Loquats

Has anyone grown or know of anyone growing loquats in the PNW? I think that they would work up here, but they are a little bit of a rare plant in the US in general and I haven't heard much about them except in CA.

I tried. the plant did alright for a few years, but never fruited. they flower in the winter, so getting fruit isn't easy around here. eventually, a vole girdled it one winter and it didn't grow back.

with some extra steps taken, I bet it could work, though. a greenhouse is one obvious option. suntraps and heat sinks might be enough if they're done well and the topography is right.

Similar experience... the plant grew alright, but no fruit. As often as not, the blooms get hammered by the rain and washed away.

Now, with knowing a bit about permaculture ideas, I suspect they might be possible.
- heat sinks, against a stone wall, or in a sunny warm alcove
- some type of protection from the rain
- on some type of raised elevation, to allow the cold air to move past and not pool around them

Even though it may be hard to get fruit, It could still be grown for its medicinal properties.

Has anyone developed a late flowering cultivar?

Steve Flanagan wrote:Even though it may be hard to get fruit, It could still be grown for its medicinal properties.

Has anyone developed a late flowering cultivar?

It is a great medicinal plant.

Japan would likely be the best source for cultivars adapted to PNW. It's mostly a very humid temperate climate, though the rainfall pattern is different. Monsoon in summer. Winters are drier, but rain is interspersed throughout the year. It is grown commercially at least as far north as Chiba/Tokyo, and surely there are backyard trees in Tohoku (northeast region).

If it doesn't exist, breeding a PNW-adapted cultivar shouldn't be that difficult as they tend to be weedy landraces, but can also be propagated by grafting if one ends up with a lucky seedling.

they are known to fruit here in northern california, even in the odd coastal region which is difficult to get any fruiting trees. the weather in coastal northern cali is very similar to the pacific northwet (punny intended).

i am growing some, but they are just new seedlings.
i had two that were getting larger after i had been growing them in pots, how i got them. when i planted them outside they hung on through one winter, but died the next.
i dont think it was the temperature but maybe the moisture.

Tokyo gets over 1500mm/60in of rainfall a year, which is almost rainforest levels - much more than Seattle, Portland and 10in/year more than Olympia, WA. Moisture alone can't be the problem, though it could be the combination of cold, wet & grey of PNW winter. Japan's rainfall comes heavily during summer monsoon. It is drier in winter, but it still rains or snows regularly.