name this fruit tree!

[Sharky]

Salaam, abit of a quiz if you like...although really i need help in identifying this fruit tree, which we planted in my garden some time ago and then forget about.

It has grown to quite a large size (easily over 6ft) but it has not born any fruit! :(

I know what the fruit looks like but i dont know what it is called... let me describe it and see if you can put your finger on it...

1. its a exotic fruit (definitely a import, china maybe)
2. its small (just a little bigger then a single grape)
3. its orange in color (but not a orange/citrus family at all)
4. it is smooth
5. it has a smooth black stone inside it (like i lychee fruit?)

Here are photos of the tree leaves...

http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/rs80_photos/?action=view&current=S7000466.jpg

http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/rs80_photos/?action=view&current=S7000467.jpg

http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/rs80_photos/?action=view&current=S7000468.jpg

http://s602.photobucket.com/albums/tt105/rs80_photos/?action=view&current=S7000469.jpg

anybody know what this plant is called? and any idea if there is anything i can do to get it to bear fruit??

lol i cant really ask Sheikh Google properly until i know what it is called..

[~Obsidian~]

WaAlaykum AsSalaam Sharky

I did a quick goooogle, it looks to me like a loquat tree, however that might just be wishful thinking on my part.

Here's a picture:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/8/11335544_5bd8241a9a.jpg

But I'm not really sure because you describe the fruit as really small. Either you are used to eating humungous GM grapes or I'm wrong - the latter being far more likely than the former.

Is the tree evergreen? Any other such details? I'll hopefully do a more detailed search later.:GreenThumbs:

[edibles]

yep loquat, our one has not had any fruit either and its just over 20ft and pushing out growth as we speak. some in my local are have though. the flowers on ours are very inconspicuous next a rose bush and plum and apple tree.

[aamirc]

yeh i had a loquat tree in my backyard too, it flowered but it never produced any fruit. The bees always buzzed around it but there was no fruit. I think you need to have two of those trees, not sure though. Our one was over 2 and a half meters tall. But then we moved houses and the tree couldn't come with us.

[Tania]

I found a site about loquat: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/loquat.html

Are different types of loquats and most of them are self-fertiles, self-infertiles but good pollinators for other trees. Other types requires certain weather conditions to have fruits: 'Where the climate is too cool or excessively warm and moist, the tree is grown as an ornamental but will not bear fruit.'

It would be great to establish first your loquat type and then you will know what to expect. Also, the trees germinated from seeds needs around 10 years to have fruits.

[Sharky]

Ah fantastic! thats the one guys, thanks for the hand :GreenThumbs:

info: "Cultivated in Japan for over 1, 000 years!"

lets see how much luck i have with cultivating it in Yorkshire!

[~Obsidian~]

A month or so ago when we were having the reallly hot weather, I plonked one of these stones outside into some spare compost, and thought I'd wait and see what happened. After a while I dug it up to see if anything had happened and I had a root! I kept digging it up after that :o and it kept on growing despite this, and now I have a little loquat plant :D it's in a tiny pot though, so I'm wondering what to do with it.