Cattley Guavas: Beautiful Plant with Tasty Fruit
Lemon & Strawberry Cattley Guavas
(Psidium littorale & Psidium littorale var. cattleianum)
Myrtaceae Family, or Myrtle family (cousin love: clove, allspice, eucalyptus, bay rum)
We often include Lemon & Strawberry Cattley Guavas because of their year round curb appeal & low maintenance needs, when designing front yard edible landscapes for our customers. This small fruiting tree can be an HOA-friendly front yard statement, offering tropical treats when the heat of summer hits. They fill the place of any ligustrum, or myrtle in a traditional garden design. Mature varieties typically reach 10-15ft., but this tree can be pruned into a well-shaped canopy & maintained in a smaller size, if desired. The leathery texture of their evergreen leaves add depth to a garden space & even the form & texture of the trunk itself has it’s own beauty & impressiveness; with it’s smooth gray to golden bark that peels off in thin sheets. The white flowers have a multitude of stamens that gives them a puffball appearance when they are in bloom.
Each of their pest-resistant fruit (1.5-3”) range from a bright & showy shade of either red or yellow & have a sweet tart flavor & aroma that is deliciously similar to the better known guava. The Lemon Cattley has a slightly different flavor profile; a hint of a spicy note added. We find them to be super delicious! Both varieties can be eaten fresh out of hand, made into a juice or beverage, or cooked down into a paste for deserts.
We are having an overstock sale on the Cattley Guavas right now & are offering them at a sale price. They are already loaded with fruit on the tree (will ripen by early-mid July). You can find the link to our price sheet in the comments
below: here: