Lychee Seedling Experience

[JoeP450]

Hey

Just curious if anyone has fruited lychee from seed, if so what cultivar was it, how old was the tree when it set fruit, how was the fruit quality, and how did the tree's growth habit differ from an air layer....inquiring minds what to know! I have a seedling lychee growing in a five gallon container and I think it is around 4-5 years old emperor seedling. It grows pretty slow and upright but then again it's in a five gallon bucket, growing it just for fun I guess...

_JoeP450

[HMHausman]

I have fruited longan from seed.  That seems to be a lot easier, at least for me and in my limited expereince, than is lychee.  I do have a seedling of Emperor that I planted out a bunch of years ago.  It has to be in the ground for 10 years or so.  No flowering as of yet.  The growth habit is somewhat scraggly.

Harry

[nullzero]

Keep us updated, the only way to get new varieties is to make selections from seedlings. I am sure the lychee could improve a great deal with some focused breeding (China should be actively doing this).

[fruitlovers]

Growing lychee from seed is discouraged in literature as it is claimed that lychee seedlings are quite variable and can take 10-20 years to start fruiting. However this fellow, Luc, in Mexico told me that he started a bunch of lychee from seed and some started to fruit in 5-6 years. Also he got a couple of trees of very high quality fruit. So don't believe everything you read. I think really very few people have done this, and truth is very little is known about starting lychee from seed.
Oscar

[Squam256]

The USDA  did a project some years ago where they planted out dozens of lychee seedlings in an attempt to 'create' some new high-quality cultivars. They finally held fruit something close to 20 years later....Of all the seedlings they planted, 95% of them were garbage. Something like 2 of the trees were even worth noting and they evidently weren't anything special.

I have fruited longan from seed.  That seems to be a lot easier, at least for me and in my limited expereince, than is lychee.  I do have a seedling of Emperor that I planted out a bunch of years ago.  It has to be in the ground for 10 years or so.  No flowering as of yet.  The growth habit is somewhat scraggly.

Harry

Harry, Did the longans come out regular sized or were they smaller than normal (talking like the size of a nickel)?. My experience with seedling longans has been they tend to produce lots of small fruit that are mostly seed with a tiny bit of flesh.

[fruitlovers]

Can you please say what USDA study you are referring to?
Thanks, Oscar

[Squam256]

Can you please say what USDA study you are referring to?
Thanks, Oscar

Oscar, not sure what the study name or number was, the information was from Chris Rollins who went and saw the trees and sampled the fruit when it occurred. It was done by the Miami ARS. No clue as to what cultivars they used for seedlings.

[fruitlovers]

Can you please say what USDA study you are referring to?
Thanks, Oscar

Oscar, not sure what the study name or number was, the information was from Chris Rollins who went and saw the trees and sampled the fruit when it occurred. It was done by the Miami ARS. No clue as to what cultivars they used for seedlings.

Couldn't find any reference to any study done on seedling lychee, except for this study on longan and lychee seedlings in 1962: http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/1968%20Vol.%2081/314-318(Knight).pdf
Oscar
Oscar

[Squam256]

Can you please say what USDA study you are referring to?
Thanks, Oscar

Oscar, not sure what the study name or number was, the information was from Chris Rollins who went and saw the trees and sampled the fruit when it occurred. It was done by the Miami ARS. No clue as to what cultivars they used for seedlings.

Couldn't find any reference to any study done on seedling lychee, except for this study on longan and lychee seedlings in 1962: http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protected/1968%20Vol.%2081/314-318(Knight).pdf
Oscar
Oscar

Interesting read. I think what Chris Rollins was referring to occurred a little more recently if memory serves right, and I don't remember longans being mentioned, only lychees. Also the time to fruiting was definitely longer than 6 years. But he definitely relayed that information about 2 years ago. I could try talking to him about it to see if I can get the full story/background, maybe someone at Chapman Field knows about it. I do specifically remember him saying it was at USDA.

I have a fairly large longan seedling which I have kept potted but haven't planted out of fear it would be a waste of space. maybe I will give it a chance in the ground.

[behlgarden]

I have fruited longan from seed.  That seems to be a lot easier, at least for me and in my limited expereince, than is lychee.  I do have a seedling of Emperor that I planted out a bunch of years ago.  It has to be in the ground for 10 years or so.  No flowering as of yet.  The growth habit is somewhat scraggly.

Harry

Hi Harry, I got two Longan seedlings that are now 1 year old and quite young. How long did it take your longans to fruit from germination time?

[HMHausman]

Harry, did the longans come out regular sized or were they smaller than normal (talking like the size of a nickel)?. My experience with seedling longans has been they tend to produce lots of small fruit that are mostly seed with a tiny bit of flesh.

My seedling tree was from  Kohala fruit.  The tree, I believe,  has poduced now two years in a row.  Year before last was an incredibly heavy crop and the fruit was somewhat undersized.  However, I attributed this to especially heavy fruiting on each panicle which I allowed to mature without thinning.  I am foggy for some reason on last year's crop.  I know I intended to thin the fruits and never did.....then we had a bird invasion and the crop was pretty much lost.  This year, the tree has pushed very few bloom pannicles.  So thinning the fruits should not be required to acheive optimum size.  Let's see how big the fruits get.  The fruits were nicely flavored, regardless.

Hi Harry, I got two Longan seedlings that are now 1 year old and quite young. How long did it take your longans to fruit from germination time?

Good question.  I really am not so sure I remember anymore.  I would estimate 15 or so years from seed.  Might be as few as 10, but not less than that.

Harry

[Mr. Clean]

Did you see this USDA 2009 article "Lychee Studies Yield Keys To Plentiful, Predictable Harvest"?  http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090518.htm

[fruitlovers]

Did you see this USDA 2009 article "Lychee Studies Yield Keys To Plentiful, Predictable Harvest"?  http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2009/090518.htm

Yes ofcourse. Developed right here on Big Island. Only problem with the Dr. Zee protocol is that it is extremely work intensive. Pruning off all those new flushes takes a lot of time, and you may have to do it lots of times as rain forces more flushes to come out.
Oscar