Nefle / Medlar

[gringo]

ok we have some friends in France. In their garden they have this fruit tree and they call the fruit 'neff'. My missus LOVES the fruit. I've looked it up online and tinternet seems to suggest that the common term is nefle, or medlar.

I'm not convinced.

The fruit doesn't seem to match the description of medlar. The fruit is yellow, quite dry, they have a stone (smooth, segmented).

I picked up a few stones last time we were there and planted them. One, right beside my computer I completely forgot about & didn't water. The compost dried to powder-ish consistency but a couple of days ago I realised I had a 5cm seedling, quite sturdy looking, no leaves though the tip might develop into leaves, hard to tell at the moment.

1. can anyone shed any light on what I might be growing, &

2. I have a useless (dwarf, I think) victoria plum tree I planted a couple of years ago at the front of my front garden (about 2m from the house).Never fruited.
2a. tips on growing a seedling to a tree? &
2b. Is 2m enough distance or will the (?)'s roots start tearing down my house at a 2m distance? The tree we got the stone from is HUGE, way taller than my bungalow.

[bearded bloke]

Medlars are yellow when freshly picked they look like ..........



do yours look like that ?

[gringo]

bearded bloke - thank you. The fruit skin and flesh and stone does indeed look like the picture, but if I remember correctly, the (I don't know the correct term, the bit that looks like an inverted star-shaped hole) does NOT look the same. I've seen similar pics online, and it's this bit that is making me doubt the medlar tag.

But *shrug* maybe I'm just mistaken. I'll get the other half to take a look at the pics - she ate alot more of them than i did.

[Guest]

Sorry nothing to add, but what where they like to eat at that stage? (I always thought then had to be bletted).

[bearded bloke]

Ohh I like ... bletted ... sounds way better than .. over-ripe .. which I believe is the "normal" way to eat medlars.

[bearded bloke]

With regard to positioning, I believe the root span is roughly the same as the branch span, also check your buildings insurance policy, there is most likely a limitation on the relationship between tree hieght & proximity to your dwelling

[Guest]

Ohh I like ... bletted ... sounds way better than .. over-ripe .. which I believe is the "normal" way to eat medlars.

Posh word for a 'supposedly' posh fruit. The fact at that stage I have heard it referred to as a dogs bottom.......

[chrisdb]

Medlars are yellow when freshly picked they look like ..........



do yours look like that ?

Those aren't medlars, they're loquats. Some people call them medlars because of historical confusion and the incorrect historical belief that they were in the same genus as medlars due to a similar leaf shape. See the Wikipedia article on Loquats:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loquat

In Spanish the same term is used for both: nispero. However, true medlars (mespilus germanica) are not really grown much in Spanish, or in Latin America for that matter, so in practice the correct translation of the term nispero is "loquat", not "medlar".

This is a true medlar, and it looks exactly like this even when newly picked:

[chrisdb]

Gringo: As I mentioned above, I believe the fruit you ate was a loquat, which is confused with medlars in Spanish due to similar leaf shape, and possibly in French as well. Despite the similar leaf shape, the fruit is very different in appearance, taste and texture. Note if you're growing in the UK I think you will struggle to get any loquats. There's a reason no-one else grows or sells them here.

[Zelenina]

I was confused when I saw BB's pic because it doesn't look like any medlar I've ever seen. But then chrisdb's post cleared up the confusion. His second pic is what I know as a medlar.

So then I did a bit of linguistic research. First I tried Garble translator, which can sometimes be helpful and sometimes not. This time it was. It translated nefle as medlar, but gave an alternative translation as loquat. Then I tried reverse translating medlar and loquat. It gave nèfle and néflier as alternatives for both, but for loquat it also gave néflier du Japon (i.e. from Japan).

Then I tried some image searches. Both "nèfle" and "néflier" brought up a mixture of photos of medlars and loquats, but "néflier du Japon" gave me only pictures of loquats.

With a bit more ferreting I discovered that nèfle is the word for the fruit and néflier is the tree.

I also found this sentence - "Ne confondez pas néflier commun (Mespilus germanica) et néflier du Japon (Eriobotrya japonica)"

Which means - Do not confuse the common néflier (Mespilus germanica) with the Japanese néflier (Eriobotrya japonica)

So it's something like the situation in English with quinces and Japanese quinces, which people often confuse with each other.

Another French name to distinguish the medlar from the loquat is "le néflier d'Allemagne" (the German néflier) which corresponds to the second part of it's Latin name, germanica.

[gringo]

Wow folks thanks for the replies.

The missus confirmed that the picture bearded bloke posts is definitely what we ate. So they are loquat not medlar? This definitely clears up some of the confusion I've read/seen online.

So is it medlar or loquat that should be 'bletted'? I assume medlar because what we ate fresh was not at all unpleasant. Personally, it wasn't something I'd go out of my way to try again, but the other half LOVED them so I would like to try and grow a tree to fruit for her.

However, due to the size of the tree and the smallness of our front garden where I was thinking of planting one, I think that's definitely a bad idea (roots/foundations).

I AM going to try and grow it in a container though. I take on board that the UK may not be the best place, but as far as I'm concerned (and I'm from ALOT further north), Cheltenham has a much better climate than most of the UK. My neighbour has a spectacular apricot plant growing in a barrel that fruits like crazy, and I'm thinking if that fruits, I might have a chance!

So:
-identification solved.
-position solved.

any tips for growing fruit trees in a container? And that's from seeding upwards!!!

[Guest]

True medlars should be bletted. In regards to your loquat - victorianna nurseries sell them and someone on flea bay and the jist (from what I made it) is the further south you are the more likely they are to fruit, however the blossom is often caught by frost. Loquat can be grown as a none fruiting shrub or left to grow as a large tree which may fruit but not likely.

[Zelenina]

My neighbour has a spectacular apricot plant growing in a barrel that fruits like crazy, and I'm thinking if that fruits, I might have a chance!

Um, no. Probably not. Apricots (and peaches) can survive pretty cold winters because they go dormant and only start blossoming in the spring. They are both very commonly grown in gardens and orchards here in Slovakia where our winters are usually much colder than the UK. But our summers are also hotter which is good for ripening their fruit. I have two old peach trees in my garden, and my neighbours have apricots.

But from what I was reading about loquats, they blossom in the autumn and the fruit starts developing during the winter, so they are unlikely to produce fruit if the temperature goes below freezing at any time. That's why they are usually grown only as ornamental trees in the UK. Container growing might work if you can move it inside for the winter. But I think you'd have a much better chance for less effort with an apricot or peach tree.

[TrixC]

I've seen a fair few loquat trees growing here in London but I can't think if I've ever seen one with fruit on.

[DannyK]

My tree has flowered last two winters. Flowers have bitter almond scent but no fruit.

A friend living near Kensington brought me a carrier bag full of fruit from a tree there. They didn't realise they were edible until they'd seen some we'd bought!

Incidentally the French call the medlar "cul de chien"!