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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:30 pm Post subject: Gold Nugget Loquat |
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I went to the east valley location of tropicamango and used the groupon they had the other week..
ended up getting a 5gal grafted loquat 'gold nugget' var. and also picked up a small boysenberry.
I have one more groupon left so im going to save that one til they get more interesting stuff in stock, although they did have a couple air layered brewster lychee's and a grafted jack fruit tree (but sheesh, even being grafted that thing will take probably 10 years to be able to hold a full size fruit lol)
how different is the gold nugget loquat vs the big jim var? espically here in the valley |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:00 pm Post subject: |
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Did I screw up getting the gold nugget? It's listed as late season on most sites, some sites say mid season though... Also I have a good spot in the back about fifteen feet away from the west brick wall, which would give it shade but way later in the day, there's also a good spot closer to the wall between my orange and the passion fruit I recently purchased which is on a trellis on that wall.. I was thinking the loquat might end up getting to big for at area and eventually block the sun from reaching the passion fruit vine.. And i still need to plant my mulberry, so maybe since its dwarf that spot by the passion fruit would be best for the mulberry... But you mention that any direct sun at high temps cold kill the loquat tree? I really don't have any shade trees in my yard, but i do have the PVC structure...maybe its time for it to part ways with my my mangos and protect thhe loquat. But that wouldn't be a permanent solution, would the loquat eventually harden off to be ale to take direct sunlight.
Thanks |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:24 pm Post subject: |
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Loquats really do better with afternoon shade. I don't think it will ever be able to take full mid summer sun without suffering. They tend to grow fairly slowly in our climate as well. Maybe the east side of your house would be a better place for it? Passion fruits will put up with some shade in our climate. I've found the direct afternoon sun in summer is actually very hard on them. In fact, the top of my passionfruit that sticks above the wall (its planted on the east side) gets burned back every year in mid summer.
The mulberry on the other hand is a fairly tough tree so western exposure wouldn't be a problem for it as long as it wasn't right up against a west facing wall. |
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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I've heard loquats can be very invasive on foundations though and shouldn't be planted near the house... Unless the slow growth in our climate offsets tha somewhat? |
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:16 am Post subject: |
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I wonder how berto grows his loquat in full sun |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:29 am Post subject: |
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I'm not sure, but I know that he waters it an extreme amount. |
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:40 am Post subject: |
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so you suggest the east side of the house? even with it being about 8ft from my house, and about a foot or 2 from the brick wall? |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:59 am Post subject: |
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Yes, I think it would do well there. Also, I searched around the web and found more information saying that loquats do not have invasive roots than saying that they are a problem. Also, my tree is getting fairly large and the roots do not seem to be rising to the surface or lifting things etc.
http://bhranch.blogspot.com/2009/12/winter-wonder-why-we-love-loquats.html |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:00 am Post subject: |
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There is not a a lot of reflected west wall heat there right? 8 ft. is actually more than far enough away. Can you put it closer to your house's east side? |
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:15 am Post subject: |
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Since the wall is blocked by the house around 2pm there isnt much reflective heat I would think.. (unless maybe from bouncing around both my neighbors and my house?)
Here is a great perspective view of that side of the house:
I was debating the spot where the small sago palm is, I could move that guy and plant the loquat there.. or maybe down further in the background to the right next to my house where you see that bushy groundcover blob thing (the blob on the left is my tiny raised garden) =)
the plant in the foreground on the right side is my guava
on a side note.. would the boysenberry be better off on this side as well? I got antsy and figured It probably wouldnt like full sun, and that groundcover you see in the photo on the right side always dies back every winter so I got tired of it, and trashed it and thats where the berry now sits. |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 10:49 am Post subject: |
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The spot on the right looks good. I don't know much about boysenberries. Also, with a loquat, don't forget to give it a little magnesium sulfate every now and then to help with the leaf scorching problem that always seems to happen in our soil. |
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mullenium
Joined: 01 Apr 2010 Posts: 192
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:07 am Post subject: |
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the spot on the right next to the house it is!
looks like the sago palm lucked out ...for now =)
ill have to figure out where to move the boysenberry now
also, i pulled the sickly tangelo tree that I had painted white and have it in a pot now, figured Its best to use its spot for something actually productive like the mulberry.. it was weird there weren't that many roots attached to the rootball when i dug it out, maybe its just permanently stunted? that hole has pretty bad drainage so lastnight I dug all the dirt out, added about 8-10 cups of gypsum and filled it with water, this morning there was still about 1/4 of the water still in the hole.. so obviously its really bad drainage, which could have made the tangelo suffer root rot possibly?
other than gypsum, and maybe sand what else can I do to improve that hole? |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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Generally there is not a whole lot you can do. You could use a rotary hammer on it, but often the hard stuff here is so thick you can't get through it. I don't find my citrus have that much trouble with poor drainage, and I have some of them sitting on some really bad spots. It does take them longer to get established in a spot like that though. You just need to make sure you don't water them too often, or fertilize too much. That is the most important part.
I wonder why your tangelo is having such a hard time. Maybe you overwatered it early on and the roots got rotted. It takes trees a long long time to recover once serious root rot sets in, even after you start treating them right.
I generally don't think a whole tree of tangelos is worth it. I have budded a tangelo to one of my citrus, but when it comes to having an entire tree I find tangerines or navel oranges to be a better choice, but that's just me. |
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phoenixtropicals Site Admin
Joined: 06 May 2008 Posts: 1207 Location: Mesa Arizona
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Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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By the way. If you plant a citrus there again, just use the plain old dirt. Any kind of fertilizer or compost will just make the rotting problem worse. Also, don't plant any kind of citrus "dwarf". The sun here is hard on plants and they need to be vigorous to grow faster than the sun burns them. Dwarfs are slow growers, and many citrus can be trimmed to dwarf them, besides the really vigorous ones like grapefruits, limes, and lemons. |
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