Welcome to my Food Forest where I grow an number of fruits in the Bee Better Teaching Garden. Information in this fruit series is based on knowledge I’ve gained growing in hardiness zone 7b, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Helen Yoest
Kind:
Latin Name: Eriobotrya japonica
Common Name: Loquat
Type: Broadleaf Evergreen Shrub
Height: 10 to 25 feet
Spread: 10 to 25 feet
Pollination: Loquat trees are pollinated by various insects including bees (Apis sp.), syrphids, houseflies, Myrmeleontidae, Bombinae, and Pieris rapae (L.). Although they are considered self- compatible, cross pollination by another cultivar, seedling, or selection improves fruit set, size, and production.
Fruit Health Benefits: Plant chemicals called carotenoids give this orange-fleshed fruit its color and provide an excellent source of vitamin A, essential for healthy eyes and a strong immune system. Loquats are also a good source of calcium, potassium and fiber.
Wildlife Benefits: Squirrels and birds.
Origin of species: China and perhaps Japan.
Cultivars: There are many, but we grow the straight species.
Culture Information:
Sun: Full sun to part shade.
Water: Medium, but drought tolerant once established.
Zone: 8 to 10.
Years to bear fruit: 2 to 2 years.
Harvest Time: Spring
Care:
Plant: best grown in fertile, evenly moist, well-drained loams in full sun to part shade. Best with consistent moisture, but established plants will tolerate some drought.
Fertilizer/pH:
Mulch: Mulching loquat trees in the home landscape helps retain soil moisture, reduces weed problems next to the tree trunk, and improves the soil near the surface. Mulch with a 2- to 6-inch layer of bark, wood chips, or similar mulch material. Keep the mulch 8 to 12 inches from the trunk.
Groom/Prune: During the first 1 to 2 years after planting, prune young trees by tipping shoots in excess of 2 to 3 ft, tipping will increase branching
Pest/disease Control: No serious insect or disease problems. This rose family member is susceptible to fire blight. Potential insect pests include aphids, scale, fruit flies ,and caterpillars.
Potential disease pests include rots, cankers, scab, leaf spot and blight. Seeds and young plant leaves are mildly poisonous if ingested. In areas where fruit set occurs, fruit drop can cause troublesome litter problems.
We have had ours for since 2008 with no problems at all other than it hasn’t fruited lol.
Propagation: My advice? Buy one.
Loquat trees may be propagated by seed, but they do not come true from seed and they have a 6- to 8-year juvenile period before flowering and fruiting. Loquat seeds may remain viable for up to six months of storage at high RH and 41°F or cleaned and planted immediately. Loquat may be cleft, veneer, and whip grafted or chip, patch, or shield budded. Propagation by cuttings and marcottage is also possible but more difficult. Vegetatively propagated trees generally begin bearing 1 to 2 years after planting. Mature planted trees may be stumped and top-worked to desirable cultivars. Loquat trees may be propagated by tissue culture (somatic embryos), microcuttings, and by micropropaga- tion using terminal or axillary shoots; however, these methods are not common in the US.
Comments:
Loquat has been cultivated in Asia for at least 1,000 years and was introduced into the US sometime before 1879 and into Florida before 1887.
I’m wondering why my loquat has never bore fruit is b/c I don’t have bees at the right time since Loquat is a winter bloomer. With further research, I found that the flowers freeze in temperatures as high as 26 to 27ºF. In our zone 7b, we are hardy down to 10ºF, but are likely to reach the flower freeze temperature.
Still!!! I recommend growing loquat as a plant of interest, and it would make a great privacy hedge.