In my near perfect climate a Nispero (loquat) needs 10 years to start making fruit; in your climate MORE

No idea about the node count but it will take a seedling more than 5 years before it blooms.

Seedling or not, I have never seen a loquat/nispero produce fruit in less than 10 years.

Also some seedlings may come up self-infertile needing another tree nearby to produce fruit. Most loquats though are self-fertile.

Grafted trees produce fruit much earlier (within 2-3 years after grafting). I suppose rooted cutting trees from mature branches may also produce fruit earlier but I don't know that as a fact.

Nik,

We already know you are smarter than all of us; but have you ever seen a nispero/loquat produce fruit in less than 10 years?

Yes. Seedlings in 6-7 years and grafted trees as stated above. I don't know what a nispero is. Loquats are extremely common over here. Have you ever considered that your experience may differ from other people's? Maybe your nisperos, assuming they are loquat varieties, need more time to bearing age than oher varieties. Maybe your nisperos are really not Eribotrya japonica but they are Manilkara huberi, which I read is common in Central America and are also called nisperos. Maybe it is that your climate is not actually near perfect. Maybe even you are counting the years wrong... Thanks for your kind comment. You seem to be the most argumentative person in this forum btw, not that I mind since you're not my neighbour.

Sorry but I thought everyone here knew I was striving for international certification as a world class curmudgeon.

At the moment that is not the word I would use.

Denise,

I accept your word. I am 73 years old and often not politically correct; but I mean no personal harm to anyone.

At your age you should know better. I am 57 and not always PC either, but to be put down in public for being right or wrong is humiliating. The hard part is that I do not know anybody here personnally so I don't know what is said in jest or not so I take things at face value.

Denise, I'm 57 too and I'm not very easily discouraged. Thanks for your support in this but trust me I can easily deal with persons like this. Not the first time I come across one. The best way is to ignore them unless you're close enough so you can punch them in the nose.

Nik,

You are most welcome to come to Guatemala and punch me in the nose, if can also learn something from you. BTW our Loquats (here called nispero) are most definitely Japonica, and I have lots of them in each of my gardens and my farms.

nik, ignoring would only encourage the bad behavior. I let it go when he attacked me and I was afraid of not being accepted by the members here because I was the new kid on the block. Nobody should feel like that.

Sorry to intrude into this thread but Nik, are you the one in Greece whose health issues I read about and kept good thoughts for a couple years ago? If so, I hope you are doing well!

From what I can see on the web or gardenweb not a lot of info on Loquats, but the 2-3 year grafted and I believe I say 8 year seedling thing a few places, not for me I'm in 7b zone

bklyn,

If you have no experience, why are you giving your opinion? This forum is about shared experiences; we all learn from each other. I have a long history of loquats in Asia, Australia, California and Latin America. Perhaps in all that time I have never seen a grafted loquat; virtually all of them grow from seed.... every fruit or seed that falls produces a new tree. Perhaps all I have ever seen in the world are seedlings. What would you graft a loquat onto?? Another loquat. But from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I have never seen a loquat tree produce fruit in less than 10 years; and in Asia that is the accepted norm.

There are named cultivars, quite a few of them in the States I believe and very many in Japan, which are grafted on either loquat seedlings or on quince and other stone fruit stocks of the Rosaceae family. There is some commercial production over here and it is always from grafted trees. I believe the same applies in the States and of course in Japan where there is large scale cultivation.

Some of the varieties available in the US:

http://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/loquatvarieties.htm

kcandmilo,

If you have been following the Antique Roses forum, then that is me. Thank you I'm doing fine at the moment.

Yes, Nik, I used to follow Antique roses but don't have any in this house so stopped! Hurray to any good news! I did so worry and hope things were going well!

KC

Here is a video about a grafted loquat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI9jWxRykuE

Mr. Merr I found the topic on Loquats interesting and had thought of purchasing one many times. Not for me due to the whole winter fruiting thing. But from what I read on the web during searches I passed on - reader beware. Why would I not want to share that written information? People are free to parse information they see posted. BTW its a Cirus forum not a John Merr personal experience forum.....

While the Loquat is a fruit tree and not a citrus tree I have received 23 comments here and ZERO comments where it is posted in the fruit tree forums. Thanks.

Steve

Steve, you know we are a chatty bunch with loads of opinions!!

KC

That is why I posted it here first