OT Loquats

[FMD]

Anyone else a fan of loquats. We've had such warm weather this winter that the tree is already ripening fruit. They usually start in late February or March. Unless a major freeze occurs, it should be a banner year.

[SarinaP]

I love loquats! Lucky duck--those look fantastic!

[Taverna78]

I never see tis name fruit before is called something else? Is good taste? Look wonderful!
You gro tis like fig tree?

[71GTO]

It Italy I believe they are called nespoli

[rajneeshdelhi]

Sometimes also called Japanese medlar, Japanese plum or Chinese plum. In India they are known as loquats as well

[figgysid1]

I had a big tree loquat like yours. I always got lots of fruits, but they were small. Then I seen a video about pruning them to increase fruit size by Ken love. It worked. Will try to find the link.

[Sarahkt]

I love loquats. My folks had a huge tree in the backyard when I was a kid. It's on my list of fruit trees to start growing, maybe next year.

I remember reading that they can be reliably propagated by seed. Anyone know how true that is? It'd be so easy and convenient to just plant seeds next year from a loquat tree that has been proven to bear great fruit. There are several loquat varieties available at nurseries nearby, but I'm not familiar with what's great and what's even better, would be fun to just plant a few seeds and keep the best growing one.

[JamesB]

I have read from more than one source that planting loquats from seed will likely result in fruits that have more seeds in them, so it may not be the most reliable method. You could grow a few from seed and use them as root stock to graft your trusted variety onto, that way it will be a clone.

[Harborseal]

Love 'em but they're not for the North. Fortunately there's a huge Chinese grocery store near me where I can get these things

[PawPaw Gene]

Sarah, yes Loquats start eaisly from seed. But..........they don't always come true to parent. I have started many from seed and some were very good, others were very bitter. It's best to get a grafted tree if you want a really good one. Currently I have a grafted McBeth given to me by a fig friend. The tree is young but loaded with fruit right now. I will be able to see how good they are in a couple of months. My daughter bought 6 trees at a nursery to put in the landscape. One is very early and about to ripen fruit and the fruit is very good. Two others are different but produce good fruit but later. The other three make fruit that is less sweet and make less the the others. I can only assume that they were started from seed as they don't seem to be grafted.

Mike, the fruit is sweet and delicious from the right trees but won't grow much north of interstate ten. The tree is an evergreen and can take a certain amount of cold but it flowers in the fall and early winter and the flowers freeze or can be damaged by frost.
"gene"

ps: happy new year

[efletche]

I have two large trees on my property. The fruit are still on tract for a Feb/Mar ripening.

[Hanbury House]

I am a fan of Loquats. I have five trees. Two small seedlings are waiting to be grafted with a cultivar I don't have, plus in ground trees are 'Big Jim,' 'MacBeth,' and 'Gold Nugget.' Big Jim is the only one big enough to produce, and its really loaded this year. Its normally ready in late March or Early April here in SoCal, but it flowered early this year and I expect I will start picking in Mid to late February. Its one of my few backyard trees that hasn't had much problem with the current drought.

They don't necessarily grow true to type, but I have tasted some good seedings over the years.

[The_Gardener]

I just planted a Big Jim this past February, all I know from reading online is that the fruit is really big, but I have no idea what it taste like, can you describe what BIG JIM taste like? Also, please describe the taste for Mcbeth if you happen to taste it before. Thanks

[The_Gardener]

Sarah, yes Loquats start eaisly from seed. But..........they don't always come true to parent. I have started many from seed and some were very good, others were very bitter. It's best to get a grafted tree if you want a really good one. Currently I have a grafted McBeth given to me by a fig friend. The tree is young but loaded with fruit right now. I will be able to see how good they are in a couple of months. My daughter bought 6 trees at a nursery to put in the landscape. One is very early and about to ripen fruit and the fruit is very good. Two others are different but produce good fruit but later. The other three make fruit that is less sweet and make less the the others. I can only assume that they were started from seed as they don't seem to be grafted.

Mike, the fruit is sweet and delicious from the right trees but won't grow much north of interstate ten. The tree is an evergreen and can take a certain amount of cold but it flowers in the fall and early winter and the flowers freeze or can be damaged by frost.
"gene"

ps: happy new year

Please tell me how your McBeth taste, because I'm looking to get one too.

[starch]

I love loquats! I have a McBeth and just picked some fruit off it. But it needed a couple more days (just too impatient). I got some Peluche loquat scions from Flying Fox Nursery that I grafted onto my Gold Nugget seedling, excited for that one too!

