I was in the San Francisco area last month and saw Loquat at numerous places.Most people there don't seem to care about them. Here are a couple of pictures of a tree in the city.A few others were nearby.The fruit was okay,kind of small and somewhat thick skinned. These are pictures of a Loquat in Seattle's International District.It could be the largest one there,possibly in the State.A nursery owner said it was planted in 1962.Every time I've checked though,it has had no fruit. It looks like your fruit will be good and meaty,Matt. Brady

I say it is a wild plum (prunus Americana), there are lots of forms of them as they themselves have been widely cultivated. This is not even to mention those that have escaped cultivation. The color of yours is the approximate color and size of those I've seen in the woods here in Maryland. Another possibility is a wild seedling from a discarded seed. There are lots of possibilities here, but for practical purposes, it's a wild plum. The Navajo made red dye from their roots. At first I thought it was a gooseberry or currant. Looking more closely I recognized it as a wild plum. These will send up suckers under the tree that is said to make a fabulous rootstock for grafting.

Rob, I think a few of us in this thread have some reasonable experience with citrus. I'm a Master Gardener, and have been growing citrus and other fruit trees for a while, now. I have over 50 different varieties of citrus, and about 60 total citrus trees on my property. I do citrus presentations for my CRFG chapter, have attended UC extension classes on citrus, and am always learning. I also have a background in science (Biology). John has a degree in Botany from UC Davis, and is developing a large commercial citrus business. Neither of us are experts, be we know a few things :-) Perhaps you have more education, experience, expertise than us. We would appreciate your comments. The problem from what we can see with the photos, is the extent of the rootstock growth. That trunk emanating from the rootstock looks quite substantial. Cutting it off may cause a narrow crotch issue where the rootstock and scion are joined, which over time will eventually weaken the scion where it attaches to the rootstock, and may end up being the demise of the tree. Will the scion grow if the rootstock growth is removed? Most likely. But, will that provide a sound tree that can grow in the most healthy shape and manner? That's questionable. Again, just based on the few photos we have, this was several or our concerns. We really don't have enough photos to make the very best determination, and shambu is going to see if he can get the scion to recover and grow in a healthy manner, so time will tell. Patty S.

Hm, that's interesting. From my personal experience and what I've read, Parfianka's are supposed to be ready by "late summer", and Wonderfuls by "late fall". Some people pick them too early, not realizing it, and then give them a bad review for taste. That happens with Avocados a lot too. Actually, poms will sometimes split after a big rain and not because of over ripening. I've had some from my neighbor's large tree that were fully split, and they were delicious! But split poms are generally undesirable because they are susceptible to bugs, not easy to store, and aren't as pretty. Well, it sounds like your Parfianka and mine are the same age. What nursery did you buy yours from? Here's what mine looked like the first season: And this is what it looked like now: I had no fruits the first season, and 12 fruits this season too. Most of them are large, so I am pretty excited! (I wrap some of the fruit in white plastic to prevent sun-scald).