How to Grow Loquats in Desert Climates | Champagne Loquat Taste Test!

[@TheTombOfHorrors]

My best friend and I bonded over biking around our neighborhood in Spring in San Jose, CA where loquats grow wild and thrive with just our annual rainfall. We would devour loquats till we couldn’t eat anymore. These were massive trees to and most likely wild seedlings. I now have a grafted Gold Nugget and Big Jim Loquats of my own so I no longer have to harvest the wild fruit since I’m blessed with my own abundance in my backyard 😋 I try to save the seeds of my fruit and plant them in the ground when I go on my hikes in my area so one day someone else can enjoy the fruit like I did.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I love hearing this story James. Much like you, I have memories of just walking along the road and picking these to eat. Now I'm able to get a little taste of childhood here in the desert. Speaking of varieties, we've now had both the Champagne and Macbeth varieties. The gold nugget is just starting to lighten up, so we're probably a week or two away on that one. How does that one compare to the Big Jim?

[@TheTombOfHorrors]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm gold nugget is quite a large fruit in my experience. The taste reminds me of apricot/citrus. It’s productive and early. We were eating them since early-mid March. And there’s fruit in many stages so we will probably enjoy them into Late May. The tree has gotten quite big for being grafted, it’s one of my prized trees and it’s only 5-6 years old.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@TheTombOfHorrors now that is good to know. We're hopeful to see some successive ripening with the fruit and on the tree. Much like I remember back in Cali.

[@kazakh-interista]

I ate loquats for the first time in my life in Alanya/Turkyie in 2002. I never ate anything sweeter than loquats. Thanks for the video Dwayne

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They are definitely a unique and tasty fruit!

[@dterra278]

In the older neighborhoods in san antonio texas, you can expect to see yards planted with loquat, mulberry, and huge pecan trees. Also, in the countryside surrounding the city you can find muscadine grapes, chile pequin, nopales, pecan trees, and mesquite trees which fixes nitrogen and whose seed pods can be prepared and eaten.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh my goodness, just a little jealous of that abundance that's surrounding you! The only thing we have growing naturally out here is a few species of cactus and mesquite trees.

[@ddennis6398]

Great content as always. I finished eating all of my lowquats. My tree gave me like 56 and sadly, they are gone. Looking forward for next harvest!! Nice to see the farm progress!!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you! That's a great harvest, but your right always sad when they are gone.

[@mr.larocca5150]

I'm a huge loquat fan (and ambassador I like to think.) I live in So Cal and have planted a few trees in my yard, some from seed and some grafted. I describe their taste as a mix of peach, apricot and mango. We are in the middle of loquat harvesting here and have been for weeks.

[@kwlweapons]

would you be willing to share some scionwood once they've finished fruiting? I'd love to graft some good varieties on a few seedlings I'm growing.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Woohoo!! Loquats go hand in hand with SoCal in my mind, so it's like being a kid again every time I eat one! I imagine you're dealing with the bumper crop I always remember right now!

[@mr.larocca5150]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Yeah they're all over. In fact my boys and I like to point them out when we see them while driving. We are enjoying them immensely. Probably a few more weeks then they'll be done.

[@timmillan6701]

Very impressive operation. Love a loquat

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Tim. We really enjoy our loquats here as well. Should only be a few more weeks and we'll start our harvest here in AZ!

[@ranasammani7745]

My loquat has been in the ground for exactly a year. Heathy but didn’t fruit. I was told if it makes it through the first summer, that is an accomplishment.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Rana! We have 1 of ours that didn't fruit this year either, hoping for next year. And yes, the first summer is very critical!

[@daveaz9962]

Dwayne, here in Phoenix. I'm thinking about planting a Loquat next October. I always thought I had to shade it for the first summer. Definitely going to give it a try and plant one in full sun after watching your video. If it doesn't make it I'll try again.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Dave! We've found that timing on planting is really one of the keys to success with these. Also plenty of wood chip mulch to help even out both moisture and soil temps.

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

Excellent video, I never had , I will be looking at Farmers market

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Abid! They are very tasty if you can find some!