[efletche]

Love them. I have two large trees started from seed. The fruit on mine is as large, if not larger than a golf ball. Very sweet and very juicy. I have canned them in a light syrup, made loquat butter and jelly from them. Thinking about trying to make wine next year. Don't know what variety my tress are (doesn't really matter), but I could not be happier with the amount and size of the fruits I am picking.

[quackmaster]

I love these, been eating them my whole life. Down here in south louisiana in Cajun french we've always known them as muss-po-luss, (spelled the way it sounds). In English down here they are called Japanese plums, I didn't know what a loquat was till about 2 or 3 years ago, my sister is older then me and she just learned day before yesterday that the real name is loquat, lol. There is a wild seedling growing right over the fence in the abandoned lot next door that I will probably dig up in the morning and if it turns out not to good I will get a branch from my uncles tree to graft, his is from a seed but they are big and sweet.

[lilfiggy]

I have a medium sized one in my back yard. I live in Brandon which is west of Tampa you see them everywere in yards here so yummy.

[Gr8Figs]

I drove to Pensacola in February to pick up a puppy.

I gave the seller some fig cuttings and he happened to have a couple of Loquat trees that he grew from seed which were about 14' high and 10' wide.

Some of the fruit was getting ripe.He gave me a few of them and I clipped a couple small cuttings off the tree which he said had the best taste. I've got some seeds in cups and the cuttings in ziplock bags for rooting even though rooting cuttings is not a successful way of propagation from what I read.The fruit was about ping pong ball size.I noticed that some fruit had up to six seeds and others just one or two.

[The_Gardener]

Does anyone know what variety of loquat this is? I ate like 4 of them, it was juice and really sweet, of the 3, it only had one big seed inside each, and another one has two seeds.

[Pino]

I loved loquats(nespole)! They are 1st fruit to ripen? Trying to find variety that can produce fruits if grown in containers?

[COONHUNTER56]

Mullberries and loquats usually have a race every year for me. Freeze coming in this weekend will probably kill the young mullberry fruit. Hopefully the loquats do ok though

[Altadena Mara]

In college, there was a big loquat tree where I lived that had delicious fruit early in the season before any other fruit was ripe. We ate them by the handful for weeks during Winter Quarter finals. I grew a Big Jim for a number of years, but the fruit would ripen late, around early May, the same time as some of my other stone fruit. It was so dry and sour Flavor Delight Aprium displaced it for fresh eating. I bought a grafted Yehuda loquat last summer which was reported to produce large sweet loquats in Florida in February-March. Its first year, in a pot, it’s just turning color now, the first week in April here in SoCal. I’ll update on the taste when they’re ripe.

[vito12831]

I used to eat Loquats back in Sicily, I love them, and Marcus is right they are called Nespoli. Can they be grown like the figtree and winter them in the garage?
I would love to try one.
Vito

[lilfiggy]

Oh snap everyone I had about 2 dozen fruits on my tree ready to pick when I came out to get them EVERYONE was gone even in the top of the tree. TIME FOR PAYBACK yummy rat bars for spring time training you nasty squirrels and racoons.

[The_Gardener]

Power pump.

[quackmaster]

This is an Unkown grown from a seed and they are so good!

[quackmaster]

With this talk about these lately I went ahead and bought a gold nugget tree at the local nursery. I hope it's a good variety, does anyone have gold nugget, if so is it a good one?

[The_Gardener]

So far from what I read online about different types of loquat varieties.

Big Jim: well, the fruit is big in size, don't know how it taste.
Mcbeth: heard that it's very good and sweet tasting, fruit size is medium to large.
Golden Nugget: small fruit with many seeds.
Yehuda: Suppose to be really good too.

Someone with more knowledge please comment.

[quackmaster]

I would have like to find a big Jim ot Mcbeth but all they sell here is golden nugget.

[PawPaw Gene]

The Gardener, sorry I didn't answer your question about McBeth earlier but I just saw the question. My tree is still in a 3 gallon pot. It had a bunch of fruit on it this year. The fruit had good flavor but were somewhat dry or not juicy which probably comes from being in a pot without a source of constant water. I will be putting it in the ground this year and I expect a much better crop next spring. The flesh was dark orange of medium size but again it should produce much better in the ground.

Ryan maybe you could do a graft from my tree to one of yours.
"gene"

[quackmaster]

I just seen this post! Thanks gene, I have golden nugget so maybe we trade grafts, lol. Thank you!