Lychee tree ∗ The 10 best planting and care tips

Characteristics

• Scientific name: Litchi chinensis
• Family: Soapberry family (Sapindaceae)
• Synonyms: lychee tree, lychee plant,
• Origin: South China, Vietnam
• Growth type: evergreen tree
• Growth height: 2 m to 10 m
• Leaf: pinnate
• Flower: in panicles
• Fruit: drupe
• Hardiness: sensitive to frost
• Use: container plant, ornamental tree, fruit

origin

The origin of Litchi chinensis is not clear. Presumably he will lychee tree cultivated in China for more than 2000 years. From there, the first varieties arrived at the end of the 17th century. Century to Myanmar, later to India and Thailand. Today the lychee plant is cultivated in many subtropical regions. The main growing countries are China (primarily in southern China), Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Madagascar, Mauritius, India and Australia.

This is how lychees get on the supermarket shelf

growth

With good reason, the lychee plant is the only species of the lychee genus. With its incomparable habit, the lychee tree does not tolerate any other soap tree plants (Sapindaceae) next to it. Characteristic key data of the growth in short version:

• growth type: Evergreen tree with a rounded, low-set crown, glossy green pinnate leaves, yellowish-greenish inflorescences and tasty drupes in a red, warty, bumpy skin.
• growth height: 8 m to 10 m in subtropical growing areas, 2 m to 3 m north of the Alps as a container plant.
• branches: terete with reddish-brown bark, smooth, striped or with white cork pores.
• tribe: erect, grey-black bark.

Characteristics that are interesting for hobby gardeners are very slow growth, pronounced sensitivity to frost and good tolerance to pruning. Furthermore, flowering induction is absolutely dependent on cool temperatures of around 10° Celsius in the weeks before new growth.

blossom

The lychee tree blooms monoeciously with separate sexes. Male and female flowers sit on a lychee plant as distinctive inflorescences. Bisexual flowers are rare. Important flower characteristics in a nutshell:

• inflorescence: richly branched, upright, 40 cm to 75 cm long, consisting of numerous individual flowers.
• single flower: fragrant, four or fivefold, 3-5 mm in diameter,
• flower color: greenish to yellowish-whitish.
• inflorescence axis: rusty to golden colored, felty hairs.
• position: terminal, sometimes lateral.
• heyday: Spring
• pollinator: bees, bumblebees.

Male flowers can be recognized by 6 to 8 stamens that protrude beyond the calyx. Female flowers contain a 1.0 to 1.5 mm small pistil. The 2 to 3 carpels are fused into a 2- to 3-camerous ovary, each fruit chamber containing a seed.

fruit

Have you ever wondered how lychees actually grow? The basic requirement is pollinated female flowers in spring. The flowers then go through a transformation process into delicious fruits with a distinctive appearance. These properties characterize a lychee fruit:

• infructescence: pendulous with 2 to 30 lychee fruits, terminal or rarely lateral.
• single fruit: globose to ovate, 2 cm to 3.5 cm in size.
• fruit peel: thin, leathery, warty to prickly, pink, later light red to red.
• pulp: juicy-sweet, whitish to pearlescent around a reddish-brown core.
• seed: not edible, 1.5 cm to 2 cm in size.

The ripening time from pollination to the ready-to-harvest lychee fruit is around 100 days. In their subtropical home regions, lychees ripen in summer. The vegetation period in the Central European climate is too short for the long ripening process. Cultivated as a container plant, a lychee tree therefore rarely bears fruit.

Sheet

With a decorative foliage, the lychee tree bridges the waiting time for its first blossoms. An evergreen litchi leaf is easy to recognize by these characteristics:

• leaf shape: stalked, lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, pinnate in pairs (4 to 8 pinnate leaves with short stalks).
• sheet size: 10 cm to 25 cm long.
• leaf color: Shoots bronze, later glossy deep green on top, matt green underneath, frosted, sparsely hairy.
• arrangement: alternate, spiral.

In the vicinity of inflorescences, the leaves are closer together and arranged almost opposite. This botanical feature gives the crown a particularly lush look.

