Growing loquat (nisperos) in the UK

HI all

I've been growing loquat for a few years in the UK in pots. I currently have 6 trees, about 1-1.5 metres high each, in 40cm pots. I wonder if anyone has any ideas regarding how to encourage them to bear fruit? This winter was the first time I left them out - having always brought them in for a few of the colder months before - and they handled it okay although they got a bit fed up of all the rain. I have never fed them anything, just watered them and so was particularly wondering if anyone knows what plant feed I might give them. In our area of Andalucia they just pop up out of nowhere and bear fruit within a couple of years, and so I have thought about planting them directly in the soil in the UK, but we don't have very good soil in our garden. Any ideas appreciated.

Obviously the best thing is to bring them to Spain! Joking apart, perhaps some food might help. Why do you water them? Leave them out in the normal English  weatherMaybe you have over watered them.

Sorry, slip of the tongue - I haven't watered them; the clouds have done that. What sort of food? I've got no idea as I've never fed plants.

Well, I use Compo for my tubbed flowers but the bottle says nowt about fruit trees. I can only suggest you take a trip to a gardencentre and seek the advice of the normally knowledeable and helpful staff. I am of course assuning that such people still exist in UK!! Best of luck.

Sorry eggcup, but from what I read they rarely bear fruit in the UK, outside of a very few sheltered locations.

Yes, xetog, I've read that too, but there are exceptions and I've got them in a south-facing walled garden at the moment and I like a challenge. I know certain nutrients are needed for certain plants, and I'm just wondering what might be suitable for loquat. I don't think garden centre staff in Britain will know... but if there are some people here on the Forum who feed their trees in Spain, they'll have an idea. We never fed our trees in Spain, when we had a lot of them in the countryside and we don't feed the couple we've got in our village house, because they're not a cash crop and we just leave them to their own devices.

Yes, it is interesting

About food.

In my view, nisperos will grow in anything. I saw one growing out of a brick wall once.

They are not very choosy when it comes to soil quality or nutrients. Unless they are obviosuly lacking a key nutrient, I wouldn't feed them. They don't need very much water either, but are pretty tolerant of it.

I had a potted nispero that I grew from seed in the UK. It never flowered or bore fruit and I had it for almost 20 years. Then I brought it to Spain and it was flowering within 3 months. I guess it must be due to the cliamte or sunlight or something.

I'm not saying it can't be done, but its very difficult.

I read somewhere that one thing nisperos want to be able to flower is to have an average annual temperature of 15 degrees C. Mine definitely had that as it was always indoors. So there must have been something else that was lacking.

Try Tomorite, my old man swears by it for his orange and lemon treees. Cheaper than the specialist feeds too.

Mark

Try Tomorite, my old man swears by it for his orange and lemon treees. Cheaper than the specialist feeds too.

Mark

Try Tomorite, my old man swears by it for his orange and lemon treees. Cheaper than the specialist feeds too.

Mark