Psidium cattleyanum 9cm / 0.5L Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Psidium cattleyanum Plants - Outdoor GROW TROPICALS
Strawberry Guava (Red)

Psidium cattleyanum

£8.99
Overwinter under coverSun-lovingEvergreenLoved by pollinators
Pot size
9cm / 0.5L £8.99

FREE tracked delivery on orders over £60

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Description

Edible fruit. Sold here as a fruit-bearing plant grown for its harvest of red strawberry guavas, not as an ornamental.

Psidium cattleyanum, the strawberry guava, produces one of the most charming fruits you can grow under British glass: small crimson guavas whose white flesh genuinely tastes of strawberries. The shrub itself is a beauty, with glossy evergreen leaves, smooth cinnamon-coloured peeling bark and fluffy white summer blossom loved by bees.

Like its yellow sibling, it is a patio and conservatory fruit here: full sun outdoors for the frost-free months, bright shelter in winter. Grown citrus-style it is self-fertile, precocious, and reliably productive under glass.

How and where to grow

  • Position: full sun in summer; bright, frost-free cover in winter.
  • Soil: rich, free-draining compost in a large pot.
  • Size: kept 1-2 m with a light annual prune.
  • Hardiness: H2; brief light frost only on mature wood.

Grow it with the loquat and yellow guava for a productive exotic trio, summering with our plants for pots and joining the hardy exotics display in the warm months.

Nursery-grown young plants ready to pot on. Wintering guidance in our seasonal expectations guide.

Live Arrival Guarantee

All plants are covered by our 7-day live arrival guarantee. We pack every order in protective, sustainable packaging designed to keep your plants safe in transit, and every plant is checked before it ships. On the rare occasion something is not right on arrival, we will make it good, provided the plant is still in its original nursery pot.

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What to Expect

Seasonal by nature: what to expect

  • Grown outdoors, the way nature intended. Weather-tested and hardened in real UK conditions, so they thrive in your garden. A few marks on the older leaves are normal, the sign of a tough, real plant rather than a flaw.
  • It follows the seasons. Depending on when you order, your plant may arrive cut back, dormant or leafless. That's healthy: dormancy is the ideal time to plant.
  • Posted, not posed. Big leafy plants like bananas and gingers may be trimmed or gently folded to travel safely. It does the plant no harm, and it powers away again in spring.

Not sure what to expect from yours? Dormant, cut-back or weather-marked plants are all perfectly healthy and normal. Read what to expect through the seasons

Delivery & returns

Order by 1pm Monday to Friday for same day dispatch. Every plant travels in protective, plant-safe packaging with tracked delivery.

Changed your mind? See our Return Policy.

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How to care for Strawberry Guava (Red)

Plant me in full sun and bring me under cover before the frosts.

In their words

What our customers say

Arrived just like the photos - maybe even fuller. Healthy, well-acclimated, and straight into my collection with no issues.

Emily P.

Flawless leaves, stunning variegation, and clearly cared for by experts. It’s already a talking point in my home office.

James R.

Hard to find rare plants that are pet-safe. Ours arrived in perfect condition and looks amazing without any worry.

Sophie L.
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About Strawberry Guava (Red)

Psidium cattleyanum needs full sun and moist but well-drained soil. It is frost tender and must come under cover for winter.

Good for

Pots & Containers

Hardiness

TenderVery hardy

Tender (H2): down to around 1°C. Tolerates cool conditions but not frost; protect or bring in over winter.

A patio and conservatory fruit for the UK: we rate it H2. Outdoors for the frost-free months, under bright cover for winter. Mature wood tolerates only brief, light frost. Read moreShow less

A patio and conservatory fruit for the UK: we rate it H2. Outdoors for the frost-free months, under bright cover for winter. Mature wood tolerates only brief, light frost.

Position

Full sunSouth-facingWest-facingSheltered
Full sun in summer; maximum light under cover in winter. Read moreShow less

Full sun in summer; maximum light under cover in winter.

Soil

LoamSandMoist but well-drainedAcid pHNeutral pH
Rich, free-draining compost in a large pot; slightly acid to neutral. Read moreShow less

Rich, free-draining compost in a large pot; slightly acid to neutral.

Watering

Generous water and feed in summer; barely moist through winter. Read moreShow less

Generous water and feed in summer; barely moist through winter.

Mature size

Height1-2 m (pot)
Spread0.8-1.5 m

Reaches full size in 5-10 years

Growth habit

Bushy

Flowering

May-Jul · White

Seasonal colour

Foliage

Evergreen (stays evergreen only when kept frost-free over winter)

Pruning

Light prune in early spring to shape and keep fruit in reach; tolerates clipping well.

Toxicity

Fruit is edible and delicious; no reported toxicity to people or pets.

Native range

Brazil

Family

Myrtaceae

Also known as

Psidium cattleyanum

Genus

Psidium
Good to know

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the red strawberry guava?

Psidium cattleyanum is the classic strawberry guava of Brazil: small, deep crimson fruits with white flesh that really does taste of strawberries, on a glossy evergreen shrub with beautiful peeling cinnamon bark. It has fed generations across the tropics and grows surprisingly happily in a British conservatory.

Is it hardy in the UK?

No, and we will not pretend otherwise: H2, a summer patio and winter conservatory plant. That rhythm is easy to keep and the plant thrives on it. Honest ratings live in our seasonal expectations guide.

How do I get fruit?

Sun, food and patience: it is self-fertile and flowers young, with fluffy white blossoms followed by fruit that ripens crimson in autumn under glass. A single plant fruits alone, though two crop more heavily.

Red or yellow: which strawberry guava?