[@claytonhunt5003]

Great video as always. Correct me if I’m wrong but Pretty sure that the seeds are not related to the rootstock as you mentioned because the branches the fruit came from are part of the grafted on scion. If they were taken from branches below the graft then maybe that would make more sense i think. Planting loquat seeds would eventually produce fruit. Just takes longer to get fruit and would not be true to type; more because it is cross pollinating with the other loquats in your garden and may have traits from multiple varieties it pollinated with. Could be delicious…could be meh…

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Clayton. My experience with loquats is a bit limited. With pome and stone fruit the seeds don't reproduce true to type, but if what you're saying is correct that's not the case here. We have planted a couple of the seeds from the Champagne to test that theory, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on those! Thank you for the info on this one!

[@bmag4368]

Yes it will be a genetic dice roll of the Graft not root.

[@abc_cba]

Dwayne, you're such an inspiration for me. I sometimes wonder how do you even do all this ? You're a Superman without the cape and the outfit. Big cheers from India 🇮🇳 Please, do a video compilation of all the citrus plants you have in your farm. Thanks

[@abc_cba]

Also, can you explain the significance of the rings you made for watering ?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh wow, thank you for those kinds words. Sometimes we wonder how we get all of this done ourselves! We will do some updates on the fruit trees this Spring/Summer and try to get a few lists out there for everyone as we do. The rings serve many functions besides the most obvious of providing water for the tree. They allow a heavy soak as opposed to a slow drip which gives the water time to wash away any mineral buildup from the irrigation. It also allows for a nice, heavy layer of wood chip mulch that eventually breaks down into wonderful soil and a cozy place for worms to call home.

[@abc_cba]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks for the elaborate explanation on the rings. I'd try that technique and let you know.

[@ikreate4u]

I just bought a Champagne loquat and I am so excited. I came across loquat in Mrytle Beach last month and fell in love with the fruit. I wasn’t sure what variety it was but it was orange flesh. Luckily today I found my local nursery selling one after hunting on Etsy for a grafted tree and not a seedling. Great video and taste test. I was a little worried after reading that Champagne variety had pale flesh since the variety I tasted was deep orange when ripe

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It's really hard to go wrong with the Champagne variety. We have had 5 different varieties so far and it would put that one in the top 2 for sure. Solid choice on the grafted tree as it will fruit much more quickly than a seedling!

[@jinhuichen8964]

I am eager to plant a loquat tree but it is March now, so I might have to wait until October in order to increase the survival of the tree.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there! If you're here in Arizona or a similar desert climate, I would HIGHLY recommend waiting until October to plant your loquat. We have had very good success with these trees when planted in the Fall vs Spring.

[@jinhuichen8964]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thank you for your suggestion. I live in Chandler. Yes, I change my mind to plant Loguat in the coming fall.

[@gardenofcorgi6636]

I grew up in Riverside, CA and the only thing I miss about CA is the Loquat trees! We were lucky enough to have a giant one in our yard that seemed to always have fruit on it. There is nothing else like it. Yours look so healthy, where did you buy them?

[@cattails1166]

Also from Riverside - growing lots of loquats - they germinate very easily from seed - and probably could be grown indoors or a greenhouse if you are now in a colder climate.

[@gardenofcorgi6636]

@@cattails1166 I am in Surprise, AZ now so I am hoping to find a good resource to pick up a tree and try it out.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Kandi! We bought these from Richard's Garden Center in October of 2020. You can usually find them in both Fall and Spring, but I highly encourage you to plant them in October. We have not lost a loquat tree yet having always followed that planting schedule and these are in full sun 100% of the time!

[@gardenofcorgi6636]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm That’s great, thank you. I will pick one (or more) up in the fall.

[@rafaljankowski2807]

We are in Tucson and our loquat leaves are getting badly scorched in the summer. We made it thru last summer but tree looked very tired. It flowered on one branch but no fruit this time. Now in the spring it's thriving. Second tree got planted in the shade, we will see how this one does.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Fingers crossed you'll see some fruit. This years ours were loaded, but it's the first year the Big Jim has set fruit and it's 3 years in the ground.

