Great Fruit Trees for the Deep South, Pt. II: The Loquat

Reader Contribution by David Goodman
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Every spring I witness a heartbreaking sight here in north Florida. In yard after yard —even though it’s still winter — there are trees loaded with golden fruits. That’s not the sad part; the sad part is that these fruit are falling off the trees, uneaten except by birds, squirrels and adventuresome children.

At some point, people seem to have relegated the loquat tree into the realm of landscaping rather than food. This isn’t entirely madness, since the loquat is one of the prettiest trees you can grow with its deep green, crinkly evergreen leaves and dense form; however, it’s just another symptom of our weird culture that people don’t bother eating the loquat’s delicious sweet-tart fruit. 

Here in the U.S., the loquat is also known as the “Japanese Plum.” In Japan, it’s been bred into many productive cultivars — but here, almost every tree you’ll find is an unimproved seedling variety. That doesn’t mean they’re worthless; it just means their fruits vary from tree to tree in color, size and sweetness. I’ve never seen a loquat tree produce something that wasn’t worth eating.

Like many of our favorite edibles (including apricots, apples, plums, pears and a bazillion other things), the loquat is in the Rosaceae family. Unlike some of its pickier cousins, however, it’s generally a disease-free, care-free tree.

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