Hunt Institute Archives Text Discovery Platform

Page transcription

6.

the sooner they are planted after removal from the fruit, the
better. Large seedlings are difficult to transplant from the
open ground, hence plants should be potted while still small
and moved from time to time into larger containers until they
are a year old. They are then ready for grafting, or for trans-
planting to the field.

Planting and Care

Guava trees are often set too closely together for best
production. If the soil is fertile they should be spaced about
20 feet apart, each way. Preparation of the land should be the
same as for orange trees. Grafted guavas are usually set in the
field about a year from the time of grafting, and should receive
the usual watering and mulching after being planted.

Little research has been done on fertilizing guavas. In
many tropical regions they thrive even when neglected, but of
course they grow more rapidly when given proper cultural attention.
On stony or sandy soils in Florida a fertilizer program suitable
for oranges has given excellent results. The trees should begin
to bear fruit in the third year.

Flowers are borne in the leaf axils of new shoots. Fertilizing
for vigorous vegetative development assures abundant bloom. In
warm rainy climates flowers will be produced at intervals during
the year, but in regions with marked wet and dry seasons blooming
will all be in rainy season, unless the trees are irrigated abundantly during the dry period.

Little or no pruning is usually given, but where fine large
guavas sell at a premium, some pruning is desirable. Vigorous
young shoots produce the largest fruits, hence moderate heading