Loquat trees: grafting?

[Faye Brown]

I have two 5-6 year old loquat trees that were planted by the last tenant. They are lovely and I have been anxiously awaiting to taste the first loquats! Until I found out I live on the cusp of zone 7b/ 8a... And loquats in my city experience a winter mild enough to fruit in January about once every ten years.

Poo.

So now I have two pretty large tropical trees taking up valuable solar real estate for my fruit and vegetable garden. I was wondering if it's too late to attempt to graft another fruit on to the loquats, like pears or quince? I'm a beginner gardener and know nothing about grafting, but would like a fruit yield of some kind.

 

[Marck]

Yes, there are records of Loquat (Rhaphiolepis biba, formerly Eriobotrya japonica) being grafted to Apples (Malus), Pears (Pyrus), Quince (Cydonia), and other related genera of Pome-bearing trees in the Rose Family (Rosaceae).
There are various caveats to consider with inter-generic grafting, and overall the success rate is lower, but it may be possible.
Grafting is a skill you could potentially learn, but you may prefer to seek out and hire the services of a skilled grafter.