Mexican loquat

Family - Rosaceous. Homeland - Southeast Asia.

The loquat is a small evergreen subtropical fruit and ornamental plant. In the room, the plant reaches 1.5 - 2 m. Therefore, in the adult state, it is suitable for cultivation in winter gardens, offices, cultural and public premises.

Leaves medlars, large, oblong-oval, up to 25 - 30 cm, with pubescent pubescence. Flowers white or cream with a pleasant delicate aroma, are a good honey. The plant blooms in November-December, in warm weather and in January. Valued for very tasty, juicy, orange, round or oval fruits the size of an ordinary plum that ripen in late May or in June. Fruits are consumed fresh, as well as compotes, jams, jams, candied fruits, soft drinks are prepared from them. In the Mediterranean countries, a surrogate of coffee is prepared from the bones.

The most interesting varieties for indoor gardening: Tanaka, Premier, Champagne, Victor, Orange.

♦ Accommodation. The plant is photophilous and should be kept in rooms with a temperature not lower than + 18 ° С.In the spring, after establishing positive temperatures, the medlar is best taken out to the open air in the garden, the yard, the open balconies, verandas. In winter, the plant is kept in bright rooms at a temperature of +5 - + 10 ° C or at normal room temperature.

♦ Care. In the summer - regular watering, when the air is dry, frequent spraying with water at room temperature is necessary. In winter, water is seldom, making sure that the substrate does not dry out in the pot. From April to September, twice a month, they are fed with complex mineral fertilizers. It is best to use flower fertilizer "Rose" or "Cactus".Young plants medlars are transplanted annually, from 7 to 10 years of age - once every three years. We recommend to use as a substrate ready-mixed "Rose" or "Palm" with a high content of humus.

♦ Pests and diseases - various kinds of scabbards, on the secretions of which the sooty fungus settles. When the substrate is too wet or it dries up, different types of leaf spot appear.

♦ Reproduction - by seeds or cuttings taken from the tips of shoots. For the production of dwarf plants, we recommend planting a loquat on a quince.

Application

Jam from a medlar

Fruits are washed, cleaned of sepals and pedicels, boiled in a small amount of water, wipe through a sieve. The resulting mashed potatoes should be boiled and cooked for 15 minutes, then add 1 kg of sugar to 3 L of puree. When the sugar is completely dissolved, pour the jam boiling in the jars.

Compote from the medlar

Fruits cut, separated from the stone Bones split and cook for 5-6 minutes, from this broth prepare the syrup, after having filtered through the broth. For 1 liter of broth put 600 g of sugar and 5-6 g of citric acid. Put the fruits in cans with boiling syrup. Sterilize litters 20 minutes.