Hi fellow TXins!
I'm wanting to plant a loquat. A long time ago someone told me loquats are practically an invasive cuz they grow so well here in central TX. My question is Champagne or Gold Nugget?
Or both.
Or neither.
^_^
Thanks all!
Heather
loquat
I don't know what kinds of Loquat Trees we have.....but we love them. They are evergreen, grow fairly fast, and the birds like the fruit if you don't get it soon enough. We have 5, including this one I grew from seed.
Oh, and the fruit looks like this if you can tell the difference.
I can give you seeds or root a cutting for you but dont know which variety it is. To me, they kinda taste like a pear. They are mostly seed since the seed is so big.
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/loquat.htm
This message was edited Mar 16, 2013 4:32 AM
Also if I'm not mistaken, you will need two for them to produce.
Not sure if JuJube is still active on DG, but he would know also.
I can't swear it's a Loquat we have at the house we're moving to (end of April) but having been over there and seeing these pictures, I'm pretty sure it is. It's fully grown, I guess and as tall as the roof of the (1965) house. I'll post pictures to ask y'all's opinion later. But I do know it's the only one in the yard, or in any surrounding yard, and it was full of fruit.
Do you eat this fruit, and is it any good? I'll be happy to share with the birds, but if the hubby likes it, I'll snag him some.
Windcrest? I grew up in Windcrest and my dad still lives there. Small world!
Ummm, we don't have 2, but it takes like 8 yrs for them to mature enough to bear fruit... Ours began a year ago, and I think they are in bloom again for the 2nd or third time....in Round Rock, check for cold hardiness before you decide...
I'm not sure if 8 years to fruit is correct......we planted one from seed 4 years ago and we have fruit already.
It took our small one 7 years. Several others have said their new ones took that long as well
Do loquats need a certain number of chill hours?
Not that i am aware of- we hardly get any chills here...they are blooming twice a year that i can tell tho
I live in Houston near midtown and many of my neighbors have loquat trees and we dont have reliable chill hours so I dont think they need that. I conside them tropical fruit but dont know if that is correct.
They don't need 'chill hours'. They don't tolerate freezes very well (rather like me).
Adding this link http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/citrus/loquat.htm where they state
Quoting:
CLIMATE
The mature loquat tree can withstand temperatures of 10 degrees without serious injury, but both flowers and fruit are killed at temperatures below about 27. Unfortunately, loquat blooms in late fall to early winter and must mature its fruit during the winter months. Thus, fruiting rarely occurs except in south Texas or following mild winters in south central or southeast Texas.
Needless to say, the ones I had didn't like this zone...
Mine is 4 years old and bearing fruit for the first time this year. It takes negligence very well, too.
Maybe it was 4 years to fruit- but it took several years i remember.
Loquat update. Turns out the Round Rock nursery here sells just one kind. Plain old loquat. The lady that was helping me said she wasn't even aware that there were different varieties. hmmmm So I bought one there. It actually came as two trees in one pot (all of them were like that) which would suggest they might need two to pollinate like podster said.
According to the CL ads I was looking at before I started this post, http://austin.craigslist.org/grd/3662908041.html and http://austin.craigslist.org/grd/3662880944.html they don't need two. But I'm fine with two or more. ^_^
morganc yours looks more like a bush. Did you do that on purpose or does it want to do that naturally? The two I bought look like yours.
stephanietx, Hall's nursery near where I lived in CA grew a huge loquat there quite well. And we were lucky if we got one day per year of freezing temps there.
Which is why I'm going to err on the side of caution kittriana, and covered everything on my patio with some winter blankets. Even my peach trees. ^_^
steadycam3 I would love to try my hand at growing loquat from seed. I have two SILs living up the street from me so have plenty of back yards to put them in. ^_^
texasDollie the fruit is yummy! I've eaten them not quite ripe and they taste kind of citrusy tart. I've also eaten them ripe and they were really sweet. From everything I've read they don't keep well so aren't readily found in stores. Hopefully by the time you move in you still have great tasting fruit.
sweetmommy I'm glad they can survive neglect. I separated the two I bought into two big pots. And promptly forgot one of them which had gotten hidden. grrrr The leaves are all wilted but the trunk and branches are still green. Hopefully it will survive.
Anywhoo, thank you all for all the advice and thoughts. I've been wanting loquats for years so no matter what I'm going to keep trying to grow them.
Heather
I have mine in the ground and never really do anything to it but throw some Microlife it's way every once in awhile. It's on the East side of my house and I've never covered it either. You will get your loquats!!
I grew loquats mainly for its fragrant flowers. It bloomed when nothing else is blooming, around Dec-Jan and my whole yard is perfumed. On warm days it's swarming with bees. Blue jays love the fruits. It taste sort of like jelly palm fruits. The foliages are large and evergreen and it doesn't get too tall. I trained mine into a single trunk tree. No bugs or pest problems, I highly recommend it.
I took this today of our Loquat. Tree, not bush. But it can grow suckers you have to cut off. About 7 feet tall and has fruit.
moranc can suckers be planted? If so will they be sterile? I hate to throw anything away (just ask my DH). ^_^ I'm so bad I will even plant branches of box hedge that the landscapers at our apt leave behind. ^_^
gr8cayte - I don't know. They grow babies around them if seeds fall so we have never tried. Do you want some seeds? They are fruiting now. We have about 5 Loquat around the property of all different sizes.