Watering young Lychee trees with fruits...

[puglvr1]

I have a 2 year old tree with a few fruits on it...We've had some rain the last couple of months off and on so I haven't been too vigilant about watering it on a schedule...but now I'm looking at the 10 day forecast with little to no rain mostly in the 80's every day. Do you think watering it every 5-7 is sufficient...I have sandy soil and I have compost and Pine Bark Nuggets on top of the soil with shade cloth to help the soil from drying out near the base of the tree...

So...you guys that have young fruiting lychee trees how often are you watering them?

Thanks!!

[lycheeluva]

im obviously not a florida watering expert, but generally, the experts recommend to avoid watering as a fruit is ripening to avoid diluting the flavor. if it were me , I'd keep a close eye on my tree every day and not water unless I saw signs that the leaves were starting to droop a little.

[puglvr1]

Thanks LL...appreciate your response.

No one else out there in Florida have any suggestion? How often are you guys watering your young Lychee trees 

[HMHausman]

Your tree looks like whatever you are doing, keep it up.  I do water mine at least once a week if it doesn't rain.  Better to not dehydrate and risk some fruit issues, then the tree go into dehydration decline.  Fruit can split with too much water, but I really haven't found too much dilution of flavor.  I my view, when in doubt, water.

[simon_grow]

I'm in San Diego where it is drier and I water my lychee about once a week depending on the weather. I am probably going to withhold watering only several days before I plan to harvest.
Simon

[bsbullie]

Agree that better to water than risk dehydration/tree straving fo water.  Lychees can be very tempermental to not enough water.

When harvesting, it is best to harvest in the morning for optimal sweetness and do not pick right after a rainfall.

[puglvr1]

Thanks Harry, Simon and Rob. I'll stick to watering about every 5-7 days when I don't get any rain...our rainy season usually starts in late June for Central FL (unless you live in Orlando) they seem to get more rain and much earlier than we do. I'm sure its because its a Tourist town and all the Tourist Attractions are there,lol...

Rob...Appreciate the tips on the best time to pick them. Can you tell me why its best not to pick them right after rainfall?

[fruitlovers]

im obviously not a florida watering expert, but generally, the experts recommend to avoid watering as a fruit is ripening to avoid diluting the flavor. if it were me , I'd keep a close eye on my tree every day and not water unless I saw signs that the leaves were starting to droop a little.

This is obviously not true. If it were the lychees here would taste like little water baloons with our heavy rainfall. Maturing fruits need a lot of water to form. That fruit is high % water. If the trees are water stressed at all the fruits will be either be very small or the tree will abort them. During fruit development i would say it's better to err on side of too much water rather than too little water.

[puglvr1]

Thanks Oscar...I did read/hear that Lychee trees need a lot more water than Mango especially during bloom and fruiting stage. Being you're in HI I'm guessing you guys get a lot more rain totals than I do...

I'll definitely keep it watered every 5-7 days...having the layer of compost and Pine Bark (along with the shade cloth on the base of the plant should help keep the soil from drying out too quickly.

I'm really looking forward to trying my very first home grown Mauritius to see if lycheeluva's Lychee favorite variety lives up to his hype,lol...

I'll give my review if I get to try some this summer...

[lycheeluva]

im obviously not a florida watering expert, but generally, the experts recommend to avoid watering as a fruit is ripening to avoid diluting the flavor. if it were me , I'd keep a close eye on my tree every day and not water unless I saw signs that the leaves were starting to droop a little.

This is obviously not true. If it were the lychees here would taste like little water baloons with our heavy rainfall. Maturing fruits need a lot of water to form. That fruit is high % water. If the trees are water stressed at all the fruits will be either be very small or the tree will abort them. During fruit development i would say it's better to err on side of too much water rather than too little water.

Oscar: why dont you say what you really think.
Pug: As you can see, everyone on the forum completely agrees with me.

[BluePalm]

A couple of years ago I bought lychees from a guy and picked them myself off of 2 certain trees. They were excellent. About 5 days later it rained heavily and I went back and bought several more lbs from the same 2 trees; they were almost inedible because the funky off-taste. I think heavy rain washes out the flavor of fruit when they are fully ripe.