[@Steve-ig4td]

Is there any method to your madness about which trunks you paint white and which ones get the white plastic tubes? Thank you

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We started using the plastic tubes to keep the bunnies from chewing on the trucks, the regular tree trunk paint didn't stop them! We have since found the IV Organics 3-in-1 and that is keeping them away.

[@breakingburque2200]

Beautiful trees

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you, they are really cool trees!

[@efrainrodriguez9724]

The best loquat that I had ,and till this day I try to go and get some is in San Diego in the botanical gardens in balboa park the best !!!!!! I got permission from security and took some cutting to graft on to mine hopefully it takes it’s been on 30 day I scratch it and it was green

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Woohoo! I love hearing this Efrain. I imagine that loquat was in about the perfect environment, so it will be interesting to see how this does for you. Please keep us updated!

[@marschlosser4540]

"Mm, this is delicious." Ah, hm... :) Mine is a foot tall now, a Gold Nugget (no relation to some other nuggets we may know :) still potted. It looks good, nice leaves, no wind burn though we've been getting some strong winds (we're under a fire watch, again). Come fall, it's going out to a nice, sunny hot spot. I listen to people claim they need 90% shade the first year, then gradually lower that. This baby spent winter in the house in a hot, sunny window. since it and the avocado seedling went out back under the north eves, bother are a lot nicer. And, the Shanxi li jujube is right across the path from the Lang Jujube. Just planted the Li last night, so it still is a stick, but the Lang is leafed out and budding. Hoping for a lot of fruit this year from the Lang! Now I need to find a good, sheltered place for the new passion fruit. One planted last year is vining and soon, I hope, will bloom. Man, but that loquat made me hungry! hasta, kids, thanks for the update!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad to hear your on the prowl for some loquats. Today we had our first fruit from the Macbeth and the gold nuggets are not too far behind. Our Shanxi Li just started budding out today from bare root, so it should be soon for yours as well.

[@marycampbell4160]

Look delicious!! Thanks for sharing

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They are very tasty!

[@donnarogers109]

I have a new loquat (Gold Nugget) which is growing straight up, with no side branches. Currently it is almost six feet tall. Live here in Glendale, AZ. How do I get it to branch out, and when should I prune it? I've been watering it every other day as the heat of the desert is upon us now. Going to follow your advice and plant another one this fall.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Donna. Eventually that tree will start to put on side branching. I wouldn't do any pruning on it, at least not yet. We rarely prune our loquats because they do better with a dense canopy. If it gets too top heavy you can definitely stake it on 2 sides. We still have ours staked as they are still a bit top heavy.

[@LtBRS]

Do the murodering heards of bunnies go for 'em if they fall to the ground? or is it just the birds snacking on 'em?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We haven't had any bunny problems with them, but I'm sure if they do fall to the ground they will go after them. And the birds thankfully didn't find them before we started covering them, but I'm sure they will!

[@LtBRS]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm The covering strategy looks good. As the incarnate Logos continues to bless you with abundance, I'll be interesting to hear about how you two segue into the larger harvesting work load.

[@Mansahx]

What’s guys 👏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!!

[@hernanielegaste2777]

Do loquat will bear fruit if you plant it in tropical countries like philippines

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Hernanie! I believe they will do well for you. The trees we have here were actually grown in Florida, so much more tropical like the Philippines.

[@tataang2362]

I have 5 year old, 3 tress planted from seeds. No fruit yet :(

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@tataang2362 hang in there Tata. My understanding is it takes several years when you plant from seed. Fingers crossed you will see fruit soon!

[@cluck3627]

Hey buddy where did you pick these loquat up? Im local :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

These we purchased from Richard's Garden Center in N Central Phoenix back in October of 2020.

