Lychee tree: origin, planting & care

The exotic-looking lychee fruits are sold in supermarkets and delicatessens. However, if you also want to grow them in your own garden, you accept a challenge for your green thumb. You can find out how to cultivate and care for it here.

Lychee from your own garden? Why not! The lychee tree can be cultivated in a greenhouse or a bright winter garden and develops its sweet fruits in summer. Not only are they delicious, they are also rich in vitamin C.

Lychee tree: origin, flowering and characteristics

The lychee tree (Litchi chinensis) comes from the soap tree family (Sapindaceae) and is the only species of the plant genus

Litchi. The plant originally comes from the river basins and tropics of southern China and northern Vietnam, where it has been cultivated for more than 1000 years. Today, lychees are also grown in Southeast Asia, Africa, Israel, Australia, and the southern United States. As a tree, it reaches a height of 10 to 15 meters in its natural habitat. In spring, the lychee tree develops small, inconspicuous yellowish-green flowers. These form a terminal, hanging panicle that is about 30 centimeters long. Between 2 and 20 fruits form on an inflorescence and are ripe after about 60 to 80 days. Then the approximately three centimeters thick fruit is surrounded by a red skin made up of many small pentagonal parts. The peel of the fruit is easy to remove, underneath is a white, gelatinous pulp. This one is sweet and rich in vitamin C and potassium. A reddish brown core is embedded in the pulp. In order to be able to harvest lychee fruits in Germany, the tree has to be in an air-conditioned greenhouse all year round. There it is important to plant it freely in the ground, fruit formation in the bucket is not possible. The lychees are also known as Chinese hazelnuts or love fruit. Incidentally, the lychee tree retains its green leaves even in winter, because it is an evergreen plant.

Planting the lychee tree

If you want to decorate your greenhouse or winter garden with a lychee tree, you can buy a tree that has already been grown or pull a lischi tree out of a lychee.

In our latitudes, the lychee tree can only be cultivated in the form of potted plants or in a heated greenhouse. Since it needs high humidity and warm temperatures, a greenhouse or conservatory is also required. The lychee tree should be planted in a coarse-grained substrate - a humus-rich, sandy to loamy substrate mixed with expanded clay or lava granules is suitable. The humus soil stores water and nutrients, the expanded clay or the lava granules ensure a loose and airy soil environment, which is also well permeable to water. The pH of the substrate should be between 5.5 and 6.5. Our Plantura organic universal soil is a good example of such an earth. It offers the appropriate physical properties and, as a peat-free version, is also very environmentally friendly. Mixed with expanded clay or lava granules, it is ideal for cultivating a lychee tree.
In summer, the lychee tree can also be placed outdoors in a sheltered, sunny and warm place.

Tip: Not only lychees can be grown from the seeds of purchased fruits. In our book "Regrow your veggies“We will show you how you can plant avocado or mango kernels, among other things.

Propagate lychees

If you want to propagate your lychee tree, you have several options: you can propagate lychees using seeds and cuttings, or you can try mossing.

Plant litchikern

Litchi kernels do not have to end up as a waste product in the compost, because they are ideal for growing a lychee tree. Cores of fully ripe lychee fruits have a good germination success. With them, the pulp must first be carefully removed, then the clean core is pickled. To do this, it is placed in a water bath at 50 ° C for 20 minutes. After the core has been released, it can germinate for about four to five days, which is why it should be planted within a very short time. Then you can plant it in potting soil. A potting soil that is not as heavily fertilized as normal potting soil is suitable. This increases the root growth of the young plants, which makes for a strong tree. Our Plantura, for example, is suitable Organic herb & sowing soilwhich at the same time protects the environment as a peat-free variant.

The core is placed horizontally two to three centimeters under the potting soil, then the substrate is pressed on. In order for the core to germinate, it needs temperatures of 25 ° C. A warm, partially shaded place is beneficial for germination. The first germs appear about two weeks later. After the first four leaves have formed, the seedlings can be repotted in larger containers. Do not remove the core when repotting, because it supplies the small shoot with nutrients.

