Author Topic: What is the best lychee?  (Read 62989 times)

JFranco

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #100 on: May 30, 2017, 01:35:29 PM »
Thank you for your answers! I found another nursery with 'Mauritius' and I think I'll go with that one!

Joćo

Mike T

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #101 on: June 10, 2017, 06:16:58 PM »
http://www.australianlychee.com.au/about-lychees/varieties
A few people have asked for updates on seedless and erdon lee lychees.I see erdon lee and the seedless lychee are listed as other varieties grown in Australia after popular varieties but you don't hear anything about them.

LEOOEL

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #102 on: June 21, 2017, 09:59:28 PM »
I have, enjoy, and recommend: 'Mauritius' and 'Ha-Kip.'

I think the best lychee is out there, and is yet to be imported.
'Virtue' should be taught, learned and propagated, in order to save others and oneself.

junglevulture

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #103 on: June 22, 2017, 11:03:46 PM »
Kaimana has remained my favorite.

bradflorida

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #104 on: June 22, 2017, 11:18:54 PM »
Sweetheart, kaimana, emperor
Brad

gnappi

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #105 on: June 23, 2017, 12:41:56 AM »
Simple, one that actually gives fruit. :-)

Next year my pretty large Sweetheart (in ground since 2010 bought as a fairly large IIRC 15 gal) and maurititus (in ground 2011 same size as sweetheart) get the axe if no fruit happen. A shame too, they're both such nice looking trees but I have no room for nice looking ornamental trees. 
Regards,

   Gary

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #106 on: June 23, 2017, 11:49:11 PM »
Simple, one that actually gives fruit. :-)

Next year my pretty large Sweetheart (in ground since 2010 bought as a fairly large IIRC 15 gal) and maurititus (in ground 2011 same size as sweetheart) get the axe if no fruit happen. A shame too, they're both such nice looking trees but I have no room for nice looking ornamental trees.
I'm surprised your Mauritius is not fruiting. Have you tried pruning according to Lycheesonline.coms pruning schedule? Have you tried withholding water, perhaps using a tarp to divert water prior to expected blooms? If you are going to chop the trees soon, you might as well try all the techniques combined next year, including girdling. If your tree is growing well, you may want to withhold all Nitrogen for the rest of the year. If you have a lawn next to your tree, the excess water and Nitrogen can be very detrimental to flowering.

Simon

andrewq

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #107 on: June 24, 2017, 12:50:37 AM »
A bunch of factors go into lychee flowering.

Some factors associated with improved chances of flowering:
- cold weather
- drought treatment BEFORE cold weather
- maturity of shoots

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997319/

Most science/experience seems to be that the cold is a requirement that has no substitute, and that all the other things we try to do are secondary to the cold requirement.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2017, 10:17:27 AM by andrewq »

Jose Spain

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #108 on: June 24, 2017, 04:10:48 AM »
A bunch of factors go into lychee flowering.

Some factors associated with improved chances of flowering:
- cold weather
- drought treatment BEFORE cold weather
- maturity of shoots

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997319/#b5

Most science/experience seems to be that the cold is a requirement that has no substitute, and that all the other things we try to do are secondary to the cold requirement.

Here you can read the whole article: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284756734_Effect_of_temperature_on_growth_and_flowering_of_litchi_Litchi_chinensis_Sonn_cultivars

« Last Edit: June 24, 2017, 04:40:32 AM by Jose Spain »

fruitlovers

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #109 on: June 24, 2017, 05:21:41 AM »
A bunch of factors go into lychee flowering.

