Re: Eriobotrya japonica

Tony Rodd wrote:
This stirred in me a recollection that English reference books had said loquats were not considered hardy in most of England. Sure enough, in Bean's Trees & Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles (revised ed, 1973) I find:
"Introduced to England in 1787 by Sir Joseph Banks, but not hardy enough to have ever become widely cultivated. It can only be grown against a south wall at Kew, where a plant has grown well for over thirty years...
Most of the text in this reference was written by Bean in the period 1914-1933, but it was revised in the 1970s edition, so it's hard to know what is original.
What I wonder is . . . is Reg's report of its fruiting well in London one more piece of evidence for global warming? Or alternatively, has one of the hardier strains become distributed in England since Bean's time? Or thirdly, is it attributable to the effect of large cities on local climate?

I have met up with loquts both in the frostless climate near Nairobi in Kenya (where it regularly fruited) and in the considerably cooler climate of my present local city. In Lower Hutt city, where it defintely grows (but I don't actually know whether it fruits successfully) it would have to endure odd years with frosts of at least -3°C, but as far as I know survives this sort of temperature without damge. I don't try to grow it myself and I can't remember ever seeing one in our local valley, which is probably rather too generally cool for it to be worth trying, except maybe against some suitable wall.

An old but still valued, local reference book says it is hardy through most of the country, but will only fruit in warm areas. It adds "It is well worth growing for its noble foliage alone".

Moira

--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ.     Pictures of our garden at:-
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