Hardy Tropicals UK

I picked up on of these the other day its only small how fast do they grow is it best in full sun and do leaves take some damage winter time lots of this tree around london some about Southampton ?

It'll be fully hardy in So'ton, I doubt you'd get any leaf damage unless you're close enough to the beach to get salt spray. In terms of frost hardiness, I know of one up here in southeast Northumbs and it doesn't have any damage. Fairly slow growing though, at least up here.

Mine took -8c in that winter, in my garden it grows 300mm-450mm a year. Yes you can get leaf damage but not from frost but from a sap sucking insect in the spring, however you can spray for that.

This tree grows fast down here in Southampton and rarely see's any frost or snow damage.

Strong winds do break whole branches off however so the tree needs to be planted in a fairly sheltered spot.

I have a large one in my own back garden and I do need to prune it back every 2 years or so as it would soon grow to large.

There are some large and fine specimens scattered throughout the City and if I can see one not in a private garden I will try to photograth it to show on the forum.

billdango

Does hard pruning, or stooling even, encourage larger leaves?

I have grown the Loquat for some years and found it to be hardy although some of the upper leaves will be blackened by frost, the plant recovers well. They enjoy a good sunny position and only once did it flower to produce delicious fruit. The seeds of which were viable and germinated easily.
I have seen them in Florida, were they become a small tree and of course, fruit freely.

Those plants are the most easy plant to germinate from shop fruit , the fruit it`s only available in June ...
mine are growing as seedling in my garden , took up to -14c , with no damage , even in the pot still alive .

Kristen wrote:Does hard pruning, or stooling even, encourage larger leaves?

Kristen , if you grow it in a pot and prune like if it was a palm , with a single stem and no side shot , the leaves actually are getting bigger .....
I`m training mine that way , will show you in future

Can you get some that are smaller ornimental shrubs or am I thinking of a different tree.

Pretty fast growing, never taken any damage whatsoever, on the left next to the decking

cordyman wrote:3 month difference....

cordyman wrote:

another 3 months on...






Just over a year on

Im after one of these myself. I was going to pay extra for a big one, but after seeing the speed of growth from yours cordy i dont think i will bother.

Got mine from easy tropicals 29 quid.

Can they be pollarded? or heavily pruned? dont want mine to get too tall

They are nice when they are small .... after a few years, they grow into monsters, and give heavy shade .... even the lawn beneath the overhang dies ...

My dad had one in South Africa, and eventually cut it down .... the fruit is not too bad though

Guys , I`ve seen a way of growing the loquat tree absolutely brilliant , but can`t find any pictures anywhere .
I`ve seen many growed in this way and I just love it , the leaves are getting huge and the plant stay really gracefull .

It called bonsai naturali , it`s an italian way of making bonsai , I`ve found a picture of a rhus
but the idea is the same , work great with many other plants.

cordyman wrote:Got mine from easy tropicals 29 quid.

Can they be pollarded? or heavily pruned? dont want mine to get too tall

You can keep them at a nice size. Theres one up the road from me been there years it belongs to an old guy and its around 10' tall and well groomed.

Wish easy tropicals were £29, £69.99 now must be bigger plants.