Malcolm, in March of '06 I vacationed just south of Orlando... was going to come visit you but no time....remember? Well, at the resort I stayed at there was a fruit tree full loguats. I never heard of them nor saw them, so I took some fruits home & planted seeds. Ned here ID'd the pic of tree & description of fruits. I don't know what variety it is but it is now almost 8ft high! Eyecker sent me a stick of Big Jim to graft - 1 1/2 yrs ago, & I now have a clump of baby blossoms on it.
This didn't help you get those big fruit sticks, but had to throw in my story. Hope you found those big Euoropean ones!

Patty, No European big ones yet, but I do have a very nice 'Christmas' loquat in my back yard, coming into bloom now.
Malcolm

I have had several named varieties with the best and largest being Big Jim. I still have Big Jim. It has been my observation that fruit on the small trees seems to freeze easier than on a large tree with a full canopy.

I know of trees (seedlings) that bear crops pretty consistently here is SE South Carolina. I have taken budwood from several of these trees thinking I could graft, or root it, and end up with a hardy tree. The resulting trees have proven no hardier than other loquats. One such tree was from up near Stan McKenzie's. The tree had fruited after (I believe) Stan said they had had a 14 degree night. That tree was close to a brick, building and was a large full tree. I think the building could have had some effect, but not enough to negate a 14 degree freeze. I thought I had found the holy grail of loquats, but it didn't work out that way (though it does make fruit about half the time). I still have the tree I grafted from budwood collected that day, and it is flowering now. The canopy it getting large, so I will see if that has any effect.

I have also read that you can graft loquat to quince or pyracantha, which will dwarf the scion. I think that might make the easier to protect from the cold

Ned

Big Jim is a great variety form La Verne Nursery. Big and sweet fruit! Check online since you are from Florida, otherwise I can send you some budwood in the spring, send me a PM. Loquats do very well here in coastal Southern California.

This should soon be a source of loquat scions.

Ned

http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/News.htm?docid=9522&modecode=53-06-20-00&page=1

I now think a lot of the loquats here are seedlings not a named cultiver. The fruit size varies from very large on some trees to small on others. I bought a Big Jim grafted loquat online and will plant it soon. The Big Jim should be very productive most years. The 1980s was the most difficult decade for loquat fruit and only about 6 or 7 years that decade were good. In the 1970s I think we had good production almost every year. There is a lot of water around here with marsh and ponds which helps moderate the cold arctic air mass some.


If you have a warm micro climate I think you can get very good loquat fruit production maybe average 6 to 8 out of 10 years in zone 8B even zone 8A with protection. In zones 9 and above you should get good production most years especially in warm micro climates like next to a big lake or river. A heated swimming pool can also help protect the fruit.

New Orleans on the south shore should be a great area for loquats. The Lake Pontchartrain can buffer the arctic air masses.

Hi,

I am a newbee and wanted to ask a few questions to the experts. You time and reply is highkly appreciated.

I live in San Jose, California. I wish to plant a loquat tree. I have the following questions

1. Which is the best tasting cultivar with more flesh, more sweetness to acidity ratio that grows and produces well in my zone?

2. Where can I buy the plant?

3. Is it self-fruiting or should I plant more than one

4. I am planning to plant it between my citrus trees. What is the recommended spacing between two trees for this one.

Thanks a lot,
Anitha

I can't tell you where to buy one, but this is a good place to read about them. I like Big Jim and don't think you should have much trouble finding one in California. On a standard rootstock, I would say 15' - 20' would be about right on spacing.

http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html

Ned

Go with Big Jim. Here's a link to a wholesale nursery called LaVerne Nursery. Scroll down and check out all the varieties.

Just go to your local nursery and ask them to special order anything you see on the website from them.

http://www.lavernenursery.com/SubtropicalPage.html