Author Topic: If you had to get one lychee variety...  (Read 5066 times)

skhan

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If you had to get one lychee variety...
« on: July 02, 2015, 09:04:06 AM »
I asked on a previous post where was good place to get a big lychee tree from, I was pointed to Excalibur. (Thanks Again)
I was originally set on sweetheart but the more I look into it seems that people are saying it's overrated.
So this leads to my question, If you could only fit one lychee tree in your yard would variety would it be?

bsbullie

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #1 on: July 02, 2015, 09:58:20 AM »
If you like your lychees all out sweet, Hak Ip or Sweetheart.   Many like Mauritius however they do have a distinct subacid component that the Hak Ip and Sweetheart do not have.  The Mauritius also lack that floral component found in Hak Ip and Sweetheart.

On a side note. I know Simon says what is sold and called in Florida as Hak Ip is not the real Hak Ip, it is the only Hak Ip available here.
- Rob

spaceoak

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2015, 10:59:45 AM »
How do those three compare from a production standpoint?

If you like your lychees all out sweet, Hak Ip or Sweetheart.   Many like Mauritius however they do have a distinct subacid component that the Hak Ip and Sweetheart do not have.  The Mauritius also lack that floral component found in Hak Ip and Sweetheart.

On a side note. I know Simon says what is sold and called in Florida as Hak Ip is not the real Hak Ip, it is the only Hak Ip available here.

geosulcata

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2015, 11:31:09 AM »
We have small, 2-3 year old lychee trees in our yard. Our Brewster, Mauritius, and sweetheart all produced well this year (about an hour south of Tampa). Our hak ip and ohia did not produce this year, but they have only been in the ground 1 year. We just put a no mai tze  in the ground, but have not tasted any of the fruit yet. I tasted some kwai mai pink from Pine Island recently that were very good as well.

Mauritius is my favorite.

simon_grow

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2015, 12:39:04 PM »
The wonderful Rose/Lychee flavor of Brewster is growing on me and even though it has a large seed, it is a very good water type Lychee and is a relatively good bearer.

Mauritius is a great bearer but as Rob stated, it has a subacid component which some people enjoy and others not so much. Sweetheart/fake Hak Ip is still a good Lychee with lots of chicken tongue seeds but according to reports on this forum, fruit set is hit or miss. I'm not sure why my friend Phase003 from GArdenWeb had such good fruit set on his small tree. He lived by the coast. My RIP tree flowered profusely but set very few fruit although it was still a young tree and partially shaded. They do produce huge fruit though, like 40+ grams if I remember correctly.

Bosworth 3 is a great Lychee. Some people don't like it because it has a weaker Rose/Lychee flavor but I love them. They are a smaller fruit but very sweet and has relatively small seeds with no tart component like what Mauritius has.

No Mai Tsze is the best Lychee I've ever eaten and I've eaten probably over 25+ varieties, many are no named varieties grown in China. NMT is likely to fruit only very rarely because it requires a certain growing condition and seems to like resting for several years before fruiting again. Even in China, it can be 2-3 years before it fruits after its last crop.

The single best Lychee for your needs will depend on your personal taste preferences and whether you put quality over production.

Simon

skhan

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #5 on: July 02, 2015, 01:07:56 PM »
Quote
The single best Lychee for your needs will depend on your personal taste preferences and whether you put quality over production.
Simon, Thanks for the info.
I don't really mind the acid content of Mauritius but the small seeds of sweetheart makes it hard to pass. Does it fruit reliably in Florida?
If I had to prioritize I would say; (1) Reliability, (2) Production, (3) Flavor.

gunnar429

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #6 on: July 02, 2015, 04:10:07 PM »
if that is in fact your criteria, then i say mauritius it is...seems to be the most consistent.  My trees are still too young to fruit, but I ended up getting mauritius first.  Have since added Bosworth 3/kwai mai pink and Olan, which is supposed to be later and reliable, but is relatively new to FL as I understand it, so that may not prove true--we shall see.
~Jeff

"Say you just can't live that negative way, if you know what I mean. Make way for the positive day." - Positive Vibration

simon_grow

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #7 on: July 02, 2015, 04:12:00 PM »
You should probably go with Mauritius or Brewster. Sweetheart/ Hak Ip produces enough in Florida that Lycheesonline sells them every year but backyard growers with trees are reporting few fruit.

Simon

bsbullie

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #8 on: July 02, 2015, 04:19:09 PM »
Lycheesonline.does not grow all the fruit they sell.  Some of the fruit is purchased from other growers.
- Rob

Mike T

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #9 on: July 02, 2015, 05:34:40 PM »
If you had to get one variety why settle for the common stuff? You would get the giant seedless A4 or Erdon Lee if they were on offer.Fai zee siu would have to be next as they are bigger and fetch a higher price than the next 15 or so common types.
So many appraisals have bee posted for the top 15 or so that you can choose the variety you prefer according to usual flesh yield,size,'rose' taste,acidity etc.

fruitlovers

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #10 on: July 02, 2015, 06:41:26 PM »
If you had to get one variety why settle for the common stuff? You would get the giant seedless A4 or Erdon Lee if they were on offer.Fai zee siu would have to be next as they are bigger and fetch a higher price than the next 15 or so common types.
So many appraisals have bee posted for the top 15 or so that you can choose the variety you prefer according to usual flesh yield,size,'rose' taste,acidity etc.

Only one problema Mike: the cultivars you mention i don't think are available in Florida. Also not proven to fruit in Florida. Details, details.... ;)
Oscar

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Re: If you had to get one lychee variety...
« Reply #11 on: July 05, 2015, 12:55:31 PM »
I got crops on 3 of my trees this year: Mauritius, Hak Ip and Sweet Heart. All 3 were excellent (hard to rank) but the Sweet Heart and Hak Ip stood out for me. My wife liked the Mauritius, Sweet Heart and then Hak Ip.
They're like the Varmint-Cong...