Frequently asked questions

The scientific name of the guava tree is Psidium guajava L., and it belongs to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, the same family as jamun. In Hindi it is अमरूद (amrood, also written amrud), and the tree is अमरूद का पेड़.

Amrood (अमरूद) is called guava in English, and the tree is the guava tree or common guava. Other Indian names include peyara in Bengali, peru in Marathi, jamrukh in Gujarati, koyya in Tamil and pera in Malayalam (Flowers of India).

Plant a healthy air-layered or grafted plant from a reliable nursery at the start of the rains, in a pit on well-drained land. Vikaspedia suggests a pit of about 60 cm each way; refill it with topsoil mixed with well-rotted manure, set the earth ball in the centre with any graft union above the soil, press the soil, water at once and stake the plant if it is windy (NHB). NHB gives about 6 m between orchard trees; for a garden tree this is a rough starting point, not a safe distance from a house or pipes.

Plant guava in the rainy season. As a guide, that means July-August in the northern plains, Rajasthan, central India and the east, June-August in the north-east, and October-November only on the Tamil Nadu coast, where the main rains come with the north-east monsoon (TNAU gives June to December there). Plant when the rains have wetted the soil in your district, and avoid April-June.

Plant guava in the most open, sunny spot you have, on soil where water never stands after rain, because NHB says it does best on well-drained soil. It grows into a shrub or small tree of 3-10 m with shallow, spreading roots (ICRAF), so keep it away from paving, pipes and overhead wires. As our rule of thumb, leave about 5-6 m of open space around it, in line with the 5-6 m TNAU gives between orchard trees; this is only a rough starting point, not a safe distance, so ask your local horticulture office if space is tight.

You can keep a guava in a large pot for some years, but our sources give no tested pot-growing method for India, so treat this as a rough starting point. Guava is naturally a shrub or small tree of 3-10 m (ICRAF), so start with an air-layered or grafted plant in the biggest well-drained container you can manage, keep it in full sun, water when the top few centimetres of soil are dry and prune it to keep it small; expect fewer fruits than from a tree in the ground. Ask your local KVK for advice suited to your area.

Guava can flower at almost any time of year on new shoots (ICRAF), but NHB describes three main flowering seasons, February-March, June-July and October-November, with fruit ripening about five months later. Air-layered or grafted plants start bearing at 2-3 years and seedlings at 4-5 years (NHB), and ICRAF says trees reach full bearing after 5-8 years.

Look for a small evergreen tree with thin, smooth bark that peels off in flakes and dull green leaves in opposite pairs with prominent veins, about 5-15 cm long (ICRAF). Its white flowers have a tuft of many stamens, and the round or pear-shaped fruit turns yellow when ripe. Jamun is in the same family, but ICRAF describes it as a taller tree with hairless, dark green leaves, fairly smooth brown or dark grey bark and small purple-black berries.

Whether a guava tree is shubh or ashubh is a matter of belief, and our sources give no religious or Vastu rule for it. The practical answer is that guava is a small, useful fruit tree that suits a sunny home garden, as long as it is planted away from walls and pipes on land that does not stay wet.

Toxicity of the guava tree is not well documented: the ripe fruit is widely eaten, but we found no reliable data on the leaves, bark or seeds for people or pets, and no ASPCA entry for guava. Keep small children and pets from chewing the leaves or bark, and see a doctor or vet if anyone does and feels unwell.