Plant a lychee tree

As a hobby gardener, you have a choice. You can dig deep into your pocket and buy a grafted lychee tree or grow a lychee plant yourself. Read these practice-tested short instructions for cultivation in the greenhouse or on the windowsill. Here you can find out where and how to plant a lychee tree correctly:

grow a lychee tree

Growing lychee plants from seed is a long-term green project that begins with time pressure. Lychee seeds are viable for only five days. It takes five to ten years from the seedling to the first flowering period. Given the very slow growth, a 10cm flower pot is perfect as a seed pot. In it, the sensitive roots can develop healthily without having to endure risky repotting maneuvers. The ideal substrate is a mixture of potting soil, coconut fiber, expanded clay and sand in equal parts. How to proceed correctly step by step:

1. Remove the dark lychee core from the flesh and clean it.
2. Soak seeds in 50°C warm water for 20 to 30 minutes.
3. Fill the pot with potting soil over a drainage expanded clay,(€19.00 at Amazon*)lava granules(€14.00 at Amazon*) or potsherds.
4. Press the soaked seed lying on its side into the substrate and sieve 1 cm high.
5. Pour on a fine spray of lukewarm, soft water.
6. Place the seed pot in the mini greenhouse by the bright, warm window seat.

Keep the substrate slightly moist at all times. Ventilate the small greenhouse daily to prevent mold from forming. The germination time is between one and four weeks. A seedling is fertilized for the first time after two months. The seedling is very comfortable with regular spraying with lukewarm water.

Location

A lychee tree unfolds its full splendor at this location:

• All year round in the temperate, airy conservatory or greenhouse.
• From May to September/October, like a sunny, wind-protected spot on the balcony or terrace.
• Important: shading in the blazing midday sun, high humidity of 70% and more.

digression

Ripe lychees are healthy - unripe lychees are poisonous

Cultivate the lychee tree

Uniform soil moisture is mandatory. All other maintenance aspects follow. In order for a lychee tree to create the hoped-for flower buds, it depends on the right overwintering. Vegetative propagation requires no epic patience. If you can trace damage patterns back to the right cause, you can eliminate problems in no time at all. Care tips worth knowing explain the details:

• Pour: If the substrate surface has dried, water thoroughly with rainwater or tap water with a low lime content.
• humidity: Spray leaves regularly, fill saucers with expanded clay and water.
• Fertilize: liquid every 10 to 14 days from April to September fertilize.
• To cut: cut back individual, overly long shoots in March, apply scissors over a leaf or a bud.
• propagation: in early summer cut cuttings, defoliate the lower half, root in lean potting soil.

hibernate

The lychee tree keeps its blossoms under lock and key in a comfortably warm location all year round. A bright, cool hibernation at 10° to 15° Celsius is advantageous for planting buds. Well-suited as lychee-friendly winter quarters is the temperature-controlled bedroom, a light-flooded staircase or a winter tent with a frost guard. Adapt the water supply to the reduced demand. A practical moisture meter in the substrate shows when a lychee plant needs to be watered.

repot

You should repot a lychee tree every two to three years, regardless of whether the pot has roots or not. The best time is in spring. Peat-free potting soil in premium quality with coarse-grained additives such as expanded clay or lava granules and coconut fiber as a peat substitute. Measure a new bucket so that there is room for a maximum of two fingers between the root ball and the edge of the container.

Diseases, pests, care errors

Diseases, pests and care errors throw a lychee tree off track. A look at the following table reveals common types of damage and their causes. Useful tips explain effective countermeasures for quick problem solving:

Popular Varieties

Numerous Litchi varieties are grown in the subtropical regions and exported to Germany as fruit. The Far Eastern hybrids are not available from us as seeds or young plants.

FAQ

Where do lychees come from?

Lychees on the fruit shelves in supermarkets have come a long way. The delicious fruits are grown in subtropical countries. Important suppliers for Germany are China, Madagascar, Mauritius, Vietnam, Thailand, South Africa and India.

Is the lychee tree hardy?

A look at the origin leaves no doubts. The lychee tree comes from subtropical countries and is not hardy. The exotic fruit tree should only be exposed to its short-term minimum temperature of 0° Celsius in an emergency. As a rule, temperatures below 10° Celsius are acknowledged with the shedding of the leaves.

Where do lychees grow?

Lychees grow on a lychee tree. The lychee tree with the botanical name Litchi chinensis is the only one of its kind. Within the soap tree family (Sapindaceae), the exotic fruit tree forms its own genus. Its coveted fruits develop from numerous individual flowers that gather into large, yellowish-greenish inflorescences. After a ripening period of three months, the infructescences, each with 2 to 30 lychees, dangle from the branches.

Where to buy a lychee plant?

Purchasing sources for lychee plants are few and far between in Germany. The reason for this is the high demands on location and care. We looked around for you and found two specialist dealers for Litchi chinensis. At Flora Tuscany you can buy a refined lychee plant on site in 89278 Nersingen or in the online shop. For a tree in a 7 liter pot with a growth height of 60-80 cm you pay from 79.90 euros plus shipping costs. Litchi chinensis can be bought sporadically from 40 euros in the zitronenlust.de online shop.