I saw a loquat at the HD in Scottsdale at Hayden & Northsight, but didn't make note of the variety. It was in a 5 gal pot, don't know if it had fruited or not.

This post was edited by haname on Tue, Mar 26, 13 at 18:48

Thanks haname but I'm not looking for a 5 gallon loquat. I'm looking for a 15 gallon or larger loquat.

This being the end of the planting season I want one very soon.

What was wrong with the Red Barron? Taste?

Call Don at 602-434-5641. He has a number of big loquats in stock.

Hi AJBB, there is nothing wrong with Red Barron. It's just that I grew up eating fresh loquats ripe from a tree. So I want one. The Red Barron was planted in the best spot for the loquat. It was in the North West corner of my yard. There it gets sun till 12-2 and in the afternoon it gets shade both on it's west side and on its north side when the sun moves further north in the summer.

The Red Barron did not go to waste. A friend came over and helped dig it up. Now it's planted in his yard.

By the way. That is who I called. I can't pick it up and they no longer deliver. A real shame too. I really wanted to buy from him. As far as I can tell he has a great reputation. Not to mention good prices on many things is sizes you can't find anywhere else.

Now I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

What about hiring someone to pick one up for you?

Hi pistqd, after reading your post I spoke to my wife about hiring someone since she had previously refused. I guess I have you to thank. She did finally agree to pick up the tree. I could not believe that she tried to price gouge me when she gets roughly 38mpg.lol Bless her little heart. However using my keen negotiating skills I was able to negotiate the price down to $ 40.00.

Side note;

Bing says its 46.8 miles each way. So I don't begrudge them for not wanting to deliver to E. Mesa. A couple months ago when they would have delivered it was the peak of the planting season. At the time IâÂÂm sure they would have had 2-3 deliveries along the way. This late in the planting season it would most likely be a special trip just for me which may not be profitable for them.

I saw the Big Jim loquat at Lowes in Gilbert. Don't remember if it was 5 gallon or bigger, but my guess is it was a 5 gallon. They grow so fast. Why not just get the 5 gallon. Planting smaller trees grow better anyways.

Hi toucan, most small loquats take a few years in the ground before they are successful at fruiting. My wife and my adult children have never eaten a loquat before let alone one ripened on a tree. The one my wife will be picking up is large and fruiting now. I don't want to have too wait another 2-5 years before they have their first tree ripened loquat.

post some pics when you get it :)

how big is it and how much was it?

Mine took 4 1/2 years to get this big. Started with a 5 gal from Lowes. I didn't get fruit until year 4.

Nice! Does it get any sun protection? and how are the fruits by the way?

I had it under 50% shade cloth for the first two years until it bushed out and doubled in size and then I pulled the shade structure. It's west facing, so it gets quite a bit of sun. The fruit tastes like a mild peach, but firm and juicy. I had a bunch of fruit flower clusters this winter and then the January frost wiped them all out.

You know what they say about never assuming. I assumed they would be open Saturday. I just called and they are closed Saturdays. Because of the Holiday they close early tomorrow too. My wife has to take care of her mother every morning so tomorrow is out or the question. Looks like the Loquat is going to have to wait at least a few more days.

Nice looking loquat AJBB. Hopefully mine will be as big as yours. Looks like Sunday will be the big day. Hopefully we won't have to trim it to severely to get it into a Toyota Camry.

My wife drove over to Shamus O'Leary's in Phoenix on Sunday. She said there were lots and lots of beautiful healthy green trees. She also said Mr. O'Leary was very patient knowledgeable and friendly. The tree is much larger than the tree I purchased at Lowes. In a year or two it may even rival AJBB's tree. I was going to plant it and post some pictures today but the wind and dust have me waiting at least one more day.

Here's the picture of the loquat. I'm happy with the size of the tree and it's branching. Way better than any loquat I could have purchased anywhere at $ 45.00. My only complaint is I specifically asked for a grafted tree. This trees graft is either so perfect that itâÂÂs totally invisible or it's a seedling or air-layer. Now that I say that I remember him saying something about air-layer. I spoke to Mr. O'Leary on the phone about many different trees. I don't remember which ones he said where air-layered. He seems like a nice guy and I trust him. So I suppose it's either an air-layer or a simple mistake if it's a seedling. In my book an air-layer is as good or better than a graft. I will assume thats what this is and I am very happy with my purchase.

Here's a picture of the top of the tree. Looks like it wants to produce fruit. Looking forward to next year.

That's a real healthy looking tree. I'll bet you get fruit this year.

Yea, it does look like it wants to flower. I just got it planted yesterday. There are lots of healthy roots too. This is a real premium tree. Not like anything from any of the nurseries around here.

If I get a chance I will post a picture of the tree I purchased from Lowes for $ 23.99. Totally pathetic compared to the beautiful tree I got from Shamus.

By the way. I got a call from Shamus this morning. He wanted to make sure that I was happy with my purchase and gave some good advice on Loquat culture. I'm glad he did because his trees look amazing and his advice differs a bit from most of the online literature. Not sure if he does a follow up call with everyone. But my wife picked up the tree without me. He told her what to do and she forgot most of it and the rest was like âÂÂI think he said.âÂÂ. So IâÂÂm glad he took the time to make the call and spend some time with me. A real nice guy. Now I know where to go for tropicalâÂÂs and semitropicals. Nice big healthy trees and plants at great prices with top notch customer service. You canâÂÂt ask for better than that.

The $ 45.00 Loquat tree I purchased from Shamus is on the left. The dead Loquat tree purchased at Lowes for $ 24.00 is on the right.

Looks great man! I've gotten quite a few tropical fruit trees from him before. Really knowledgeable guy and his prices are really reasonable compare to some other local tropical fruit tree seller that I've come across.

You guys should follow him on facebook, he posts a lot of great pics of what he's selling and a ton of great info.

I would like to meet somebody to tell me HOW I can get my Loquat tree to produce a lot of fruits. It is producing only one or two a year, very big and sweet.
Thank yoy so much
Jani Thijsen
Aruba

Yes, it is right, that is Don's sterling business practice as always!

I have known Don for 8 years, and have been watching his business grows. I purchased quite a few Michelle Alba and plumeria from him, every single one survived from my brown thumb, all of them are healthy and wonderful.

In term of tropical/ semitropicals flower and fruit trees in Phoenix area, NO nursery could beat his inventory, quality, price and service.

He is knowledgeable, smart, patient and fun to do business with. His advice are based on his own experience and practice, I trust and follow his instructions completely.