Trees from seed will bear fruit--I've seen entire wild groves of them that certainly weren't all grafted. But it can take a long time to come into bearing from seed (like 10 years +) --that is likely why some people say it doesn't fruit at all.

You have a very good chance to have all the following from a loquat seedling:

1. Take longer to fruit;
2. not so good taste;
3. small fruits.
   It is almost certain that you will have at least two of them. If you plant it for its fruits, buy a named variety or graft a proven variety to a seedling yourself.

I gave my friend some Loquat fruit from my grafted tree and he planted the seeds many years ago and the tree has had lots of fruits for the last several years. The fruit were very tart compared to the original fruit I gave him. They were about the same size, maybe just a tad bit smaller. If you plant seeds, I would recommend grafting them when they reach the appropriate size or just purchase a grafted tree.

Silly question.

I have never had Loquat fruit before this so what is a good size for good Loquat fruit ? The fruit my tree is making right now seems rather small. They seem to be about the size of a small lemon or lime but most of the fruit is seed but it's pretty tasty and taste about the same as an apricot.

I can take a picture if it helps. The reason I ask is it doesn't seem like this tree is grafted and I'm seriously considering buying one which is if the fruit is larger.

I also don't really know what is considered big, but my fruit was a little smaller than a Kiwi. I have ssen other trees in the area with much smaller fruit than mine.

Does anyone know the best way to graft these? I do not want to cut down my whole tree for grafting, but mine has a double trunk so I figure I could use one to experiment on.

The following link provides a lot of information about loquat trees and loquat fruits:
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html

Nursery loquat trees are all grafted.

So a tree such as this wouldn't be good?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390186936270&rvr_id=&crlp=1_263602_263622&UA=WVF%3F&GUID=663abf4a1280a0e201957e55ff4d02b6&itemid=390186936270&ff4=263602_263622

I just read up on "Big Jim" and wouldn't mind adding it to my collection.

I would avoid it. Near my place I can easily get a grafted big jim in a 5-gallon pot for about $25-30 from Home Depot or Lowes.

I agree with tagtail. I would avoid Big Jim and try to obtain something like Strawberry or Vista White. I actually have a Vista White loquat, I bought it a little over a year ago. I have not gotten fruit this year, but I am crossing my fingers for next year.

The question is related to the fact that the tree is produced from a seed. I'm not planning on buying it just curious as the fact that this is a Big Jim Loquat tree produced from a Big Jim Loquat seed.

nullzero: Why not a Big Jim? Tagline seems to be saying no because of the price factor but you recommended a different type.

Home Depot and Lowes here in Austin, Texas never has any Loquat trees! Very annoying that they carrying them in other states but not here?! Especially since Austin does have so many Loquats here.

The reason I would say try something different is because Big Jim are easy to obtain. The Big Jim loquat is kind of like the standard. If you are considering ordering from Socal nursery on EBAY, I would purchase one of the harder to find Loquats with unique taste and higher quality fruit with higher sugar content. I would overview the cultivar list here and get an idea of the differences between the loquats http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/loquat.html

I had several varieties at my old house and I would say the average size is approximately the space if you touch your middle finger with your thumb.

lnewport,

I would just grow from seed and graft a cultivar to it. If you get your seedling going, I can send some scion cuttings to graft.

nullzero: Thanks NullZero - I didn't know Big Jim was that common. Every loquat tree I have seen here in Austin does not have it's type specified and I can't tell if the tree has been grafted. The lack of a knob at the bottom probably tells me that it isn't.

Thanks for the offering to send me scions to graft. I might try it.

simon_grow: Thank You! Those are about the same size I've seen on my new Loquat.

i have a golden nugget loquat and it fruited the first time. the fruit size varies quite a bit. the large ones are larger than a gold ball. I like the taste.

I also have a seedling and it sounds like i should try to graft? I've heard conflicting things about whether a loquat tree is true from seed.

I meant to avoid the big jim loquat seedling from the ebay seller. I have an 8 years old big jim loquat tree. It produces a lot of fruits every year. We like its taste. Usually asian nuseries carry loquat trees. You should be able to find some common loquat trees in Austin, Texas.

@tagtail: Oh no. I wasn't going to buy, I was just using it as an example. That guy wants 108.00 bucks for a 5 gallon tree! My husband would kill me! LOL

Here in Austin the nurseries do carry Loquat but I have never seen any that actually gave the type of Loquat the plant is. I think this year it's too late to find any, next year I might head down to Houston where the Asian community is larger and check out nurseries down there.

@phase0001: Thank You for the information! I'll keep an eye out for that type as well.

I found some loquat trees growing in downtown Austin and tried them out, they were slightly sour and about the same size as my loquat but the difference is my loquat tasted like nectarines so I might actually have a good loquat tree.

definitely taste the fruit before purchasing a named variety, ive tasted a few insipid loquats,

my favorite so far is Bradenton. its like a melting sub-acid peach

There is nothing really wrong with Big Jim Loquat. I would recommend the variety.

