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Last edited on 29 Nov 2025. View history

Loquat

Eriobotrya japonica
Also known as Japanese medlar (EN) Japanese plum (EN) Chinese plum (EN)

How to sow loquat: Transplant young grafted sapling

Sun requirement for loquat: Plant in Full Sun

The Loquat is a flowering evergreen shrub or tree in the Rosaceae family (which also includes apples in a separate genus). It is native to the cooler regions of China. Loquats are grown for their yellow fruit, also known as Loquats, and as ornamentals because of the rich fragrance of their flowers. The trees have a short trunk and a rounded crown of long, dark green, leathery leaves. White flowers appear in the autumn or early winter and have a sweet scent. Fruit grows in clusters and ripens by early spring or summer. Fruit have smooth or downy, yellow or orange skin, and are oval, round, or pear-shaped. Depending on the cultivar, the flesh is white, yellow, or orange, and sweet to acidic in taste. Fruit has thin skin and brown seeds. Loquats are sweetest when soft and taste like a mix of peach, citrus, and mango. Some varieties are self-pollinating, but most require another loquat tree nearby. Loquats can tolerate temperatures as low as -12°C, but flowers and fruit will die at -3°C.

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Growing loquats

Perennial

living more than two years

Height

400cm

Spread

400cm

Row Spacing

750cm

How members grow loquats

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What people are saying about loquats

New house, new garden

by Skud,

So, I am in my new house in Ballarat (zoom in!), a reasonable sized city of 88,000ish people an hour or so west of Melbourne. The move was gruelling, not least because of the garden, but it's all done now and the keys to the old pl…

nasturtia grasses pomegranates apple apples lemons Common Figs loquats
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Ecological requirements

Data from the FAO EcoCrop database for Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.

Family / Taxonomy Magnoliopsida
Rosidae
Rosales
Rosaceae
Optimal temperature 21 - 27 °C
Absolute temperature 9 - 36 °C
Killing temperature growth: -1 °C, rest: -10 °C
Optimal rainfall 600 - 1600 mm/year
Absolute rainfall 400 - 4000 mm/year
Optimal soil pH 5.5 - 6.5
Absolute soil pH 4.5 - 8.0
Crop cycle 150 - 210 days
Max altitude 2400 m
Life form shrub, tree
Life span perennial
Habit erect
Optimal soil depth deep (>>150 cm)
Optimal soil texture medium, light
Optimal soil fertility high
Optimal soil drainage well (dry spells)
Optimal soil salinity low (<4 dS/m)
Photoperiod short day (<12 hours), neutral day (12-14 hours), long day (>14 hours)
Optimal light clear skies to cloudy skies

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