I have a fairly large one in my yard.Its about 15-20 ft. and full of fruit now. The biggest problem I have are the birds and racoons which raid the fruit. The birds peck holes in the fruit eating it. Fruit falls to the ground and rots. I have wood chips around the tree so its not in a walkway. I would think it would be messy if near a sidewalk or driveway. \

The fruit which falls gets eaten by squirrels and racoons, however they do prefer the fruit on the trees. It attracts a lot of wildlife.

The fruit is delicious and very juicy!

Jane

Hi
be sure to try to sample some varieties as there are a gazillion types with many different traits. Mine produces
rather small and short lived fruit and I've tasted types of much higher quality. They seem very prone to bugs ,birds
and the fruit rots rather quickly. They can be rather messy
so would locate with that in mind .
All things considered not a bad tree though it would be nice to have high quality fruit?? lol gary

Consider a Longan instead of a Loquat. The fruit is similar, but the tree is more suitable to a front yard than a Loquat. They grow taller and provide more shade. Also, and this is just my opinion, the fruit tastes better.

I'd like to ask, where does one get to take a taste of the various types of Loquat? I have 2, and each is different flavor-taste, but no-name...I'd like to get another but taste it first, if possible.....thanx, sally

Lots and lots of fruit once mature.
Fruit has lots of pits.
Great looking dark green leathery leaves (in my opinion).
Attracts wildlife (as I type, the seeds are banging off the aluminum awnings from a raccoon feasting).
Very fertile. I think every seed left on the ground germinates.
Subtle but nice (again IMO) fragrance when flowering.
In our experience, no maintenance other than trimming (to keep off house).

I have 7 Loquat trees in my back yard. In my experience, they are very messy. They drop leaves year-round, so the lawn looks messy unless I've just mowed. They grow very fast, needing pruning several times a year, as the branches are long and flexible. So when they're full of fruit, they're low⦠and if a big wind comes, they split. One other thing no one has mentioned is, once the fruit falls and rots, the fire ants (or ants that I refer to as fire ants, I'm no expert) come. They seem lo love rotten fruit.

That said, I love my Loquat trees. We've topped one 5 years ago (as an experiment), and now I think I'm going to do it to all of them. They attract wildlife, provide a pretty solid shade pattern, and are small enough that they provide a degree of privacy.

Now, with THAT being said, I'd never ever put one in the front yard.

Can rats eat Loquat fruit? I have pet rats. I have given them lemons, which are sour, and Loquat fruit are also sour. But is it safe for rats?

Bas loquat fruit is not at all sour if allowed to ripen fully before eating it. Loquats are juicy and sweet with a mild flavor. Delicious!

Having grown up in Greece where loquats were as common as apples in season, I cannot imagine not having them. I am eagerly waiting for my tree to fruit. When it does I plan to cover it with netting to keep the wildlife away from it or if that doesn't work, i'll load my 22 with blanks and scare them away. Come hell or high water I will get those figs!

They do not do well in shade.

How long before the loquat bears fruit? Does it depend on time, or size?

If you get a loquat say 4' tall and put it in the ground it will not be a long wait.

Every one of mine at that size gave fruit the next year. I have some 2 year old seedlings around 2' tall I think they are a long way from fruiting.

Great, gnappi! My tree is now 4' tall. It was a 10" seedling from a generous fellow at a Gardenweb swap at TampaArt's....maybe 10 years ago. Kept it alive but stunted for years in a pot and shade, then planted maybe 5 years ago. Finally, in 2016, it is getting full sun, fertilizer, and mulch. Looks very healthy. Given your observation and the citation below, I'm betting it will flower next spring.

"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." per http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg050