We actually love loquats…each to develop and eat. I first met Eriobotrya japonica in 1976 on a stroll across the NC State campus with the late Dr. JC Raulston. I used to be amazed to see a mature 30’+ specimen rising in opposition to one of many campus buildings. I used to be decided to develop certainly one of our personal, so within the mid Nineties, we planted our first specimen right here at JLBG.
Loquats, a Chinese language native member of the rose household, makes a beautiful small tree with giant, evergreen foliage that resembles a corrugated Magnolia grandiflora. One other distinctive function is the aromatic white flowers that begin to open round Christmas. These are adopted by scrumptious orange fruit in early spring, when winter temperatures don’t drop beneath the mid-teens F. Loquat foliage can also be brewed as a tea, along with its quite a few medicinal advantages. We’ve got at all times discovered loquats to be way more winter hardy than many of the literature signifies. Our oldest specimen planted in 1997, has by no means skilled any winter harm. Hardiness is Zone 7b and hotter.