Some factors associated with improved chances of flowering:
- cold weather
- drought treatment BEFORE cold weather
- maturity of shoots

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4997319/#b5

Most science/experience seems to be that the cold is a requirement that has no substitute, and that all the other things we try to do are secondary to the cold requirement.
Lychees frut here where temperatures never dip below 60F. So obviously there are some cultivars that can fruit without any cold at all. Really no lychee needs cold, but rather cool weather. Even the cultivars that are most in need of cool weather only need temperatures below 55F during winter. I would not call that cold. Most places on continental USA should have no problem meeting that requirement, except perhaps southern Florida during warmer years.
The need some lychee cultivars have for cool weather is in order to stress the trees to initiate flowering. It's easy to confuse this with the need that temperate fruit trees have for real cold weather, below 45F, to initiate leaf drop and dormancy.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2017, 05:25:44 AM by fruitlovers »
Oscar

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #110 on: June 24, 2017, 10:53:24 AM »
If the tree is going to be chopped, I would love to see someone try to scarify the trunk. Basically you take a clean machete and make many cuts up and down several sides of the trunk without making any cuts that completely encircle the trunk.

I posted about this technique previously and my friends dad was able to coax a syzygium to fruit after about 10+ years without any fruit. Not much to lose if the tree is going to be chopped anyways.

Also on a previous post, I was able to get a girdled branch on my Longan to flower when the rest of the tree vegged out. I was putting on an air layer. The rest of the tree did eventually flower as well.
Simon

gnappi

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #111 on: June 24, 2017, 11:02:32 AM »
Simon,

I've tried all of the typical and not so typical bud inducing techniques except scarring or girdling the trunk.

Actually the best flowering I had was on (I think was) bsbullies suggestion to NOT trim the branches. That year I also dumped 25 lbs of ice on the roots every night for 3 days during a cold spell. It erupted flowers like fireworks and did not hold a single fruit despite the fact that bees swarmed all over it.

I may try girdling the sweetheart but this coming spring, it will get yanked if it doesn't produce. The Mauritius I'll give a bit longer but it's on the short list for removal.

The REALLY sad thing is both trees are central focal points in my yard, they are providing shade, concealment from neighbors, and an aesthetic visual thing I've grown to really like. Grrr...

Regards,

   Gary

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #112 on: June 24, 2017, 11:52:13 AM »
Gary, girdling will help with fruit retention as well. It should be relatively dry during flowering and then water should slowly be increased as the fruitlets form. As the fruit gets larger, watering should be gradually increased.

If any of your neighbors have Lychee trees, try to observe their flowering and harvesting cycle. As soon as your neighbors harvest their fruit, it should be a good time to trim your trees back. Lychees are naturally large and can get very old. From my observations, if Lychees have too much Nitrogen and water close to flowering, they will drop fruit in preference to vegging out.

Cool weather is a powerful stimulus for flowering from what I've observed here in San Diego as my 1-2 foot tall newly established air layers flower consistently every year.
Simon

Jose Spain

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #113 on: June 24, 2017, 01:12:08 PM »
Simon,


The REALLY sad thing is both trees are central focal points in my yard, they are providing shade, concealment from neighbors, and an aesthetic visual thing I've grown to really like. Grrr...

Probably I'm doing a silly question  :P: It is not possible to top work lychee trees like people do with mangoes? In this case with other litchi varieties specially adapted to produce in warm climates without cold season. It's a pity to have to waste all the strength that these trees have accumulated in their branches and roots over the years.
« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 04:42:04 PM by Jose Spain »

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #114 on: June 24, 2017, 01:32:43 PM »
Lychees are one of the most difficult to graft trees for me personally. Also, Mauritius is already one of the most reliable producers in Florida. I feel that there is some factor that is tilting the scale towards vegetative growth. With gnappis trees not producing for so long, the trees might have a bumper crop when it finally does produce, especially if there is a cold Winter that can force a full bloom.