[@cluck3627]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm perfect

[@garyradford9381]

HI Duane , Gary back at you have questions for you , How's do you keep your blossoms from blowing off you trees winds here we're 30 MPH here , where did you find those 1/2 GPM bubblers at can not find them here, thanks you Gary

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Gary. We don't do anything for the wind and ours whips up just like yours. The bubblers we found at Sprinkler Warehouse and I'll link that for you here; www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/rain-bird-1400-series-pressure-compensating-trickle-bubbler-0-50-gpm-1402

[@garyradford9381]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thank you

[@rocket2811]

When do these start throwing fruit for first time from planting in ground? Do you know rootstock for Champagne?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I'm not sure on these root stocks as it was not listed on the plant. With these grafted trees we started seeing some fruit in year 2, but this is the first year we're really seen a heavy fruit set.

[@geoffryallan7261]

are you guys in zone 8 or 9 - I’m I’m las cruces 8b and want to grow a loquat here & and have temps in the low 100’s from June thru oct

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We're in 9a here in Wittmann, so you should be just fine. In fact, they should do a little better for you there with it being just a little cooler in the Summer months. Just make sure you plant it in October, it's the key month for these, so they get established before the heat of next year's Summer. 😉

[@geoffryallan7261]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm - thanks you so much for the advice, and thanks for your KZbin channel - really enjoy it and all that you share 😊

[@alicedipaola736]

Can these be grown in the Midwest? Specifically in Chicago?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Alice. You will probably need to keep it in a pot if you're going to try these. They are cold hardy down to about 10 degrees, but temps under 30 degrees can kill the flowers that set during the Winter.

[@alicedipaola736]

Thank you. Could I bring it in for the winter like my lemontree?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@alicedipaola736 If you're having success with that for lemons, it should work for loquats as well!

[@carriecab321]

Where did you buy your trees?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We got the Loquats from Richards Garden Center.

[@diannaodman2847]

i live in the Willamette valley in Oregon i have 5 types of loquats my plan on growing them in a large greenhouse, would you still reconmend planting them in October or this summer ?

[@TheTombOfHorrors]

I’m familiar with that area. For you I would plant in spring. Planting in fall might be too much for a young tree since you can get some pretty hard frosts in the low 20s and sometimes teens if I’m correct. If you were in say Eugene or closer to the coast you might be able to get away with planting in Fall.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Dianna. It looks like James gave you a good suggestion and I agree. I've spent some time in both Portland and Grants Pass and remember some pretty chilly days, so Spring is probably your best bet. One thing to keep in mind if they'll be in the ground in the greenhouse is the ability to open it up during the hottest days of summer. A 90 degree day inside a greenhouse can be really tough on plants.

[@diannaodman2847]

@@TheTombOfHorrors iam in zone 8b silverton area, i have big Jim ,Christmas, champagne, golden nugget, and 2 unknown varieties. i have wood burning stoves in both greenhouses when temps dip low. thanks for the input

[@diannaodman2847]

i open both ends of the greenhouses and have shade cloth 50% i use in the summer

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@diannaodman2847 Bingo! That should keep them happy on those hot summer days!

[@Brian-rr3nj]

Where did you get the loquats from??????

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Brian. We bought these from Richard's Garden Center in North Phoenix. There is another nursery downtown called A Tropical Concept and that is where we bought our Loquat on the old farm from. You can find them on FB here; facebook.com/atropicalconcept

[@Brian-rr3nj]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks so much for the information. My wife and I took our daughter to Maui for her 16th birthday. During a mountain bike ride down a volcano, we discovered these things. I brought back some seeds I "smuggled" on the airplane but unfortunately they didn't grow. I stumbled across you youtube channel and found this video. I subscribed. We just live in Surprise near the Loop 303 and Bell road. God bless

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@Brian-rr3nj ah yes, not far from us at all!

[@adrianneporta8032]

I just got some loquat seeds from a friend. I have no idea what type they are or if the tree came from a rootstock. Would it be worth the time and effort to try and grow them or just wait until fall and buy a tree?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Adrianne, great question and it's really up to you. We have a couple of seeds we're starting even though these are on root stocks just to see what happens. The root stock is a loquat variety, so it should give fruit of some kind, but we won't know what variety. Personally, I would purchase a grafted tree in the Fall if you're able to find one. Seedlings can take several years before they produce!

