So it was with fond memories that I purchased our own guava tree and planted it in the backyard. This feijoa, a member of the Myrtaceae family and a resident tropical fruit, was perfectly suited to our garden. The climate, the soil, the annual rainfall - all good.

And so it was with sheer anticipation that I watched the buds expand, burst open, then flower, then die - and heartbreakingly drop off. What went wrong? Had I not watered them enough? Was there something wrong with the soil?

Alas, I tried a myriad of possible solutions attempting to keep the remaining blooms from falling, yet they continued to do so. Not one of them set and my dreams of once again tasting this luscious fruit dissipated like fog on a warm day. Disappointment was an understatement.

I expressed my despair with a friend who was boasting about their bountiful harvest from their pineapple guavas to which I received the reply - "You know you need 2 to cross-pollinate don't you?" Two? Well of course I knew that - I do have my own gardening blog, you know! Feeling like a 'goose' was an understatement.

In my haste to enjoy this fruit I hadn't bothered to research the plant and had just whisked it out of the container and into the ground without bothering to read the labels. Duh!

Yet now I'm faced with a dilemma. Guava trees are not small. They max out about 5m high and have a fairly similar spread and resemble a shrub more than a tree. Even planting ONE in our garden was a stretch on resources and space but TWO? Mmmm...

So now I'm faced with a dilemma. Do I rip out something else to make way for a second plant? Or, should I remove this one and replace it with a self-fertile cultivar like Apollo or an Edenvale Late? Perhaps I could just keep it as specimen plant and enjoy the flowers.

I'm thinking the second option will win out. This is too big a plant to keep as an ornamental unless, of course, you had some acreage and space wasn't an issue.

I'll keep you updated with the outcome.