Loquat tree

Helena starts with ...
Any advice on how to avoid fungus in loquat trees? most of the trees I have seen in Brisbane do not seem to fruit at all, the flowers develop a blackish fungus and do not develop into fruit even if the rest of the tree seems healthy. I have planted a new tree and love the fruit... Any advice on how to develop a strong and healthy loquat in the subtropics would be wonderful.

BJ says...
Anthracnose effects lots of unloved loquats. The ones people care for are usually not badly effected. Fairly easily fixed with copper based sprays meant for fruiting trees (Mangoes and avocadoes). The worse afflictions for loquat are fruit flies and late winter rains, which split the fruit a week before ripening! Still, most trees will roduce far more than you could pick. Champagne and Mizuho are my top picks, and Champagne is nice and compact. Db, you should get fruit the season after this if you dont already have blooms.

BJ says...
Yes. They produce very quickly, especially the smaller types. My Nagasaki is under 4ft and has heaps of blooms, though I pruned it early summer to get more fruit bearing branches, so it would be around 5ft if unpruned and probably a season ahead of yours. Hopefully you'll get something the winter/spring after this comming.

BJ says...
Yes, he also has Mizuho, and usually all quite advanced trees. Usually at Chandler markets and the BOGI fair.

John Mc says...
My seedling Nagasakawasi (7-8years till first fruit)in my opinion tasted nicer than the Champagne graft on the same tree. Thanks to the organza bags, I could leave the fruit on the tree till the picking day.

Both the grafted Bessell Brown and Nagasakawasi loquats fruited well in the first year from Daley's.

John Mc says...
Actually, the seedling Nagasakawasi looks like it's pushing out some nice fat buds now if you want to try some?

Everything is behind the eight ball this far south.

Helena says...
Thanks for all the info, I have not been online for a few days but feel more confident after hearing about possible treatments if the tree develops fungus.

BJ says...
We had a very light crop again this year. Champagne is still the best, but the trick is to keep it on the tree until there are a few wrinkles in the skin. Much better than any peach I've ever had! The Mizuho was close, but much larger, and again, its best to wait until its soft, not at firm-ripe stage or it has very little flavour. Nagasakiwase had the most fruit, but came in a respectable third.

John Mc says...
I've just discovered that next doors escapee goats just love loquat leaves and branches, amongst other tropicals, otherwise I'd have some nice fruit also.

John Mc says...
Yes, thanks for your support Amanda, it's been a bit of a nightmare really. Even the owners have had enough, The new neighbours, who are renting, thought it would be great not having to mow, but the grass lasted two seconds and then the goats turn to eating everything in reach. After that, they start looking over, under and through fences for feed. Then they have four baby goats to teach how to get through fences as well. They love loquat trees for some reason, they ate them down to quite thick branches, amongst other tropical, except the Avocado trees, somehow they know they are poisonous to them.

JakfruitEttiquette says...
The Mexican race Avocado vars have anise scented leaves,so do some Mex hybrids.
Other vars are unscented, or very weak, so these not useful for cooking. I have heard that an insecticidal compound was extracted from Avocado leaves.
You cannot reliably equate poisonous/non-poisonous with what animals eat or dont eat, and many human foods should not be fed to animals.

Bangkok says...
I also bought a blooming loquat today and it has black leaves as well.

Mine is about 1 metre tall and has blooms on every stem-end.

It was terribly rootbound in a pot of 20 cm wide, roots from more then a metre.

I untangled the roots and cut some off then planted it in a big pot.

I keep it covered for a while since i cut the roots and don't expect fruits, i hope it stays alive.

My question is: Can they fruit in the ultra tropics?

I don't know the variety and have never seen a loquat in thailand at all.

I guess it is an airlayer or grafted one, couldn't see it well when i untangled the roots.

Bangkok says...
I 've never eaten nor seen a loquat fruit in my life but are they all nice?

On some websites i read the japanese had very good variety's with big fruit.


Of course my loquat has to become a cocktailtree finally but first my goal is to keep it alive.

Is Vista White one of the better variety's?

Bangkok says...
The shop had a few loquat tree's and all had flowers. It isn't "winter" here yet so i wonder how they did it. The soil was very dry though, that might be the trick.

But if it never fruits i will try the ice or give the tree to a friend up north.