[@adrianneporta8032]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm thanks! I'll see if I can get these seeds going, just to see what happens and in the fall get a tree 🌳 ❤ The same friend gave me a cherimoya that's about a foot tall and about 8 seeds well see if I can get them to grow here in AZ

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@adrianneporta8032 if you do, please let us know!

[@jmcoch66]

How do you get enough water in the desert to do all this?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Jeremy. We're on well water here in Wittmann that has a very consistent aquifer. We also have limitations on what we can do with that well that we abide by, so it ensures we will have water for many years to come.

[@chukwuemerie]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm How long does a loquat take to fruit?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@chukwuemerie it depends primarily on whether or not the tree is grafted. For grafted varieties it can be within the first year (we had to pull flowers off our grafted trees after being in the ground for only a few months). Seedlings can take several years before you see fruit.

[@chukwuemerie]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks .what dwarfing rootstock do you use?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@chukwuemerie that's a good question and I really don't know. These came from a local nursery who buys them in bulk from someone in Florida.

[@cattails1166]

Here's an easy dessert with loquats: crisp a flour tortilla in the microwave (either in a bowl shape or make triangles). Seed and peel loquats. Heat in a pan with sugar and lemon to taste to get to the desired level of sweet/tart. Add cinnamon and a bit of flour to thicken the juice. Once cooked, place in your crisp tortilla bowl and top with heavy cream, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Delish - tastes like apple pie, but better! If you make a large batch of the loquats you can keep them ready in the fridge to make this dessert in just a couple minutes! Also, the seed make delicious liqueur!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That sounds absolutely fantastic! Thank you for sharing :)

[@valerieburchett4956]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Valerie!!

[@profes87]

What is the sweetest variety of loquat?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question Kyle and it's hard to say. We've only had the fruit from 4 of the 5 varieties we've grown and each is slightly different in flavor. Overall the Champagne is pretty hard to beat when it's fully ripe. The Yehuda has a slightly thinner skin making it easier to bite into if you're not removing the skin.

[@kkmobilehose7684]

😎

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They are a very unique and tasty fruit!

[@chukwuemerie]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm On what rootstock is the loquat ?

[@mattrupp8562]

If you plant the seeds they will be different but related to the scion that was grafted onto the rootstock. The rootstock does not impart any genetic information to the sexual reproduction of the scion wood. So if you planted the seeds you would get something that is not a Champagne Loquat but is like a Champagne Loquat. The degree of difference depends on whether the flower was self pollinated or cross pollinated with another variety and the genetic diversity of the parent tree. Some Loquats are self fertile and some are not. Champagne is self fertile from what I can find. Even though self pollination can lead to a similar fruit to the parent tree it won't be genetically the same and there will be a distribution of traits across the range of seeds produced dependant on the diversity of the parent tree. Basically if you planted 100 seeds some of the resulting trees a few would likely bear very inferior fruit compared to the parent. Most would be slightly worse but similar to the parent. A few may be noticeably better than the parent. What is superior all depends on the traits you're trying to select for (size, flavour, juiciness, skin thickness, flesh to seed ratio, growth rate of tree, size of tree, drought hardiness, local adaptation etc). If you've got a whole lot of selected superior varieties growing together you're starting with genetics people have already selected for so odds are that you will get worthwhile trees from planting seeds if you decided to go that route or developing your own locally adapted variety.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Matt, thank you so much for giving us this detailed info. While I've eaten my fair share, growing them is something fairly new. We have kept a few of the seeds and potted them to see how they do. I imagine it will be a few years, but it sure would be cool to have a desert adapted variety floating around!

[@TheFatTheist]

I am trying to sell my wife on getting a loquat tree and she just isn't having it. She thinks they are ugly. 😔

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Nooooo, not that excuse ;). Ok, they may not be the best looking things round, but they really taste great! Wait, does she think the tree looks ugly or the fruit?

[@TheFatTheist]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm she thinks the tree is ugly. I don't think she likes tropical looking trees.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@TheFatTheist ok, that's fair. It definitely has a drastically different look to it than the rest of our trees.