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Gold Nugget Loquat

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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ended up putting down a layer of granite gravel on the bottom of the hole.. And backfilling it with half a bag of play sand and compost blended with the native soil.. I planted the mulberry there instead of another citrus.. Hopefully the added gypsum, granite, and sand helps improve it a bit.. When i got home after work all the water was gone, just a sloshy bottom.. So it took about 15-20hrs to go from completely full to empty with the muddy bottom.. Is that horrible?

Also a landscaper coworker of mine suggested the layer of granite gravel on the bottom of the hole.. S that's why i did that, he said it helps break up the bottom clay and acts as a protecting barrier so the roots don't sit in water.. I didn't really know if this was good advice so i didn't use too much gravel.. Just 4 handfuls so the bottom was covered up
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
Posts: 1207
Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That's not great drainage but probably good enough.
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i wonder if i should have added the full bag of sand, even maybe forming a sand layer on the bottom ontop or under the gravel.. hmm its not too late to dig it all up and do it over?

what do you think?
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

will the loquat fruit okay with such little direct sunlight?
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Over the years I've added fewer amendments. In fact, with a lot of plants I just use straight soil now. I wouldn't worry about adding more sand. Besides, mulberries are very tough trees and grow easily here.

I believe your loquat will still fruit even with not all that much direct sun. It will probably take a couple of years to start fruiting though, even when its a graft. Seedlings can take forever to fruit.
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah ive seen posts where people talk aout just planting in native soil and adding copost to the top only...I hope that all my plants don't end up greatly affected because I used a ton of compost mulch to plant with, some plants like my mangos are planted with 100% composting mulch, while others like my apple is more native soil.

I posted on garden web Arizona forum about loquat and a few people replied saying they grow loquats in full sun here without a problem.. But maybe they are like berto and just irrigate the crap out of them?

This will be one of the last trees I'm going to plant here at my house so I want to get everything dialed in perfectly =)
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ended up planting it closer towards the backyard on the east side.. that spot gets a bit more direct sun since the roof of my house on that side is lower, and its not blocked that much from my neighbors 2 story house ... as it grows it will eventually get high enough and grow above the roof, and as it gets wider it will spread past the N/E corner of the house which gets full sun all day.. i guess thats a good experiment, as it gets bigger to see if it can handle that full sun

it's next to my guava, about 4ft away.. hopefully its not too close, i figure in the wild things grow close together all the time..

taking your advice i didnt add as much compost either.. just a 1.5cuft bag of the omni organic compst stuff mixed with the rest of the sand and the native soil
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phoenixtropicals
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good luck. Hopefully you'll be eating yummy loquats soon. Very Happy
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

should I set up the loquat on my drippers? similar to my mangos and guavas? or are loquats more of a citrus watering schedule (manually by hose) type of tree?

also same question for the mulberry..

and finally, you mentioned not to use the 5-1-1 fish fert on loquat right? i need to get the 0-10-10? what about spent coffee grounds? are those safe to use (i dunno what those add)
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phoenixtropicals
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Joined: 06 May 2008
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I firstly recommend using an occasional magnesium sulfate application and a nice layer of compost. You can use some 0-10-10 fish emulsion but very rarely and super diluted. You definitely want it on frequent water. Loquats like to be wet.

When first planted, compost and water, that's it. Worry about the other two things when you see significant signs of leaf burn. Loquats will always show a little leaf burn so don't overreact.
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phoenixtropicals
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Location: Mesa Arizona

PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 10:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh and the mulberry. Probably just water and once it gets established you could probably go to a citrus schedule. I'm not sure on that one, but they really grow some roots and will be able to find water I think. For the same reason, don't plant that one too close to the house. I don't think you did, right?
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mullenium



Joined: 01 Apr 2010
Posts: 192

PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 7:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ok cool.. no the mulberry is dead center in my back yard... hopefully it grows aggressive enough to overcompensate for the poor drainage in that spot..
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