Tree · Rosaceae
Loquat
Eriobotrya japonica
Give it full sun and a frost-free spot, and the loquat hands you sweet fruit when little else is ripe.
Full sun
Every 7–14 days
USDA 8–11
15–30 ft · 4.6–9.1 m
Overview
The loquat is an evergreen fruit tree from the rose family, native to China and long grown across Japan and the warm corners of the world. It earns its keep two ways at once, with broad, leathery leaves that look good year round and clusters of small, sweet fruit that ripen in late winter and spring. Few trees fruit that early, which is part of the appeal.
It runs on its own clock. The tree flowers in fall and early winter, then carries its fruit through the cold months to ripen when most orchards are still bare. That timing is also its weak spot, because a hard freeze can wipe out a season's blooms even though the tree itself takes the cold in stride.
Give a loquat full sun, well drained soil, and shelter from late frost, and it asks for little after that. Established trees handle drought and even poor, high-pH ground. The main jobs are guarding the early flowers from cold and keeping an eye out for fire blight.
Care
The short version: full sun and well-drained soil, with steady water while it's young and through flowering and fruiting. Older trees shrug off drought, so the real work is sheltering the early blooms from frost.
Light
Loquats fruit best in full sun, which builds the sugars in the fruit and keeps the canopy dense. They will take partial shade, but a shaded tree leans toward leaf and away from a heavy crop.
Water
Water young trees regularly and keep them moist right through flowering and fruiting, when the crop is forming. Once a tree is established it turns drought tolerant and gets by on far less. Let the top half of the soil dry between waterings, and never let the roots sit waterlogged.
Soil
This is an easygoing tree on soil. It does best in well-drained loam but takes sandy or clay ground in stride, and it tolerates a wide pH of 6.0 to 8.0, including chalky high-pH sites that defeat fussier fruit trees. Good drainage is the one thing it won't do without.
Temperature
The tree itself is hardy from about 10°F to 95°F (-12°C to 35°C), but the fruit is far more tender than the wood. A freeze below roughly 28°F (-2°C) kills open blooms and young fruit, which is why a warm, sheltered site matters in cooler zones.
Humidity
Loquats are comfortable across a broad 40% to 70% humidity range and rarely fuss over it outdoors. Good airflow through the canopy does more good than any target number, since it helps keep fire blight at bay.
Feeding
Feed with a balanced complete fertilizer through spring and summer while the tree is in active growth. Don't overdo the nitrogen, because the soft, lush growth it forces is exactly what fire blight moves into.
Pruning
Loquats need little pruning. After harvest, take out any dead, crossing, or fire blight damaged wood and shape the tree lightly, cutting well below any diseased tissue and cleaning your blades as you go.
Repotting
These are large landscape trees and are rarely grown in pots, so repotting almost never comes up. Plant a loquat in its permanent spot and leave it in the ground for good.
Size & spacing
A loquat grows into a substantial tree, reaching 15 to 30 feet (4.5 to 9 m) tall with a spread of 15 to 25 feet (4.5 to 7.5 m). Give it plenty of open room so the wide canopy has space and air can move through it.
When to plant
The loquat sets its own schedule. Plant young trees in spring, then expect flowers in fall and early winter and fruit that ripens from late winter into spring. In zones 8 to 11 the tree is hardy, but a freeze below about 28°F (-2°C) can take the blooms, so a sheltered spot makes all the difference.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: spring
- Harvest: Blooms fall to early winter and ripens fruit late winter to spring; late freezes below about 28°F kill blooms and young fruit, limiting fruiting in colder zones even though the tree survives to about 10°F.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 8–11
Temperature: down to -12°C
Troubleshooting
Loquats are tough trees, and most of their trouble comes from just two directions: a bacterial disease and a badly timed frost. Learn the look of each and you can act before either costs you the crop.
Shoots that blacken and curl as if scorched
This is fire blight, a bacterial infection that spreads fastest in warm, wet spring weather and feeds on soft new growth. Cut well below the dead, blackened wood, and wipe your blades with disinfectant between every cut so you don't carry it along the branch. Go easy on nitrogen, since the lush flush it pushes is exactly what the bacteria want.
