Author Topic: What is the best lychee?  (Read 63001 times)

Mike T

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #125 on: June 25, 2017, 12:11:35 AM »

Walkamin like Kamerunga did fruit trials and here is one of theirs on lychees remembers that Mauritus is one form of Tai So and Haak yip is a crisp fleshed fruit not the same as Floridian hak ip. Around 40 varieties were trialled in Queensland around this time and 15 came out as recommended varieties.
It would be easy to sort out the correct names in the US by going back to the originals for comparisons.

fruitlovers

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #126 on: June 25, 2017, 12:34:45 AM »
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.

Not sure where you get that information. Sweetheart is a rather recent introduction. There are previous threads detailing origin of Sweetheart from Australia. It's an invented name for a plant that the person who brought material over lost the tag for.
Oscar

Mike T

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #127 on: June 25, 2017, 12:44:06 AM »
Brad showed me pics of hak ip/sweetheart that look just the same as the original FZS line introduced to Australia to me. I posted pics before of the newer, larger and redder FZS.   

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #128 on: June 25, 2017, 12:53:35 AM »
Reply 92 from Oscar shows what the USDA has as one of their Hak Ip. This is also what I know to be Hak Ip and it is a commercial variety from Taiwan and China. When they are in season, the box is actually labeled as Hak Ip. I often see them sold at 99 Ranch market although the last 10 years, the Hak Ip is being replaced by the newer spikey green Lychee.  http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=4051.msg209633#msg209633

Simon

Jose Spain

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #129 on: June 25, 2017, 12:39:07 PM »
I'm considering FZS and Salathiel as 2 last additions to my small collection. I already have in the ground Kaimana and Way Chee. In some documents I'm reading that FZS is earlier than Kaimana and in others exactly the contrary. Anybody has both cv and could confirm me if they mature at the same time or not?

By the way, FZS is a common cv planted here in Spain (also Salathiel and Kaimana), specially in Canary Islands, and this is how our FZS looks like:



« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 01:06:47 PM by Jose Spain »

andrewq

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #130 on: June 25, 2017, 10:21:58 PM »
so is hap ik the same as sweetheart or different?

I haven't gotten a hap ik due to all the confusion, shady labeling, and uncertainty about what I'm getting.

I'm trying to get a wide variety of trees and hope they have partial overlap in blooming

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #131 on: June 25, 2017, 11:15:12 PM »
If possible, try the fruit before you purchase the tree and don't purchase trees that aren't labeled. I have no idea if the confusion has spread to Texas but I like to believe that nurseries do their best to not mislabel their trees.

Simon

Mike T

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #132 on: June 26, 2017, 08:09:08 AM »
Haak yip/hak ip has fruit that are crisp fleshed, relatively smooth and have a shape that is broad like a small mandarin. By contrast FZS is larger, conical and has softer flesh and looser skin. If sweetheart is a contrived name for FZS and has been subsequently mislabelled as hak ip in some places then confusion must be at an all time high.

shot

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #133 on: June 26, 2017, 08:24:50 AM »
Reply #132 mike you have the precise summary of florida lychee names.
Have you  notice the bottom 6 feet of fzs trees has larger fruit some as large as emperor?

bradflorida

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #134 on: June 26, 2017, 11:08:08 AM »
Shot,

It appears that what is sold as Ohia on Pine Island is actually the true Hak Ip.

Brad
Brad

simon_grow

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #135 on: June 26, 2017, 01:22:58 PM »
I picked many Emperor sized fruit on the top canopy of my friends Sweetheart but it was grown in San Diego. Sweethearts get huge.

Simon

Diospyros

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #136 on: August 28, 2018, 08:47:12 PM »
Anyone know what lychee varieties are best suited for the cooler locations?

SoCal2warm

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #137 on: August 28, 2018, 10:30:02 PM »
Anyone know what lychee varieties are best suited for the cooler locations?
Brewster was known to handle cold a little bit better than others, one of the reasons it was originally selected for Florida, and probably "mountain-type" cultivars like Mauritius and Emperor (though I'm not entirely sure about Mauritius). Hak ip is also mountain-type.
« Last Edit: August 28, 2018, 10:32:47 PM by SoCal2warm »

Diospyros

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #138 on: August 29, 2018, 04:36:36 AM »
Thanks!!

Makes me lauggh when I hear Fl and cool area in the same sentence but I know what you mean. ;)

Mauritius is mentionned in the thread as a variety for the warmer climate that bear fruits even in warmer climates as in "not needing much chill".

I know it is also known as being unproductive on the tropical coast of Spain which is in zone 10!

bsbullie

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #139 on: August 29, 2018, 08:15:07 AM »
Here in South Florida,  Emperor seems to only be productive when we have our coldest winters.  The warmer the winter, the lesser the crop.

Brewster, and then replaced by Mauritius, for the choice of commercial crops here are consistently productive no matter what the temps.  This would lead me to believe that cold does not play a role in productivity.
- Rob

Diospyros

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #140 on: August 29, 2018, 06:19:27 PM »
That is very interesting.

I'm still wondering why Mauritius does poorly in Southern Spain (USDA Zone 10 et 11).

Even at the nurseries that are selling it they confirmed to me that it wasn't worth planting. One of the salesman told me he personally had to uproot his cause it only produced 2 fruits after many years.

I'm still gonna get one first chance I get, I really like Mauritius it's basically the only one we get here and it's good. Doesn't have many chicken tongue seeds though...


bsbullie

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #141 on: August 29, 2018, 08:41:23 PM »
Mauritius is my least favorite (at least based on Florida grown).  Not saying its bad but xomoared to other available varieties grown here, its my least favorite.
- Rob

Mango Maniac

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Re: What is the best lychee?
« Reply #142 on: June 05, 2022, 06:10:22 PM »
Of my 4 lychee trees the Sweetheart puts out the best tasting fruit. However, this year I failed to get any fruit at all. The Sweetheart put out some but the raccoons and squirrels go to them first the rest did not even flower or fruit.
Need to find room for my next mango tree!
Mangos:  Valencia Pride, Kent, Nam Doc Mai, Cogshall.  Lychee: Sweetheart, Emperor, Mauritius, Brewster.
Longan