Red for the classic strawberry punch and ornamental crimson fruit; yellow lucidum for a sweeter, milder flavour and slightly tougher constitution. Greedy growers keep both and compare harvests.

How big does it get in a pot?

Comfortably kept at 1 to 2 m with a light annual prune, which also keeps fruit within reach. Unpruned in a border under glass it can slowly double that. Its neat habit makes it one of the best-behaved fruiting exotics we grow.

Where do I keep it in winter?

A conservatory, greenhouse kept just frost free, or the brightest cool room. It rests rather than grows, needing little water and no feed until spring warmth returns it to the patio.

Does my plant come with a pot?
Your plant will arrive in its nursery grow pot — the plastic pot it's been growing in. We don't include a decorative pot as standard, and there's a good reason for that: it means you get to choose one that fits your space and style, rather than being stuck with something that doesn't suit your home.

It also means you're not paying extra for a pot you might not want. The nursery pot is perfectly fine to keep your plant in for a while, just pop it inside a decorative cover pot or cache pot and you're good to go. When you're ready to repot (usually after a growing season or when roots start poking out the bottom), you can move it into something more permanent with fresh soil.

If you're not sure what size cover pot to go for, check the pot selector tool listed above, you'll want a decorative pot that's a centimetre or two wider than that to give it a comfortable fit.
How big will my plant be when it arrives?
Every plant on our site includes the pot size (e.g. 12cm) and, where possible, an approximate height. That's the most reliable way to set your expectations, photos can sometimes make a plant look larger or smaller than it really is.

If you're thinking "that sounds quite small for the price," here's something worth knowing: younger, smaller plants almost always adapt better to your home than larger ones. They adjust faster to your light and humidity, put out new growth more quickly, and tend to establish stronger root systems long-term. A plant that grows into your space will usually outperform one that was already big when it arrived.

That said, every plant is an individual. The one you receive may vary slightly in height, shape, or fullness compared to the photo, that's the nature of living things, not a quality issue. We select healthy, well-established specimens, and if you ever feel your plant doesn't match what you were expecting, just get in touch and we'll take a look.
What makes your plants different from the supermarket or garden centre?
There's a big difference between a plant that's been sitting under on a retail shelf and one that's been looked after and cared for by people who specialise in exactly this.

Our plants are grown in house or sourced from specialist nurseries, many of them varieties you simply won't find at your local garden centre or supermarket. Before anything leaves us, it's checked over by our horticultural team to make sure it's healthy, well-rooted, and ready to thrive in your home. We're not shifting volume off a pallet, we're choosing plants we'd want to keep ourselves.

When you buy from a supermarket, you get a plant and a generic care label. When you buy from us, you get the knowledge that comes with it, detailed care guidance, a team you can actually contact if something isn't going right, and the confidence that what's arriving has been looked after properly from the moment it was grown to the moment it reaches your door.

We're a specialist nursery first, not a retailer that happens to sell plants. That's the difference, and you'll see it the moment you open the box.
What should I do when my plant arrives?
First things first, unbox it as soon as you can. Plants don't love being in dark boxes any more than you would, and the sooner yours is out and breathing, the better.

Remove all the packaging carefully, give the soil a check with your finger, and water lightly if it feels dry. Then find it a spot with appropriate light, but avoid putting it straight into harsh direct sun or next to a radiator. Think of it like arriving somewhere new after a long journey: it needs a moment to adjust.

It's completely normal for your plant to look a little tired or droopy after transit. This is called transit stress, and most plants bounce back within a week or two. You might see a yellow leaf or some drooping, don't panic, and resist the urge to overwater or start repotting straight away.

Our advice for the first couple of weeks: leave it in its nursery pot, water it only when the top layer of soil feels dry, and let it acclimatise to your home's light, temperature, and humidity. Once it's settled in and showing signs of new growth, you can think about repotting or moving it to its permanent spot.

Every plant we sell comes with a care guide on the product page so you'll know exactly what it needs going forward. And if anything doesn't look right, get in touch with our team, we're always happy to help.
Will my plant survive being shipped?
Yes! and we go to serious lengths to make sure of it. Every plant is hand-packed by our team with protective wrapping and secure, custom-designed boxes to keep it stable and safe in transit. We've shipped hundreds of thousands of plants across the UK and our packaging methods have been refined over years to handle the bumps and jolts of delivery.

During colder months, we monitor weather forecasts and offer heat packs where needed to protect against frost. In extreme conditions, we may hold your order for a day or two rather than risk sending it out, we'd rather you wait an extra day than receive a stressed plant.

That said, plants are living things, and the occasional transit wobble can happen. If your plant arrives damaged or isn't in the condition you'd expect, just get in touch within 48 hours with a photo, and we'll make it right, whether that's a replacement or a full refund. No fuss.

The short version: we treat every box like it's going to someone who really cares about what's inside, because it is.
Why Grow Tropicals

Plants delivered the way they deserve

Packaged with Care

Packaged with Care

Every order is hand-packed in eco-friendly, protective packaging - refined through thousands of deliveries to ensure your plant arrives healthy, hydrated, and looking its best.

Backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee.

Perfect for Gifting

Perfect for Gifting

From rare collector’s pieces to easy-care favourites, our plants arrive fully potted and ready to enjoy. Add a personalised note at checkout for a thoughtful finishing touch.

Delivered fresh, beautiful, and gift-ready.

Sustainability at Heart

Sustainability at Heart

All plants are ethically sourced from trusted growers, never wild-collected. Every order ships carbon-neutral in minimal-waste packaging.

Good for your home - and the planet.

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Psidium cattleyanum
£8.99