Peachy, I've not propagated loquats, but figs should do fine that way. You can take dormant branch cuttings and simply stick them into potting soil and they'll root (I have 6 doing that right now, in fact.) Certainly worth trying, nothing to lose!

Patty S.

You can air-layer the fig, one of the easiest ways to do it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Air Layer Fig

I doubt the loquat is sending up suckers--what you are probably seeing is sprouted seeds, they spring up like weeds if you let fruit drop.
I have never gotten an answer as to whether the seed-grown loquats taste like the mother plant, but my seedlings taken from one tree which I loved the fruit from should fruit in a few years--I'll keep you posted LOL. I also grafted scions from that tree, and they are doing great, so I should be able to compare the two someday, for the definitive answer.

Carla in Sac

Thanks everyone!

I think I'll try multiple methods for the Fig and try to dig up some of the Loquat seedlings and plant some seeds for insurance. The Loquats are going to be used more as landscape trees than for fruit, so I don't mind if they aren't like the parent.

Figs root from cuttings very easily for some people. If there are any branches near the ground you can just pin them down and bury part of them with soil and they will root in themselves. After that you just snip them off the mother tree and dig them up.

My loquat does send up "suckers" but they aren't from the roots, they're from the very base of the tree. They can be very hard to get to root. Out of a dozen I can usually get one to take root and that usually takes a full year. It works best to damage the stem first, let the tree start to heal, then mix some rooting hormone with damp sterile potting media and wrap it around the wound with aluminum foil and rubber bands. Check it every couple of months. When the foil pouch is full of roots you can safely cut the branch off the tree. I have been able to root 4 or 5 foot branches this way (kind of amazing considering how small the amount of roots are compared to the size of the branch). If you can dig down and expose the sucker you may be able to scar it and pack it with hormone/potting soil and then rebury it and wait for roots. I have had no success with soft or green branches, it has to be woody and over a year old.

Seeds work almost as fast and are much easier.

I have a loquat tree and YES they produce suckers. There are now 5 of them around the trunk.

Rooting loquats 100x harder than rooting figs.

Loquats actually grow nicely from seed.

If you plant 100 loquat seeds, you will get 100 trees; if you have a loquat tree, you probably have any number of small trees growing around your yard; just dig up one or more and pot them, or plant some seeds...very few plants are easier to produce; and yes, the seedling will be the same as the parent. In my gardens (tropical) the loquat (here called nispero) is a WEED.

I live in north UK where we are just emerging from an exceptionally long hard winter. Before it started I took the precaution of protecting my 5 ft tall pot grown loquat with a fleece bag, after it suffered badly with the frost in previous years. Alas, on taking off the fleece bag, I have just found that the tree has been wrecked by the weight of the snow on the bag. What was once a small elegant tree is now an ugly mess. Several large branches have been broken off, although they still look reasonably healthy, presumably since the temperature still isn't high enough to restart growth. My question is, what's the best way to root cuttings from these broken off branches? Failing that, should I try to air layer the ends of branches on the remains of the tree? Or should I give up in this cool climate?

Right on advice here; the Mission fig, one of the easiest to grow, will grow well from a sucker cutting. The loquat, forget it, just plant a seed and you will get a loquat... same as the parent. In my gardens loquats are like weeds; I probably pull up 100 or more every month.