Tip: In order to increase the humidity and temperature in the nursery pot, a foil can be stretched over the pot. It looks like a mini greenhouse. But don't forget to ventilate it every now and then - otherwise mold will be strongly promoted.

Cut cuttings

The lychee tree can be propagated with the help of cuttings. To do this, a young shoot is cut off from a mother plant with a sharp knife. Make sure that there is a bud on the upper and lower side of the shoot. Then the shoot is defoliated, only two leaves should remain on the top of the shoot. These two sheets are then cut in half. So that the cutting can form roots, it is placed in a water glass. If the roots are big enough, the cutting can be planted.

Mossing

The lychee tree can also be propagated with mosses. For this purpose, a strip of bark about ten centimeters long is removed from a young shoot at the end of April. A bag with watered peat moss is then pulled over this strip of bark and fixed with adhesive tape. After six to eight weeks, new roots form from the strip of bark and spread through the moss. Then the branch can be removed from the mother plant and planted.

The most important maintenance measures

In order to ensure good plant growth, Lischi trees require some maintenance. You will find everything you need to know in the following.

Water the lychee tree

In spring you should avoid heavy watering, because drought promotes flower formation. After the flowers have formed, however, the lychee tree needs strong irrigation, otherwise the fruit will fall prematurely. For uniform soil moisture, you can flood the root ball completely with water once and then let it dry off a little. The root ball should then be kept moist at all times, but waterlogging should be avoided. The soft foliage and the small leaflets of the litchi tree also require a humidity of over 70%. To increase the humidity, you can set up bowls with water in the summer or spray the plants with water. In the winter break, however, the strong watering should be stopped.

Fertilize the lychee tree

The lychee tree doesn't need a lot of fertilizer. However, you should not completely neglect fertilization. From April to September, a liquid fertilizer should be applied every 10 to 14 days. This supports the tree during its growing season and in the development of the sweet fruits. An organic fertilizer such as ours is ideal Organic citrus & mediteranean fertilizers. This contains iron chelates, which prevent iron deficiency and leaf chlorosis.

Tip: Stick to the indicated fertilization times, because the lychee tree is sensitive to salt. Over-fertilization leads to soil salinization and root damage. This can be recognized by the brown leaf margins. To avoid such damage, only organic fertilizers should be applied.

Cut the lychee tree

It is not necessary to cut back the lychee tree. However, if individual shoots become too long, they can be shortened in March or April.

Repot the lychee tree

The lychee tree should be transplanted into a larger pot every two to three years.

Tip: The lychee tree grows very slowly. Refrain from planting the lychee tree in a large pot right from the start - then you can repot more comfortably.

Is the lychee tree hardy?

Lychee trees are not hardy in this country and have to overwinter at temperatures of 5 to 15 ° C. In order for the tree to flower, however, the lychee tree has to be exposed to temperatures of 0 to 12 ° C for around ten days. Then it can be placed a little warmer again. For overwintering, you should choose a frost-free, bright location with a high level of humidity. Wintering in bright living rooms is also possible, but less conducive to the vitality of the plant.

Harvest and use lychees

Lychees do not ripen after harvest. This means that the harvest must be planned precisely. If the lychees swell and the bumps on the skin become flatter, the red fruits are ready to be harvested. A taste test should be carried out regularly in order to determine the optimal time of ripening. Lychees ripen at different speeds, which is why they should be harvested every three to four days. For harvesting, the entire panicles are removed with pruning shears, you can only remove individual lychees to try. Once the lychees have been harvested, they can be eaten fresh, stored or processed. Lychees can be stored for around three to five days at room temperature and around three months in the refrigerator.

Lychees can be marinated in sugar and preserved or dried. In Asia, the dried fruit is served with tea. The freshly squeezed juice can either be drunk or processed into liqueur and wine.

If you are looking for local exotic species, we will be happy to provide you with them Loganberry which, in contrast to the tropical fruits, does not require a greenhouse.