WTB cuttings of the best self-fertile loquat that exists on planet Earth.

[Fygee]

Yes, I'm aware that's extremely subjective.

I only have room for one tree, and therefore it's gotta be a real winner.

Tastes amazing, relatively easy to root from a cutting, and heat/cold tolerant.

Thanks!

[sc4001992]

loquats do not root at all from cutting as far as I know.

[drymifolia]

loquats do not root at all from cutting as far as I know.

Fruitwood Nursery sells what they call rooted cuttings:

https://www.fruitwoodnursery.com/starter-plugs-seedlings-and-rooted-cuttings/fruit-trees-rooted-cutting-plugs/loquat-rooted-cutting-plugs/

Now I'm not sure what their technique is. I'd guess you need growing tips with leaves attached, not scionwood with the leaves removed? The recently published book Loquat: Botany, Production, and Uses has a chapter titled "Propagation" that says in the introduction that they can be propagated by cutting or air layer, but the actual chapter text is paywalled and the book is $180 so I guess we'll never know what it says!

https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781800620988.0008

[Fygee]

Looking at various YT videos (for what that's worth) and some Googling (also, for what that's worth), loquats can be rooted from cuttings, though it's not quite as easy and clear cut as say, figs for example.

I considered seeds, but my understanding is they're not true to type, and take at least four years before you get any fruit.

Could go to the grafted route, but my understanding is they're not as tolerant to temperature extremes. I'm in Vegas so it'll need to be able to handle our hot temps (with afternoon shade) and lows that can linger into the high 20s for short spurts.

[sc4001992]

drymifolia, I did notice the item on sale at Fruitwood nursery, but always seems to be out of stock. Never did see anytime when they showed it was in stock. Wonder why?

[brian]

I'm curious to hear what sc4001992 thinks is the best self-fertile loquat, though.  I know he's got a lot of them.  I have only tried my own... 'Christmas' loquat

[sc4001992]

Brian, Christmas is a very good tasting loquat. I'm trying to finish up my loquat tasting/brix reading soon. I have a preference for the white flesh loquats, but they all tastes good. I think I will be done collecting new varieties after I get 3 more that I'm waiting for. That should make my variety total 90 or so.

[drymifolia]

drymifolia, I did notice the item on sale at Fruitwood nursery, but always seems to be out of stock. Never did see anytime when they showed it was in stock. Wonder why?

Their low prices mean they typically sell out within a couple days of adding new stock for many of their things. For their avocado scionwood, I signed up to be notified using the form on the listing page, and they were available in early December and sold out again later that same day. I got some, though. I assume it's similar for loquat plugs, they only are available for a day or two each year because everyone who signed up to be notified buys them immediately when they get the notification. This is from their FAQ:

When is the inventory updated for Scions?

Usually by the 2nd to third week in November we estimate our inventory.  We update it again in January once everything is cut and bundled.

When is the inventory updated for plugs?

Usually plug inventory is updated in June and again in September.

[sc4001992]

I'm on their wait/notification list, but maybe I will try again for the rooted cuttings since I don't believe they have many (difficult to root) at all.

[brian]

Brian, Christmas is a very good tasting loquat. I'm trying to finish up my loquat tasting/brix reading soon. I have a preference for the white flesh loquats, but they all tastes good. I think I will be done collecting new varieties after I get 3 more that I'm waiting for. That should make my variety total 90 or so.

Thanks, I am lucky to have picked a good one it seems.  It is very nice tasting to me but I haven't ever tried any others to compare to.  Ninety varieties is an amazing collection!

[Fygee]

A ended up buying a semi-mature grafted Christmas loquat from ANaturalFarm on Etsy. They've been a great seller.

That said, open to graft cuttings of rock star varieties in the future for those who have them on offer.