[puglvr1]

Lycheeluva...hopefully I'll be able to let you know how my Mauritius taste...I'm really hoping they will be delicious!
I still appreciate your reply...NO worries! After all I'm the one that lives in FL and I had NO clue about watering them at this stage 

Thanks Bluepalm for your post...I'll make sure not to pick them till the day after heavy rain. I've had a few of those "funky" taste you're talking about...not realizing that's one of the causes.

[HMHausman]

I have always heard that the conventional wisdom clearly stated that picking should never follow a rain.  But, I have gone against conventional wisdom on several occasions without any noticeable change in flavor at my place.

[luc]

Curious how we have different opinions ...

I watered once my litchees when in full bloom , all the flowers aborted , so now I wait till the fruit forms and then water .

[HMHausman]

My trees, in ground trees that is,  have a constant water supply as the water table is only 4 feet down. With roots having constant moisture, it is hard to believe from what I have observed, that watering could cause flower abortion.  But, maybe in different soils it could happen.

[slindquist]

I have read many times that, while you should NOT pick lychees immediately after rain, that it is a myth that it affects the taste.  In fact, the real reason you do not pick after rain is because wet lychees will rot quickly.  You need the outer peel to be dry when picked in order to extend the shelf life.

[HMHausman]

I have read many times that, while you should NOT pick lychees immediately after rain, that it is a myth that it affects the taste.  In fact, the real reason you do not pick after rain is because wet lychees will rot quickly.  You need the outer peel to be dry when picked in order to extend the shelf life.

I would sign off on this. Glad you made the point.  That as my thinking as well.  I just didn't remember to include the thought in my post.

[murahilin]

This is obviously not true. If it were the lychees here would taste like little water baloons with our heavy rainfall. Maturing fruits need a lot of water to form. That fruit is high % water. If the trees are water stressed at all the fruits will be either be very small or the tree will abort them. During fruit development i would say it's better to err on side of too much water rather than too little water.

I agree with Oscar. You should water your lychees when they are fruiting. A consistent water supply helps prevent the fruit from splitting. Irregular watering with dry periods causes the "shell" to harder and stop expanding and then when water is applied the inner flesh grows too quickly and causes the fruit to split. This leads many to erroneously believe that if they water their lychee it was cause the fruit to split. The cause of the split fruit is the irregular watering, so make sure to keep your tree watered regularly while fruiting.

[fruitlovers]

I have always heard that the conventional wisdom clearly stated that picking should never follow a rain.  But, I have gone against conventional wisdom on several occasions without any noticeable change in flavor at my place.

If this were really true then we would never be able to pick our lychees over here! Lychees come originally from an area in China were it is quite hot and rainy in summer, during fruiting time, and quite cool and dry in winter.

[slindquist]

A consistent water supply helps prevent the fruit from splitting. Irregular watering with dry periods causes the "shell" to harder and stop expanding and then when water is applied the inner flesh grows too quickly and causes the fruit to split. This leads many to erroneously believe that if they water their lychee it was cause the fruit to split. The cause of the split fruit is the irregular watering, so make sure to keep your tree watered regularly while fruiting.

Thanks for the explanation.  This makes logical sense. 

[puglvr1]

Just to update...One of my lychee is starting to color up? All the others are still pretty green and they are not very large either. But, I'm pretty excited to try one to see how it taste?

Looking at the picture how many more days should I leave it on the tree...I'm so afraid the birds or squirrels might eat it,lol...I was thinking of using my aluminum mesh bags to at least keep the birds away...

If I'm not mistaken Mauritius does NOT turn red like Brewster right?
 

[slindquist]

You leave it on the tree until the bumps on the lychee have become mostly smooth.  Based on your photo, it looks like the two in the foreground are nearly ready.  However, I would expect them to get more red.  I've only had store bought Maritius but they've usually been fairly red with only a hint of yellow/green.

You can refer to a photo that Harry posted last month of his tree (link below)

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=5301.0

[puglvr1]

Thanks for your reply and for the picture...I'll wait a few more days and let it get a little more red. Appreciate the hint about the bumps...that is helpful 

[puglvr1]

Are there Lychee trees out there "flushing" right now along with fruits still maturing on the tree? I have limited knowledge in growing lychee trees... and was wondering if this is normal?

[fruitlovers]

Flushing of new leaves can occur at any time of year depending on weather, but counter productive during flowering and fruiting phase.