Fix:
- Prune out blackened, dead shoots and branches well below symptoms, disinfect tools between cuts, and avoid excessive nitrogen.
Blooms and tiny fruit blackened after a cold snap
Loquat flowers in fall and early winter and carries its fruit through to spring, which puts the crop right in the path of late freezes. A dip below about 28°F (-2°C) kills the open blooms and developing fruit even though the tree itself shrugs off cold down to roughly 10°F (-12°C). Plant it in a sheltered spot or a warm pocket of the yard, and in colder zones enjoy it as an ornamental and expect little fruit.
Fix:
- Plant in a protected site or warmer microclimate; in colder zones grow primarily as an ornamental and expect little to no fruit.
Toxicity
The ripe flesh is a sweet treat and safe for people to eat, but the seeds and leaves hold cyanogenic glycosides that turn into cyanide when chewed. That makes the tree a real caution around cats, dogs, horses, and grazing animals. Keep fallen seeds, prunings, and wilted leaves where pets and livestock can't reach them.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Mild
A cat that gnaws the leaves or a fallen seed may drool, vomit, and start to breathe hard. The fleshy fruit is harmless, so the worry is the rest of the plant.
Dogs Mild
Dogs sometimes mouth a dropped seed or chew a leaf, which can bring on drooling and an upset stomach. Watch for heavy or labored breathing, the sign that more cyanide has been released.
Horses Moderate
Horses are hit harder by the cyanide in chewed seeds and wilted leaves, with weakness, gasping breaths, and even collapse. Keep prunings and clippings well out of reach of any paddock.
Rabbits Moderate
A rabbit nibbling the foliage takes in the same cyanogenic compounds, so the leaves are off the menu. Stick to a small taste of ripe flesh if you offer any at all.
Livestock Toxic
Grazing cattle, goats, and sheep are at real risk from wilted leaves and prunings, where the cyanide concentrates and can drop an animal fast. Fence the tree off and never toss trimmings into a pasture.
Birds Caution
Birds can take the soft, ripe flesh, but the seeds and leaves carry the same toxin and should be kept away. Treat anything but the pulp as off limits.
People Fruit flesh safe
The ripe flesh is a sweet, well loved fruit and safe to eat. Don't swallow the large seeds, and don't chew the leaves, since both hold cyanogenic glycosides.
Keep fallen seeds, prunings, and wilted leaves away from pets and grazing animals.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Plenty of loquat cultivars exist, bred for size, color, and flavor. These few turn up most often in home gardens.
Gold Nugget
A late season pick with large, round, orange fruit that ripens sweet.
Champagne
A yellow-fleshed favorite prized for its juicy, sweet-tart bite.
Big Jim
A vigorous, heavy-bearing tree carrying large, rounded fruit with good flavor.
Mrs. Cooke
A dependable yellow-fleshed cultivar grown in home gardens for its steady crops.
How to propagate
You can grow a loquat from a seed pulled straight from the fruit, but a seedling won't match its parent. To copy a known cultivar, growers turn to grafting or air-layering instead.
SeedEasy
Seed is the easy route, since a fresh loquat pip sprouts with little fuss. The catch is that seedlings come up variable and rarely match the parent, so they're better for rootstock or a fun experiment than for a known fruit.
GraftingModerate
To keep a named cultivar true to type, growers graft or bud it onto a seedling rootstock. It takes a steadier hand than sowing seed, but it's the only reliable way to copy a tree's exact fruit.
Air layeringModerate
Air-layering is another way to clone a tree you already like, rooting a branch while it stays attached to the parent. It asks for some patience but skips the guesswork of seed.
Myths
The whole loquat plant is poisonous.
The ripe flesh is edible and eaten the world over with no trouble at all. Only the seeds and leaves hold cyanogenic glycosides, and those are a hazard mainly when chewed in quantity, so spit out the big seeds and you're fine.
You need two loquat trees before you'll ever get fruit.
Most loquats set fruit on their own. A second cultivar nearby can lift the harvest through cross-pollination, but a single tree will still fruit without a partner.