year nothing found on any of the above mentioned sources. I did email the coolhybrids person so unless there is another way to contact Mr Albert I'm stuck again!
Maybe this is the year I'll finally get over there and get some seeds to distribute.
Amazing!!! I acquired two pineapple guava bushes from a homeowner who no longer wanted them. It looks like one did not survive the transplant, and the one that did needs lots of care. May have a fungus. I am so excited, though. I’m fascinated by this plant and really want to try the fruit. Is it true that they need morning sun/afternoon shade or can they tolerate full sun in the hot, Texas summer?
Cloves are also in the Myrtaceae, as well as guava, and I would say many of the myrtaceae have that signature scent and flavour
There's a nursery in California called "Fruitwood nursery"
They have rooted cuttings of pineapple guavas, figs, pomegranates, etc. I've been ordering from them for two years now and their prices are very reasonable.
I know that guy. He's really cool and has a large selection. I need to go visit him and talk shop. I will talk to him about making sure he gets Marks selections going if he doesn't have them already.
Just checked everything sold out.
Thanks for the tip
Thank you for the information you shared. I am very interested in planting these plants and I live in Massachusetts, Is it ok to plant them here ? I would appreciate your response. Thank you.
thank you for this video from france...great channel ..thank you.
Ooohhhh I live near Seattle I need to find a few of these
One of my grafted white goose feijoa is showing polyploid traits , never seen anything like it . The branches are twinned like two branches fused together and split into further twinned shoots at each node , early days yet as its only been in the ground for 18 months the one fruit that dropped off was also a twin .Very unusual .
Is it the whole bush, or just a portion? Maybe you have a sport?
It is only just showing now in this current seasons growth , more happening on one side though .
Just looked up what a sport is and yes that pretty well describes what looks to be going on with that tree .
Hopefully next year it will hold its fruit .
@@johnwilliams7689 would love to hear and update. What happened?
Hello Mark,
Great video!
I live in Ventura CA and I’m starting a plot of pineapple guavas here. The ones that I have are thriving and giving huge fruit, I’m wondering if I could buy a few of your varieties and try them out here?
Please let me know
Cheers,
Matt
Mark passed away recently. I'm hoping someone will be propagating his best few seedlings soon.
Is there any way to get some seeds from him ?
This is so sad! I was planning on going to his farm next year and taking pineapple guava seeds back home to germany. Do you know if there is somone continuing his work on his orchard?
The 2 videos with him are awesome, he seemed to be such an interestig man and mentor :)
I'm hoping to collect seed this season. That's the plan. I can send to Germany. I don't think anyone has found the map yet, but worst case scenario, I'll have to taste my way through to find the best ones.
@@SkillCult Wow. That would be so nice! I wish you the best!!
I always knew that there were round ones and oval ones though I just assumed that all the other variation was mostly due to the conditions of the plant. I thought it was just soil conditions, water, fertilizers and trimming/pruning that made the difference for everything else! I'm going to need to order some seeds from him immediately! I can't imagine what Mark Albert has done in the last 4 years, and with CRISPER genetic engineering so accessible and easy now days he might even be able to create a genetically perfect variety or something that he can bring to market. Hmm I know there is a way to do it. Possibly something like planting them as hedges in the suburbs along tract housing instead of having plants that do nothing and then farming them like that. You could plant The apartment complex or housing units pay to water them and then the guava company does the trimming up keep of the trees and then around the end of summer the company hires on workers to go around and pick them all at all the different places! If you plant trees to fruit in a specific season close together you can control the rest with water to make sure you are only going to a few places each day. A team of something like 5 people can run the company and you would need to find a creative way to package them but I'm sure restaurants would want them and you could find a way to preserve them and create a product for shelves, the best of the best looking ones go directly to the store to be sold as a South American Super fruit with anti-cancer properties ect. (find and fund more research on them and their benefits). I know fruit leather is easy with them, maybe preserve if you can industrially de seed them some how like a reverse osmosis style pit strainer, or you could do frozen bars of mash for fruit shakes and cooking with lemon or citric acid to stop the oxidation. You might even get grants from the city\state for finding a way to utilize housing land for farming in a way that minimally impacts the community. A small team of gardeners and trimmers come every once and a while maybe monthly in the off season and more often when they start to flower. If you have 20 different hedge complexes then the gardeners can go to one every week day and when they fruit you will have 7 places to go a day to harvest the fruit from, hopefully grouped by season. the gardening team of 2-3 people could take care all the harvesting. You would need a place to sort them and process/pack them but you could rent a kitchen out for 3 months of the year. Processing would be the most labor intensive especially checking each one for bad spots though this is still the kind of business that someone could start at home in their spare time by producing the clones or grafts and making deals with one land owner at a time as you find ways to sell them.
