Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date: 1 Sep 2024

When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor

When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor
When you are in the mood for something special - you need a Loquat Liquor. This is what you do with so many loquat fruit.

🍑 Loquat tree is an excellent choice for any garden, as it is quite cold hardy, drought-, poor soil- and salt tolerant. The delicious fruit look and taste similar to apricots, but there is only one problem: there are too many of them! Make Loquat the perfect fruit for an easy home winery...

🍹 Loquat Liquor recipe

Wash loquat fruit and slit in 4-5 places. You may leave seeds in for Apricot-nutty flavor similar to Amaretto. Combine fruit with vodka and sugar in a wide mouth jar and cover. Stir fruit once a day until sugar is dissolved. Then stir once a week for 4 weeks. Drain liquid and strain through fine cheesecloth. Enjoy!

You can dispose the used fruit but we usually give it a second life: add water, bring to boil, let sit, chill, and it will make another (almost non-alcoholic) drink!

  • ✔️ 3 quarts of loquat fruit
  • ✔️ 1 quart vodka
  • ✔️ 3 cups sugar
  • ✔️ vanilla to taste (optional)


📚 From previous posts:
🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒 Shop Loquat varieties

#Recipes #Food_Forest #Loquat

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date: 18 Aug 2022

Grow your own food:
How hardy is a Loquat tree?

Loquat trees and fruit

Q: I am looking for a fruit tree for my backyard that is low maintenance, fast fruiting, and can take some cold (I live in Orlando FL and we do get occasional frost in winter). I like the taste of Loquat fruit, it reminds me of apricots. How cold hardy is this tree?

A: Loquat tree is a very good choice for Florida gardens. It can take both cold and heat and produces lots of tasty fruit right away. Last winter when we had a record freeze in our area with a couple of nights around 25F, the only trees that didn't get any damage at all were Loquats and Macadamias, and those were still young, newly planted 4 ft trees.
To learn more about Loquat trees, check out this and article: Golden Loquat - the symbol of Prosperity.

Loquat video

Date: 11 Mar 2025

What trees are fruiting and blooming right now?

Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia

Photo above: Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia

Q: What tropical trees are fruiting and flowering in March?

A: There's always something blooming and fruiting, especially with spring on the way! Our garden is buzzing with bees and butterflies, and in the nursery, you'll always find plants in bloom or bearing fruit. Here are a few standout winners of the season.

Orchid Trees

Bauhinia alba (candida) - White Orchid Tree

Orchid trees are among the most spectacular trees in Florida, flowering from late winter through spring. They are fast-growing, not fussy about soil or water, and bloom for several weeks in a stunning display of white, purple, pink, or red flowers. In the photo: Bauhinia alba (candida) - White Orchid Tree - the most cold-hardy of all Bauhinias, tolerating temperatures as low as 26F. You can see them in full bloom across Florida right now!

Carambola - Star Fruit

Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola)

Starfruit trees (Averrhoa carambola) have been fruiting in our garden since fall, and they just keep producing! We've had so many starfruits that we ended up making lots of jam.

Calliandra

Calliandra tweedi With Love - Red Tassel Flower

Calliandras are known to be spectacular winter bloomers, but in our garden, they seem to flower year-round. They make fantastic ever-blooming hedges or striking small specimen trees.
In the photo: red-flowering Calliandra tweedii "With Love" - Red Tassel Flower, yright now, this beautiful bush is covered in red blooms in front of our office at Sebring Farm.

Mulberry Trees

Mulberry fruit on the tree

Yes, it's Mulberry season! Some varieties have already ripened, while others are just about to. We're competing with the birds to see who gets the first fruit, but honestly, there's plenty for everyone! These trees are very cold hardy and highly productive.

Loquat Trees

Loquat tree Eriobotrya japonica

Loquat trees (Eriobotrya japonica) are loaded with fruit right now! We've started picking them and have already made some delicious preserves - you can only eat so many fresh. Loquats continue fruiting through April and May, making them one of the most rewarding, easy-to-grow, and productive fruit trees.

Tabebuia Trees

Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

Tabebuia trees put on a spectacular show from late winter through spring! Golden and pink Tabebuias are small, compact trees that fit any yard and deliver a breathtaking display year after year.
Check out these short videos of blooming Tabebuias:
Tabebuia chrysotricha - Dwarf Golden Tabebuia
Tabebuia impetiginosa - Dwarf Pink Tabebuia, Pau DArco, Taheebo

Date: 16 May 2024

What tropical fruit tree is cold hardy and easy to grow? Its Golden Loquat the Symbol of Prosperity, and it tastes like

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) trees in pots

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) trees in pots

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) tree

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) tree

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) compot

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) compot

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) fruit

What tropical fruit tree is cold hardy and easy to grow? It's Golden Loquat – the Symbol of Prosperity, and it tastes like apricots!
  • 🍑 Loquat tree (Eriobotrya japonica) is fast-growing, drought-tolerant, cold-tolerant, compact tropical fruit tree.
  • 🍑 Heavy producer. Fruits are juicy, aromatic, and resemble apricots. Ripen from early Spring to early Summer.
  • 🍑 Ideal for small gardens, beginner fruit tree growers.
  • 🍑 High in sugar, acids, vitamins B and C, minerals, and pectin.
  • 🍑 Eaten fresh, used in fruit salads, jams, jellies, chutneys, pies, tarts, and wine

  • Popular as a natural sweetener and for creating sauces.
  • 🍑 Grown in Japan for over 1,000 years. In China, represents gold and wealth, often included in auspicious displays or offerings for prosperity💰


📚 Learn more about Loquats
' target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">🎥 YouTube video about Loquat
📁 Overlooked fruit: tasty Loquat recipes (PDF)

🛒Start your fruit garden with Loquats

#Food_Forest #Recipes

🏵 TopTropicals

Date: 17 Mar 2021

Golden Loquat - the symbol of Prosperity

by Alex Butova, the Witch of Herbs and Cats

...The Loquat is a wonderful tree, ideally suited to small gardens thanks to its compact growth habit. The plant is very fast growing, drought tolarant, and cold-tolerant to mild frost. It is an ideal fruit tree for the beginner...
...The flavor is a mixture of peach, citrus and a mild mango...
...In China, the Loquat because of its golden color, represents gold and wealth. It is often one in a bowl or composite of fruits and vegetables to represent auspicious wishes or the "Five Prosperities" or wurui...

CONTINUE READING >>

Chinese believe that planting a Golden Loquat Tree will bring you prosperity and wealth. Growing a Loquat is like growing your own Money tree!