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● Loquat trees are good to be planted in USDA zones 7 through 10, being cold hardy down to 12℉. The fruit ripens in February through May. At maturity the loquat tree can reach up to 40 feet tall but averages a height of 15 feet tall. Loquat trees are easy to grow and are very adaptable, growing in full sun, shade, clay soils, loamy soils, wet soils, or dry soils, making it great for just about anywhere. Loquat trees are drought tolerant and have few pest problems. The foliage is evergreen which will add color or keep things hidden in the winter, when other trees have no leaves.
- The loquat tree’s medicinal uses are quite extensive. Its leaves are high in calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, and vitamins A and C, and you can eat them right off the tree, use them in a salad, grind them up in a smoothie, or dry them to make a tea called biwa-cha. The loquat tree is native to China and has been documented, researched, and approved to treat coughs and colds; it is also nature’s answer to pepto, treating gastrointestinal symptoms such as indigestion, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, and diarrhea. Not only this, it also helps clear mucus congestion and loosen phlegm, treats type 2 diabetes, and can even be a dietary supplement as it acts as an appetite suppressor. Furthermore, the leaves contain tormentic acid, which increases insulin production, and have been approved by the Chinese government as antidiabetic medicine. Growing the loquat and storing the leaves is easier than storing diabetic medicine for a loved one, plus the tree is an evergreen which means you can have access to this medicine all year round.
Loquat leaves are also high in vitamin B, specifically B-12, which makes it useful in fighting some types of cancer. Research indicates that these vitamins and the antioxidants slow cancer reproduction and growth, which certainly increases the value of the loquat tree.
- You can harvest the fruit and have healthy organic fresh fruit to eat at a time in the year when other plants rarely produce fruit. The fruit itself has a high sugar and pectin content. You can eat the fruit fresh, mix it into fruit salads, bake with it, or use it to produce wine; but mostly it is used to make jams and jellies, which are good ways to increase the shelf life of the fruit.
- If your loquat tree ends up producing too much fruit, this is not a bad thing because deer will eat them. Some hunters have raved about finding numerous deer eating ripened loquat fruit around their loquat trees. Birds will also eat the fruit fresh off the tree. Planting a loquat tree (also known as the Japanese plum tree) is a great idea because it helps feed wildlife at a time of the year when finding fresh food is hard to do. Add a loquat to your food plot to help you increase your fresh meat stockpiles, especially in the spring when your winter stock might be depleted.
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Does This Plant Grow Where My Survival Gardens is Located?
How to Make Loquat Tree Tea from the Leaves
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 dry loquat leaves,
- 1 cup of boiling water (8 ounces).
Steps for Brewing Medical Loquat Tea
- Finely grind the dry leaves,
- Bring 8 ouncesof water to boil,
- Add the ground loquat leaves,
- Let steep for 15 minutes,
- Strain the tea and serve to liking either hot or cold.
*Loquat tea can be consumed daily (as is the custom in Japan and China).
*Can be made at high quantities by simply manipulating the amount of the ingredients.
How to Make Loquat Jelly
Ingredients
- 4 cups of loquat juice (takes about 50 loquats),
- Pectin,
- 4 cups of sugar,
- Pint mason jars.
Steps for Making Loquat Fruit Jelly
- Cut the loquats in half and remove seeds; cut into a half-inch sections,
- Mix the No-Sugar Pectin pack with ¼ cup of sugar,
- Cook the loquats until pulp is soft,
- Pour this through a jelly bag into a large pot underneath,
- Add the pectin and sugar mix to the loquat juice just made and bring to a boil,
- Once boiling, add the rest of the sugar,
- Let it come back to a boil and boil for 1 minute,
- Pour the mixture into your pint mason jars,
- Seal the tops and put into a large pot of boiling water and let process for approx. 5 minutes (make sure the water level is at least two inches over the top of the mason jar),
- Let the jars chill and you are done. Enjoy.
* This recipe should make
four to five pints.
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