I think marketing these and growing commercially would be a tough nut to crack. Maybe by breeding durable fruits, but those are usually not the best fruits. Probably better off selling plants and selling the edible flowers to eating establishments.
Our chickens don't like them. Which is great, because they are my favorite! Would love to get some of those varieties. I have a seedling that is amazing as well.
Is there a way to freeze these so that the flavor doesn’t diminish too much?
what do u think of the nazemetz variety? i'm thinking of planting a whole row of them on my property for privacy screen plus the fruit.i'm in central valley.
I have no idea and Mark is never on here, but unless you're planting for market, it sounds like a better idea to plant several varieties for a longer season. Or, if you have that much room you could trial a whole bunch of varieties like mark is doing. That is probably what I would do.
At my first house 7 trees, 5 styles of fruit. Some are scoopable, one is so thin the skin is not noticeable when eating. The last tree starts after the others ones and has lemonade flavor to it.
@@Gregarious3 which variety?
i was just eating the flowers off these on my walk home! who would've known
Cool. They're just going to sleep here.
Any chance of these bearing fruit in Miami?
There is a nice specimen in Southern Mendocino County, I think they need a little longer to ripen.
Thanks for the video . Does Mark do any direct sales?
No, and it is hard to get anything out of him, just because he doesn't have time. We need some nurseries to pick up his stuff and start propagating it. The only guy I knew that did quit I think.
@@SkillCult where can someone get some cuttings or seeds of Marks varieties?
If you freeze them, does that arrest the sugar to bland taste conversion? Do they keep longer?
I suspect so. I only froze some this year, so we'll see.
Can these be grown in zone 7a? I purchased some from one green world and they say the varieties they have can be grown in zone 7. I’m wondering if I made a wrong purchase. They are beautiful but it gets cold here in the winter.
I wouldn't know. I'm in 9, but they grow further north.
I‘m in zone 7 and have a few plants outside which endured temperatures down to -12 °C.
But you have to plant them in protected spots.
Can I please have contact info for Mark? I have questions, my feijoa is dying!!
Can you propagate from cuttings, I have 2 pineapple guavas, I would like more just for personal use, I live in West Central Florida, thanks
I don't know anyone that does it. There may very well be a way. I would try air layering before just taking cuttings and sticking them. Usually they are grafted.
u have another email for Patrick Schaefer.i emailed him days agoand havent heard from him.trying to get a good amount of some Feijoas.does mark sell the seedlings? looking for ones that can stand the hot heat.thanks
I do not, sorry. Mark usually gives away the seedlings I think. He's at the local scion exchanges in Northern California every year with them.
thanks for the info.hopefully i can make it to the jan 28 event.
HI, thank you for this interview. I am very interested in getting in touch with Mark to ask for some seeds or cuttings. I have googled him but can not find an article with his contact email or mailing address. Please help! Thank you!
The fruits on your tree are really small. Mark Albert in Northern California and Nigel Ritson in New Zealand have spent the last twenty or more years developing new and improved varieties of pineapple guavas that have twice the size, fruit with much smoother texture and improved flavor. It’s worth ordering name varieties on line when possible than wasting time and garden space with these no name seedlings you find at the local nursery.
Did you watch the video? Mark Albert is the speaker. He actually found that some smaller varieties were better. I've tasted my way through this collection a few times and that was my conclusion as well. He was surprised to find that, but it seems to be the case? When I collect budwood from the trees, I'll be growing just a handfull of this collection and mostly smaller fruits. some of the larger and medium sized were good to okay, but the best ones turned out to be small. The average of them is not very good, so there is a big difference in flavor. Anyway, maybe watch the video.
Where can one get some starts for Marks varieties??
It seems nowhere yet, but hopefully soon.
There's a nursery in California called FRUITWOOD NURSERY. They have a big selection of all kinds of fruit trees cuttings, scionwood, starter plugs, seedlings and rooted cuttings.
I've been ordering from them for two years now.
They have many varieties of figs, pomegranates, prickly pears, persimmons etc.
They run out of stock frequently, so you need to keep checking their web site. The page is quite extensive so plan on been there for a while. I hope that helps.
@@Lisa1950 yes I did purchase a few seedlings of feijoa before they sold out completely. I was hoping there would be some other leads on available plant material or small starts. Guess I’ll be keeping my out for restock on the Fruitwood nursery site.
how do they dehydrate? are they too tough after drying? or good?
I dobn't know but I bet they are horrible. They oxidize quickly. Can't know without trying tho.