[Reedo]

In regards to rooting cuttings, here is a study that outlines a few different methods. It sounds like cuttings we’re not very successful, but their best results were a 40% success rate which took roughly three months. That’s not typically a winning formula for commercial nurseries, but perhaps fruitwood nursery cracked the code.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/266853372_Evaluating_the_success_of_vegetative_propagation_techniques_in_loquat_cv_Mardan

PDF:

https://d1wqtxts1xzle7.cloudfront.net/52471480/Evaluating_the_success_of_vegetative_pro20170404-31565-1wrlojk-libre.pdf?1491321219=&response-content-disposition=inline%3B+filename%3DEvaluating_the_success_of_vegetative_pro.pdf&Expires=1684525247&Signature=NMzwHlWAjCiSpEY4dsvgS3B1AP9xphhg3pI~qUasRSHSdoEMuphXhEj~jV76eCIoCKSbIABkh5iGlg4ogzzV2CP8OF~PjLWGnGtkqLZZY8XFzWy8gRS3cQKwS-KT3S~vo~fJy41jnJ8iVy4Hg7YG686tYwuskElLktRHv4~BHe43G7mnxTHSti5zXk4uliZVXNWOOkMDINaqUyufVecxmj5QpH5gqIQ0KRQzHee7fd~SA37xeP5FbYm1ME0IuLugpDHvcSGzi80T1NCW1yhHddZZFY3vhuu1Vme2lV7p3qM-lHeNmllxnFFgNDU9H4cHcUd-neD~JW2OJs3hr22eyA__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJLOHF5GGSLRBV4ZA

[sc4001992]

Reedo, good info, thank you. For the normal hobbist they won't be doing it that way so I say its not worth trying to root cuttings when it is so easy to graft. But good to know it can be done. Rooted cuttings will never be as strong grower as a seedling tree. Might be a good one to grow in a pot like a bonsai tree.

[drymifolia]

It sounds like cuttings we’re not very successful, but their best results were a 40% success rate which took roughly three months. That’s not typically a winning formula for commercial nurseries, but perhaps fruitwood nursery cracked the code.

I was curious about Fruitwood's method, so asked them. Here's what Marc said:

We usually get at least 50% takes when we root them in our propagation greenhouse that has a light shade and sprinklers that go off 4 times a day for  short period. Nothing fancy. We do dip them in rooting hormone before sticking them into a 50/50% peat/perlite mix.

Best,
Marc

[Fygee]

Neat. Thanks for reaching out to them drymifolia!

[Lovetoplant]

Will air layering work on loquat?

[sc4001992]

yes, air layer works fine like other fruit trees.

[Lovetoplant]

yes, air layer works fine like other fruit trees.

Thanks Kaz

[sc4001992]

Rooted loquat cuttings.

Just wanted to follow up on this topic. I actually got my order of the Orange Dream rooted loquat cutting (2) from Fruitwood nursery last week.

As soon as I got my package, I washed off the soil and inspected the roots, yes, they are cuttings with lots of roots. This is the first time I have seen an actual loquat cutting with roots. So it can be done as mentioned above. But for most people without a greenhouse, it probably isn't worth the time to try and root any cuttings.

The next best thing for cloning your favorite loquat is to air layer them. I see many people who have done it successfully on Facebook and it seems easy enough. I just don't have time to do it since I have other fruit trees I prefer to spend time air layering. But I may just put a few air layers on my best loquat trees instead of just cutting back the branches and tossing them in the trash.

I took some photos of the 2 rooted cuttings so I will post some photos later when I have time.

[UnicornEmily]

Just an alternate thought: You could plant a few rooted cuttings (or seeds) about six inches or a foot apart, and take care of them all, and see if they all do well that way.  I don't know if this is true for loquats in specific (so someone please correct me if I'm wrong!), but with most species, if you plant a few baby trees very close together, they will grow up to behave like a multi-stemmed tree that already has a pollination partner.  That may be a way to grow several varieties in a space that could otherwise only fit one tree.

Just a thought, in case that sounds appealing. 

[Fygee]

Now that I have some small to medium sized trees, I'm keen to just graft now.

That said, I'd be interested to hear how those rooted ones from Fruitwood Nursery do versus others that are seed grown/grafted.

By the way Kaz, the Lisa has taken and is pushing new top growth, and the Wedgwood appears to have taken but hasn't pushed growth yet. The Estee didn't make it, alas.