Roger's tree pick for March: loquat

Eriobotrya is a genus with few species, but don’t overlook this handsome tree to incorporate into your landscape setting. The loquat is both a lovely small tree and has delicious edible fruits to enjoy.

There are two significant species that do extremely well throughout the San Diego area from the coastal belt to the inland valley and even into the Coachella area out in the desert.

Eriobotrya (“air-ee-oh-BAH-tree-uh”) is in the large Rosaceae family and is native to southeastern China, Japan and Taiwan.

Eriobotrya japonica, commonly known as loquat, is grown for its foliage, flowers and fruit. The loquat is an excellent small tree for many garden settings and is cold-hardy to 12 degrees.

This tree can eventually reach a height of 20 to 30 feet in time and has a dense evergreen rounded crown, a short trunk, corrugated dark green foliage and woolly new foliage in spring.

It blooms with clusters of fragrant white flowers and in late winter and spring, it bears a big crop of exotic-tasting one- to two-inch orange to yellow fruits shaped like petite pears. All loquat fruits contain one or more large, dark brown seeds that are not edible.

There are many cultivars grown commercially throughout the world and it has become quite an international fruit enjoyed by many diverse cultures.

The Gold Nugget variety bears a heavy crop of sweet fruits and does well here in San Diego County. Check out your local fruit tree resources for locally grown varieties and look for grafted named types.

The growth habit of this unique tree is rather moderate and is best suited for a sunny spot in the garden. It adapts well to a wide spectrum of soils but needs good sharp soil drainage.

The trees have fairly shallow root systems and care must be taken not to do any extensive cultivation around the root-zone. Once these trees become established in the garden they can be drought-tolerant in time and with their exotic foliage and delicious fruits can be a wonderful addition to the California-friendly xeriscape landscape of today.

Eriobotrya deflexa, called the Bronze Loquat, is also a popular addition to many gardens. It is non-fruiting, if that is more desirable.

One of the attractive qualities is its dense, showy foliage, which is composed of five- to 10-inch-long, two-inch-wide shiny leaves. When the new leaves emerge a distinctive bright coppery-red color announces the new growth – hence the common name Bronze Loquat.

Because of its shrubby growth habit, it is sometimes grown as a large shrub or even trained as an espaliered form on a wall, a fence or chain link for screening. It is a bit smaller than its fruiting cousin and can make an interesting container plant on the patio for a few years.

March 7-14 is designated Arbor Day tree planting week in the state of California. Go out and plant a tree for yourself, a friend or a school. You’ll really feel good about helping the earth now.

Certified ISA Arborist Roger Boddaert, a horticultural landscape designer, can be reached at (760) 728-4297.