Eriobotrya japonica - Loquat, Japanese Plum, Nespoli, Janpanese Medlar

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), also known as Japanese Plum or Nespoli, is a real beauty, especially because of its evergreen leaves: these are up to 25 cm long, their upside is dark green and underneath they are covered with fine white hairs.Cultivated in a pot or planted in a greenhouse, grafted Loquats already produce cream-coloured, fleecy flowers starting with the 2nd or 3rd year after grafting. During autumn and winter 30 - 100 flowers form an upright, pyramidal cluster at the branches tip, radiating a delicate, vanilla-like fragrance. They are usually self-fertile and are pollinated by insects. Within app. 90 days they then produce plum- to egg-sized, orange-coloured fruits that taste like moderately sweet, juicy melons with a firm pulp. The fruit usually contains two seeds that come off easily from the orange-coloured pulp. The peel with its high content of vitamin A is edible. Depending on the conditions in winter, the blossom may shift to spring and harvest to late summer. Depending on the way of grafting and how it was pruned, Loquat grows as multi-stemmed shrub or single-stem tree with a compact, broad-oval crown. It is a very robust plant: As a pot plant they can already be placed outside early in the year and have to be brought back indoor not before November. Loquats have a very broad range of temperature and so it is possible to winter them in a bright and large room. Note: always make sure the soil is moist!

Quality: many & delicious & exotic fruits from own harvest; guaranteed harvest even with young plants (due to grafting); round crown; evergreen; robust & hardy; can be wintered cold or warm
Use: in pots from April/ May outside on balcony & terrace - during winter indoor in a bright room; all-year in a heated greenhouse