Author Topic: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?  (Read 8992 times)

savemejebus

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Just planted this Sweetheart lychee last year - it's not in a great spot, doesn't get a ton of sun, and is still small scraggly - yet when walking around today I noticed the below. Am I crazy or is that what lychee flowers look like? And why the heck is this little fella flowering when my two larger, bushier lychees aren't doing squat?






michsu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2015, 11:14:49 AM »
maybe the smaller trees don't need as much energy to bloom/fruit? I expect a larger tree needs to store more energy from sun/fertilizer/water to "activate" all the blooms.. Or maybe the sudden cold temps we have been having switching out with the normal temps? I hear cold temps help the mango trees bloom too..
« Last Edit: February 26, 2015, 12:26:14 PM by michsu »

puglvr1

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2015, 12:24:04 PM »

You're eyes are not deceiving you  ;)...Congrats!

HMHausman

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2015, 12:37:48 PM »
That is not bloom.  That is fruit set!
Harry
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michsu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2015, 12:43:16 PM »
wow, how do you guys get so big trees? That size would be my 4th or 5th year or something of growing from a 3 gallon.. is it better buy a 7 gallon one then? I saw that other post about $20 or $25 3 gallon mangos, however, if we buy it here in CA (even online), it would be at least $60+.. and $100+ for a 7 gallon one (including shipping)..

Tropicaliste

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2015, 01:05:54 PM »
Wow, nice. Don't surprises like these just make your day?

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2015, 09:42:28 PM »

Are you guys (gals included) telling me that my Mauritius also having fruit set???


Sam

puglvr1

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #7 on: February 27, 2015, 07:46:44 AM »

Are you guys (gals included) telling me that my Mauritius also having fruit set???




That is definitely a bloom spike! How much of it will end up as fruits remains to be seen  :) :-\

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #8 on: February 27, 2015, 11:25:09 AM »
Oh.., ok Pug, thanks for your response.
I was hoping you'll say the same thing you said to Jebus  :D

To my untrained eyes, my flowers look identical to his, albeit less "anthlers" showing.
I got mine also last Fall in 15G pot; so if some end up as fruit(s), should I keep a few, or remove them?
So much to learn...

Sam

HMHausman

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #9 on: February 27, 2015, 12:09:55 PM »

Are you guys (gals included) telling me that my Mauritius also having fruit set???



I see lots of female blooms, but not much, actually no male bloom.  You do not have fruit set as of yet.  The beginning of fruit set appears like a side view of a crown. Are there male blooms elsewhere on the tree?
Harry
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Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #10 on: February 27, 2015, 01:09:02 PM »
After looking at the picture from lycheesonline, now I see what you mean.
No, I don't see anything that resemble the male flower shown on that website...
So, what's happening? You think my tree is still too young? Any info is valuable
to me, thanks Harry!
Sam

fyliu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2015, 01:17:56 PM »
The female and male blooms tend to alternate every 2 weeks or so. So if you have a single tree there's pretty much no overlap time for it to be self-pollinated. When the tree gets much larger, the branches will be less synchronized and you'll see more self-pollination and fruit set.

So the recommendation is to get more than one tree, prune them at the same time and hope it causes them to bloom around the same time.if you're in FL or HI your tree will grow up fast and it's safe to ignore what I said above.

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2015, 02:15:32 PM »
Well, when I bought that tree, they didn't tell me about the need to buy 2... >:(
Ok, instead of getting another tree, can I also graft a lychee (any variety?) scion on it and accomplish the same thing?
Thank you FYLIU for your explanation and advice, I really appreciate it!
Sam

simon_grow

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #13 on: February 27, 2015, 04:58:52 PM »
Sam, you don't need two trees for fruit but having another variety that has different bloom cycle may increase fruit set on both varieties. Lychees don't really need to be thinned as they will naturally drop what fruit they can't handle.

Simon

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2015, 09:26:22 PM »
Thanks you Simon, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge; and
congrats to you and your tree, Jebus!
Sam

puglvr1

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #15 on: February 28, 2015, 04:26:02 PM »


Samu, I wouldn't give up on yours yet...maybe the male flowers are just late to the party  ;)

Good luck!!

fyliu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #16 on: February 28, 2015, 09:45:28 PM »
Yeah I only said it helps when your tree is small. It would be interesting if it did bear fruit this year. Maybe flower cycles will overlap on some varieties or you might have neighbors with a tree. Treat it well and you might get a surprise.

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #17 on: February 28, 2015, 11:37:36 PM »
Thanks pug and fyliu
for your optimistic view

Yes, I treat my plants with vigor
Besides trying to learn their unique behavior

But if they can only whisper
Then my job would be a lot easier...
Sam

jbaqai

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #18 on: March 01, 2015, 10:40:51 AM »
A good YouTube video to find the diff b/w male and female flower


http://youtu.be/wSe33jKLDd8

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #19 on: March 01, 2015, 12:19:03 PM »
That's a high quality youtube video! Thanks for posting it, joji!
Hope, I will see those male flowers on my tree too, while the female
ones are still "available", someday...
 
Sam

Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #20 on: March 16, 2015, 01:06:03 AM »



Since Pug and Harry asked about the male flowers, I've been checking the blooms every day...lol!
Today, this is what I observed, do I have male flowers now? Also, look like some "bulgings" present
on the female flowers, are they the ones??!
Sam

puglvr1

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #21 on: March 16, 2015, 07:45:54 AM »

Not an expert by any means...but those look like male flowers to me.

I took your picture and zoomed in on what appears to be a couple of lychee fruits  :)


HMHausman

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #22 on: March 16, 2015, 08:17:11 AM »




The blossoms with the multiple extensions with yellow tips (pollen) are male.  The ones with only one extension and are sort of hooded and more round are female. The zoomed in shot of green is a fruit in early formation.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2015, 06:27:28 PM by HMHausman »
Harry
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Samu

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #23 on: March 16, 2015, 03:04:36 PM »
Wow...thanks a lot Pug, Harry, Simon and Fyliu for your valuable comments!
Hope those baby fruits will live to maturity this Summer...    :D
Sam

WaterFowler

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Re: Doth my eyes deceive me or is this small Sweetheart lychee flowering?
« Reply #24 on: March 16, 2015, 04:16:48 PM »
wow, how do you guys get so big trees? That size would be my 4th or 5th year or something of growing from a 3 gallon.. is it better buy a 7 gallon one then? I saw that other post about $20 or $25 3 gallon mangos, however, if we buy it here in CA (even online), it would be at least $60+.. and $100+ for a 7 gallon one (including shipping)..

Mimosa in East LA had 15 gallons lychees for $90 in the Feb sale. Don't know if they will still give you the same price or not. I bought a Sweetheart and a Mauritius. My Sweetheart has taken off in this heat! Blossoming, new bright leaves and stems. My Mauritius on the other hand has shown me nothing except a little sunscald on the leaves.