Not sure how kosher it is to post to other forums but I just saw someone is selling some nice looking loquat scions on TFF:
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Loquat flavors might depend tremendously on location.
I was talking to one of the co-founders of CRFG in San Diego and he was raving about Big Jim. No doubt he has tasted more loquats than most of us put together. But when I tasted Big Jim in the bay area I found it basically average.
@Marta has mentioned that Kanko is barely sweet in the Vacaville area. Here it is the one of the most intensely sweet tasting fruit Iāve eaten.
Many of them may also never even set fruit in some locations.
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Seems like it should be fine to post other forums. This site isnāt for profit, and is clearly superior to all other forums - speaks for itself.
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All four viable seeds from those fruit have sprouted. This is my first time germinating loquats so Iām not sure if this is normal but they all put up a little brown snorkel and now they are sprouting from the side of it like this:
Cute little things. I also have 5 seeds from @ramv that were planted a couple weeks later, which havenāt popped yet but I assume will any day now.
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I might be the complete opposite. I havenāt tasted many loquats yet but my Big Jim fruited this year and I thought it tasted great. Because I thinned the fruits, the size got huge and when protected from birds and left to ripen fully, it was delicious. Hoping the varieties you posted about (Argelino, Kando, etc) will fruit sooner and I can compare but the bar isnāt too low. Also, your Portal scion is growing well too, looking forward to it (thanks for the scions)
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Likewise! I got 6 loquat seeds from @Bradybb 3 weeks ago and they all germinated.
Working on a covered mini-ghouse area outside area to grow as espalier. They fruit on tips
so will train as a fan. Such a long wait to fruit or graft, so, of course, had to order two plants from Willis Brothers,
Early Red and Vista White.
I know ānever enoughā is sick (in a bad way!).
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Most of my trees have flower buds already! I know this is the normal time for California but this is quite unusual here.
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Wow, thatās great! Maybe bees will still be around when the flowers open. What varieties? In pots or in the ground? Bring them in for the winter?
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In ground and pots.
They all stay outside.
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Just went around and checked. The following trees/grafted branches have flower buds
Argelino, Kanko, Harvest, Sunset, Tori, Shambala, Avri, Novak, Dr.Moy, Massidda, Maybe a few more will bud out by seasonās end.
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Wait a minuteā¦ Flower buds now? When would they ripen?
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Roughly July -Aug 2022
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Interesting. I didnāt realize how fast flowering occurred after that yearās harvest.
From a produce perspective, is it hard to buy loquat in Washington when it is in season? I presume most of it is west coast produce or imported.
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The flowers supposedly can be smelled for quite a distance. Great to capture pollinatorsā attention!
@ramv, do you notice strong scent??
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Itās hard to find them. Occasionally they show up in Chinese stores but arenāt very good at all.
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Very fragrant. All through winter they perfume the whole yard.
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Yum! Keep us posted with growth and development. Iām hooked!
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Iād love to see some pictures of the flower buds, if its convenient.
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Will post some pictures when I get a chance.
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