I have a large loquat tree in my backyard (photos in the link below). Not sure which variety as it was here when we bought the house over 20 years ago. Seedlings from it pop up in my yard all the time. I let one grow and it produced fruit within four years, roughly the same size and taste as from the parent tree.

Here is a link that might be useful: Earth Echo Farm: Loquat

Hi John:

Thanks for posting. I am not sure if we have heard from any one else in New Mexico. Very interested in seeing how your loquats fare. Please keep us posted.

Harry

So if I wanted to buy a couple of larger Loquat trees that are grafted and will produce sweeter fruit in a shorter time, where would you recommend I look here in Austin?

I planted a seedling from my mom's tree (from So. Cali) in N.Tx, about 4 years ago. This year we actually got flowers and fruit! The fruit are smaller than the one's on my mom's tree, and a little more tart. I do have to mention that I rarely ever water this tree. It has been pretty much neglected it's whole life. I'm guessing that if I do spend some time watering and fertilizing, I'll have larger fruit. The tart flavor can also be attributed to me not waiting till the fruit is fully ripe, but then I do like the tartness of it. My neighbor accross the street got another of my mom's seedlings at the same time. They babied the tree with home made compost and it is beautiful and lush, but only had about 6 fruits on it. Mine is kinda scraggly but loaded with tasty goodness!

"about the size of a small lemon or lime "
I would consider those GIANT!! Lol!

As with most fruiting trees, plants grown from seed take longer to bear fruit. Seeds from cultivars will typically not grow true to type, while natural variety source seeds will almost always produce a genetically identical fruit. Seeds=crap shoot luck.

Grafts from plants(cultivar and variety) that have already fruited are used in conjunction with hardy root stock to make plants that will begin bearing fruit in the near future if not immediately and will be true to type. Which is why it's important to know what you're buying from any nursery.

There are a few exceptions to these general rules, most notably with Calamondin oranges that are mostly grown from seed, fruiting usually after 1 year and bearing identical fruit to host plant. Floridians know what I'm talkin'bout.

Although in principal it is true that grafted plants are the best way to go, loquats grown from seed are very good in taste and size. Here in Greece you can buy grafted loquat trees but most people I know have planted one from seed (or have one that just grew on its own). The point is they fruit after 4-5 years and taste just fine.

Nikitas

I couldn't agree more Nikita, in fact, all of my Loquats were from seed and they produce beautiful and tasty fruit...but I knew they would because the source plant was a natural variety, not a cultivar. I was merely pointing out the importance of knowing what you're getting from a nursery, specifically when there's any desire to propagate new plants by way of seed.

there are several fruits that are just as good from seed. papaya is one of them. There are a few F1 seeds and 1 or 2 companies that graft or reproduce from tissue , but %95 of them are from seed... Loquat has a couple of varieties which are larger, and supposedly taste better, but i disagree on taste... flesh to seed ratio seems to be the real difference in Loquats, which matters 0 to me... i dont mind a little xtra work... Loquat is one of the most popular fruit trees worldwide, and MOST of them are NOT grafted.

I collected my seeds from a climate/soil comparable region abroad, sprouted them myself on my trip, & shortly after the time I got back, I had them in pots. When I moved to a place with my own land & the "saplings" were big enough, I planted half in the ground (again - same soil type & latitude & climate as the mother tree) & kept the rest in pots.

Now, 6-7+ years later the one in the ground has barely grown. It's founds it's own water source (I supplement in heat waves) but the trunks haven't grown thicker NOR has it grown more than a few inches taller. No new stalks either. Just lots & lots of leaves this year - is the only new thing.... Is there anything I can do??? I don't want to over water it - that will shut it down for sure.

How can I make my tree(s) grow?

Deb Cash what do you feed it ?

really, it should be growing without being fed, unless there is a problem with the soil, PH etc...

i would try fish emulsion, and maybe throw some coffee grounds and compost over the root area. mulch on top of that would not be a bad idea either

of the 3 i put in ground 3 years ago, 2 have shot up like weeds, the other hasnt grown as much, but has still doubled in size from 2ft to 4ft. or so. this one isnt getting as much sun... they need lots of sun for them to grow fast. - and... the more sun they get, the more nutrients they need. Fish emulsion and compost work great for me.

if those things dont help, it might be PH, soil, or water... in any case, compost and mulch should help with that as well...

I grew a loquat tree from a seed and it's growing very well. It didn't takes years to start fruiting nor do they taste bad, they are actually very juicy and tasty. Never propagated loquats, but might attempt this year via air layering.

Loquat needs more or less 5-6 year from seed to fruit....each seed gives different plants..some could bear big fruir, others small...anyway I've always eaten seedling loquat, and i found them delicious...sometimes smaller than selected cultivars, but very tasty

im in southern california and Ive grown 4 loquat trees from seeds lf the same tree and all of them turned out different! could be soil type as they’re in different areas now but i think its just luck! 1 is amazingly sweet but rather small. 1 produces huge loquats that are very tart. and the orher two are in the middle. i think its random how the fruit will turn out if grown from a seed. in getneral mine took about 4/5 years to fruit.