@@SkillCult ahh that's what I was afraid of. I don't know what the sweet part is like though. I'd be able to tell I think if I ate it and see the texture. Anytime I see a good useful fruit tree, especially perishable ones, I want to know how they dry down. It could work even if they oxidize fast but you'd have to have a dehydrator on the hottest setting and slice each piece and put it in the dehydrator that's already heated up. Slice one throw it on close it and slice another one and keep doing that so you get a skin around the cut quickly.
about how may feet apart does he have them planted?
I don't recall. I'm guessing 8 to 10 feet.
looking for help. i grow figs outside in zone 6a northeast USA. i have been successful with around 40 variety's getting them to fruit in-ground and in pots. i would like to try my luck with Pineapple Guava. they seem similar to figs in cold tolerance. does anyone have experience pushing guava plants in colder areas? im able to protect and wrap figs because they go dormant. this gives me 1 or 2 grow zones extra. maybe something can be done with guavas? if guava doesn't go dormant this maybe difficult. ive seen many plants online listed as cold hardy guava but i doubt these claims. i believe Mark has some superior genetics going on and would like to try his plants out. don't know to many tropical fruits that can be grown in colder areas without a green house. there is smaller kiwis that can make it in my area but take up to much area.
I doubt you could pull it off well unless potted or in greenhouses. You can't just cover up an evergreen I don't think.
my idea for pots would be use clear painters wrap. use about 4 bamboo polls around the pot. making a green house in effect. if they went dormant it would be easy. but by the looks of the guava they seem a bit large so this maybe impractical. i know people that bring there citrus inside in a window for winter. everyone ive seen without supplemental light doesn't produce good fruit. with figs the struggle is worth the effort for fruit. i cant speak about good guava though lol hoping to get a response from the guy who is growing guava in 6a Ohio.
My guess is that if you pulled it off, the fruit quality wouldn't be the best. Who knows though.
Feijoa its like -16,-17 C .Somme figs are much more cold hardy.You could still try the feijoa in a microclimate but better than the feijoa and a bit more cold hardy is the Ugni Molinae,chilean guava that its a real guava and its also the best tasting from all guavas.
@@mihaiilie8808 thanks
is there any way to order scions from Albert?
You can contact me through my website.
Hi do you selll seedingd or cutting for these?
I may have seed this fall. It cannot be guaranteed to grow the same as the mother plant.
@SkillCult ok yes I know how it goes. So how can I purchase those seeds from you? Also if they are dried seeds would you recommend presoaking in a weak solution of Hydrogen peroxide or Gibberillic acid solution prior to planting out?
@@geriannroth449 I have not grown them before, so I can't be much help. They would be dried. You can check my webstore www.skillcult.com/store this winter. I will announce on social media and my blog too.
@SkillCult thank you I'll check it out
Excellent video as always. I've just planted a small feijoa hedge to windbreak my large veggie patch. I'll eventually expand it. I'm in Australia in a cool mountain climate down to -5c in winter. What varieties did you get from NZ?
Mark won't be here answering questions I'm sure. He mentioned one in the video, not sure about the others.
Certainly got your daily dose of fruit on the visit haha. Think I'm a couple zones too cold for them here, but will keep an eye out for a genetically engineered version that is hardy, sweet, and can handle continual herbicide application.
Yeah, I ate quite a few of those....
As delicate as Paw Paw.
million year evolution? come on now...
dunno. maybe myrtaceae goes back that far or something. Knowing mark if he said it, he probably meant it. I wouldn't know though
Google "phylogenetic tree" that's what he means. All plants have a million year + history.
OK buddy, you were too busy eating like 6 of these in one go and couldn't even focus on the interview! I know you are excited to eat but come on now... a little embarrassing.
Part of this video is the experience and personal aspect of going on a trip and interacting with Mark and our experience of tasting fruit. A lot of people like that. If you don't like it, that's fine, but no need to criticize. Not everyone likes or wants the same thing. Imagine that.
Wow, you've completely missed the point here. You are stuck with your own negativity in your head. I was simply saying that you CAN eat then talk, or talk then eat, it's OK to do.
No, you don't understand. It was a rude and patronizing comment suggesting that I should be embarrassed in the context of your preference and lack of understanding or maybe affinity with, my motives and intentions. I'm there to taste fruit and spend time with Mark and that's what we do. Tasting the fruit is important. I'm tasting different fruits of different ripeness and varieties. This one is grainy, that one is over ripe, this one is under ripe etc. I didn't need to concentrate on the interview. It wasn't an interview anyway, Mark did quite well with very little prompting. If you don't like it, don't watch it or you can comment without being a patronizing dick. your choice of words in both cases reveal a lot. I can also talk and eat and that's what I do when I hang out with my friend and talk about eating fruit and what it tastes like. That after all is the point, the fruit and it's quality! Get over yourself. And you're welcome.