Thursday, December 28, 2017

New Fruit Trees!

I've got four new trees to add to the orchard in a few years - they're about 8 inches tall right now, so it may take a while! ha! 

These are Loquat (Japanese Plum) trees.  They arrived in great condition and I've already planted them in small pots just to get them through the winter.  They are in the greenhouse. I'll pot them up to bigger pots in the spring. From all I've read, they should do fine in Zone 8b, with 8a being about as far north as they are supposed to be in. They don't fruit in severe cold.
From Gardening Know How:

You may be wondering exactly what is a loquat. Loquats (Eriobotrya japonica) are trees that produce small, round or pear-shaped fruits, rarely more than 2 inches long. Sweet or slightly acidic in flavor, the juicy flesh may be white, yellow or orange with a yellow or orange-blushed peel. Loquats are tasty when peeled and eaten fresh, or you can freeze the whole fruit for later use. They make excellent jellies, jams, preserves, cobblers or pies. Ornamental as well as practical, loquat trees make excellent lawn specimen trees, with whirls of glossy foliage and a naturally attractive shape. They grow about 25 feet tall with a canopy that spreads 15 to 20 feet—a size that is well-suited to home landscapes. Large clusters of attractive fruit stand out against the dark green, tropical-looking foliage and add to the tree’s visual appeal.


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