Simon

achetadomestica

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #115 on: June 24, 2017, 01:53:02 PM »
I don't know if it helps but this year was a terrible year for Lychee production in general. If you could even find them they were
going for $8.00 a pound on Pine Island. My longans didn't flower and last year I got fruit? How was the production on the east
coast of Florida this season?

shot

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #116 on: June 24, 2017, 04:17:02 PM »
Fay Zee Siu=Sweetheart=hakip same lychee real name Fay Zee Siu , yes I had thousands of pounds this year on pineisland the reward $8.00lb that's capitalism=perspective the price of sandwich meat which is rare this year?

bsbullie

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #117 on: June 24, 2017, 04:35:38 PM »
Fay Zee Siu=Sweetheart=hakip same lychee real name Fay Zee Siu , yes I had thousands of pounds this year on pineisland the reward $8.00lb that's capitalism=perspective the price of sandwich meat which is rare this year?

Could have gotten more thank $8 per pound for Sweetheart over here this year.
- Rob

bradflorida

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #118 on: June 24, 2017, 04:45:18 PM »
Was this year a good one for FZS production for you?  You live near the Painters? 

Do you do anything special for your Lychees such as fertilizer, withholding water, etc?

Brad
Brad

Mike T

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #119 on: June 24, 2017, 05:38:19 PM »
FZS and haak yip are very different lychees almost at different ends of a spectrum with physical characteristics. Emperor may be a FZS even if a bit smaller than usual but haak yip isn't. They are only occasionally grafted but air layering is so much easier.
The temp for flower stimulation is the key to the distribution of varieties in Australia. Over 2000 km north to south varieties grown change with the warmest areas where I am growing Mauritius, kwai mai pink and FSz is a little south or upslope.Even these will be far more productive if minimum morning temps dip below 12c on a few occasions. They don't need much time in that ideal say 9 to 12c but may skip fruiting altogether if temps don't go below 16c at all.It is the same pattern moving through cooler areas with other varieties having progressively lower flower initiation temps until it is too cold for all types. That distance may span 2000km in eastern Australia but will obviously be much more compressed on either coast of the US.

shot

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #120 on: June 24, 2017, 05:54:19 PM »
I should have been more  specific in florida they have been calling Fay Zee Siu ,hakip  and now Sweetheart  the wrong name for 50+ years .My crop was 25 % best tree 300lbs best tree and worst zero average maybe 50lbs.

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #121 on: June 24, 2017, 08:19:37 PM »
There is huge confusion here with Lychee names. The mess is so out of hand, I stopped trying to explain it to people. I may be able to do another comparison of SweetHeart vs Hak Ip using Leo's fruit as I did a couple years ago.

Simon

bsbullie

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #122 on: June 24, 2017, 08:24:20 PM »
There is huge confusion here with Lychee names. The mess is so out of hand, I stopped trying to explain it to people. I may be able to do another comparison of SweetHeart vs Hak Ip using Leo's fruit as I did a couple years ago.

Simon

I know a grower in Loxahatchee who has both and fruit are definitely different.

Never heard anyine here ID Sweetheart and/or Hak Ip by the name FSZ.
- Rob

andrewq

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #123 on: June 24, 2017, 10:37:18 PM »
There is huge confusion here with Lychee names. The mess is so out of hand, I stopped trying to explain it to people. I may be able to do another comparison of SweetHeart vs Hak Ip using Leo's fruit as I did a couple years ago.

Simon

I've seen confusion regarding hap ik and sweetheart. are there other varieties that there is confusion about? my Mauritius, "Sweetheart", and emperor lychees all behave differently

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #124 on: June 24, 2017, 11:44:36 PM »
The No Mai Tsze that wa circulating around SoCal about ten years ago might not have actually been correct.

Some of the confusion arose in SoCal when nurseries may have sold Hak Ip trees as Sweetheart and vice Versa. At one point, Sweetheart was a much sought after variety and the inventory was low. You would call a nursery one day asking for Sweetheart and they said no, they don't have any and then you would go visit the nursery the next day and they lead you to untagged trees and tell you, yes, they do have Sweetheart. I never bought those untagged trees, I don't trust trees that aren't properly labeled.

Simon