Download Loquat - Edible Plant Project

Loquat or Japanese Plum (Eriobotrya japonica)
Family: Rosaceae (rose family) Origin: China
This is an easy-to-grow, low maintenance, medium size tree that produces delicious, succulent
fruit in the spring. The Edible Plant Project “super” loquat is a cross of various large fruit
producing cultivars. It should grow fruits much larger than those typically encountered around
Gainesville. Loquats need picking when ripe and they don’t travel well because they bruise
easily – that’s why you haven’t seen them in your local supermarket! They are best eaten
straight off the tree or within a day of picking because their taste changes (becoming sourer)
once they are picked and stored for even a day. They taste like a combination of peach and
apricot and are incredible in crumbles, pies, jams and jellies, syrups and sauces, chutneys, ice
cream and fruit curds. They apparently also make a delicious fruit wine.
Zones:
Hardy:
7-10
Cold hardy to 12 degrees once established. New leaves, flowers and fruit are
destroyed at 26-28 degrees but the tree usually survives.
Maintenance: Low maintenance (drought tolerant, cold hardy, pest resistant)
Size & Type: 20’-30' tall (15-20’ wide) subtropical, evergreen tree.
Varieties:
Over 800 with a wide range of flavors, size, pulp and skin color.
Those in Florida gardens are mostly unknown cultivars.
Earth:
Sun:
Water:
Container:
Espalier:
Pruning:
Flowers:
Fruits:
Pollination:
Leaves:
Misc:
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Toxicity:
Uses:
Medicinal:
Edible:
Wildlife:
Sources
Well drained soil (does not like areas that flood).
Dig in manure or compost when planting and once or twice a year thereafter.
Loquats prefer slightly acidic soil: pH 5.5-6.5 and will tolerate calcareous
alkaline soils, so add lime for a good distance around the tree when planting.
Young trees prefer light shade. Full sun once established for the best fruit.
It will grow well in shady areas but won't produce as many flowers or fruit.
Keep well watered the first year – once established it takes care of itself,
although it will need extra water if there’s a drought, especially if there’s a
drought when it’s flowering or developing fruit.
Yes. They will need a large pot and lots of watering, feeding and pruning.
Yes. hort.ifas.ufl.edu/gt/espalier/espalier.html
Prune just after harvest to stop terminal shoots becoming too numerous.
Remove crossing and dead branches and thin dense growth to let light into the
centre of the tree. Loquats respond well to severe pruning.
Fragrant clusters of white flowers in the late fall.
Plum like fruits (1-4”). Small to medium size seeds. Thin to thick skin.
Bears fruit in 3-5 years. Fruits in the spring (January through April).
Yield: 35-300 lb per year. The size and quantity of the fruit depends on the
variety plus the amount of water, nutrients and sun.
Considered self-pollinating although cross pollination by various insects (bees,
syrphids and flies) is said to improve fruit set and size.
Large (10 inches long), dark green on top, light green & fuzzy underneath.
Leaves drop all year round so plant over a bed where fallen leaves and fruits
can be left to mulch naturally.
Black scale or fruit flies may be a problem. Birds can peck at fruit.
The seeds are slightly poisonous and contain hydrogen cyanide.
Cultivated throughout Asia for thousands of years for their fruits.
They grow easily into a great shade tree for a garden, patio or terrace.
The loquat is one of the most popular cough remedies in the Far East and is an
ingredient of many patent cough medicines. In small quantities, hydrogen
cyanide has been shown to stimulate respiration and improve digestion, it is
also claimed to be of benefit in the treatment of cancer. In excess, however, it
can cause respiratory failure and even death.
www.edibleplantproject.blogspot.com for recipes!
Attractive to bees and butterflies (the flowers) and birds (the fruit).
www.floridata.com … www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG050 - www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/loquat.html
www.okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/News%20columns/Loquat.htm - www.middlepath.com.au/plant/loquat.php
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Eriobotrya+japonica