The Tropical Fruit Forum
Tropical Fruit => Tropical Fruit Discussion => Topic started by: Rob1977 on October 08, 2014, 03:36:58 PM
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Anyone here growing Lychee in containers? I can't seem to find any info on the best time to root prune Lychee. I know your suppost to do it every year and I would think the best time to do it would be right after fruit harvest as that's when you prune the canopy. Would only make sense to do both at the same time. Any thoughts?
(http://s15.postimg.cc/nuj8qsjrb/image.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/nuj8qsjrb/)
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Beautiful looking tree, it looks incredibly healthy for a container lychee.
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Thanks! I bought this tree last Feb at a fruit tree sale here in Houston. Its doubled in size this year and about last June I moved from a 10 gallon pot to the 25gallon in the pic. Its just now starting to harden its last flush. Its about 7ftx7ft after this last push so I will have to do some major pruning this next summer after harvest to keep it in check. I want to do the root prune then as well but looking for input from others to see if there is a prefered time other than that to do it.
Lot of lurkers on this site man!!! It takes 50 views to get one reply! Come on guys, speak up!!!
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Many of us are not qualified to answer that since we may not be container growing lychees. Be patient and the right lurker will read it eventually--and respond with accuracy.
I doubt after harvest would be a bad time.
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Sorry Jeff, I am probably getting ahead of my self. I've never been accused of being patient ;) Between boys and lots of fruit trees Im taking a crash course in patients though. So please be patient with me ;)
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No worries Rob, I think I'm probably the most impatient member on the forum :o ::) :-[...Patience is a virtue I wasn't blessed it,lol...
That is a very healthy and beautiful Lychee tree btw 8)
I have Hak ip lychee that I've been growing in a container for appx. 1 1/2 years...I haven't root pruned it yet but plan to next summer after it fruits "if" it fruits...if not I'll repot and root prune sooner...when I root prune trees I take off the bottom 1/4 but not more than one 1/3 of the roots...kinda like slicing a loaf of bread...a clean slice...I gently remove it from the pot, lay it on its side and use a saw and slice about 1/4 or a few inches of the roots off and if I need more I take off a little off the sides as well and add fresh potting mix on the bottom and sides of the pot...
(http://s3.postimg.cc/aaiqrf1v3/IMG_4803.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/aaiqrf1v3/)
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Rob, thought I would repost your picture right side up :)
(http://s24.postimg.cc/dfdumadz5/GW_lychee_Rob.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/dfdumadz5/)
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Nice potted Lychee, there isn't really any information out there for potted Lychees but I would wait for the flush to harden. I would guess that fall or spring is the best time, when it is not too hot and not too cold. I would only prune encircling roots, Lychees don't like their roots disturbed. You may want to also prune the canopy when you prune the roots in order to balance everything out.
Simon
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I grow lychee (seedlings) in pots. They really don't like to have bounded roots. I stepped up one pot but not the other and the smaller pot's plant just died back to the soil.
Same experience last year when I had them in small pots. This year I put a pistachio in the pot that died and that might have contributed to the lychee dying. Now I have a pot of lychee and a pistachio plant.
I'm using gallon sized pots and smaller. There might be a larger size that the plant will be comfortable with.
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Simon, those are the reasons I believe it would be best to do it right after fruit harvest. You prune the canopy then any way and it would make sense to root prune at the same time. If you prune away any canopy in the fall, from what Ive read, it will spur the plant to push another growth flush. You dont want that with a Lychee. You want it to go into fall/winter with a freshly hardened off flush. That way it doesnt get winter injury and the clock will be set to push another growth flush a couple months later when its still cool enough to force new growth to be flower penticles and not leaf growth. I believe lychee are a different ball game compaired to other fruiting plants. Also pruning away foliage from now untill fruit set will greatly deminish the amount fruiting potential in the spring. Im just shooting from the hip here as you stated there is no real info available about root pruning container lychee but enough to connect the dots with the other info available.... I think!!! I would hate to root prune it next June and it die on me from heat stress!!! It just doesnt make sense to do it any other way.
Fyliu, from what I understand a seedling plant will not do well in pots at all as it has a large tap root and thats not condusive to potting. Airlayered plants dont have a tap root but a mass of the finer feeder roots which are able to get the plant what it needs in a potted environment. One other thing I noticed about Lychee, especially in a container is the amount of water needed to keep them healty. I water my 25 gallon pot every day, 2 times a day if the temp is over 95 degrees. In a small pot I wouldnt think there would be enough water held in the potting soil to sustain the plant very long.
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Hello Rob, you are really doing such a great job growing your Lychee, I wish my plants looked like yours. I would probably try as much as possible to step up the pot rather than root prune. Is there a reason you keep your tree in a pot, they do much better when planted in the ground. BTW, what variety is your tree and has it produced for you yet?
Simon
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Thanks Simon, it is a Sweetheart Lychee. Ive only had it since last Feb so this is my first season with it. It did set well over 60 fruit this year but dropped almost all of them by the time they ripened. I only ended up getting 3 ripe lychee. Its the first time Ive had them and they were strangely delicious! Much different flavor and texture than I expected but I really liked them! I could plant it but there are a few concerns doing that. For one, we are building a new house right now and only expect to stay there 2-3 years. Im almost 100% sure who ever buys the house from us will not go through the extensive efforts to protect this tree in the winter. Most people are not as serious about growing and tending to fruit trees as the people we surround our selfs with on this forum so I would like to be able to take the tree with me to our final destination in a few more years. Second, this is a 25 gallon pot and it will be a son of gun to repot and root prune as it is. The next step up would be a 55 gallon drum cut in half which is actually a 30 gallon pot. I dont know if 5 more gallons of root room would be worth the extra weight and trouble root pruning this tree. I want to keep it as managable as possible on my back when the time comes but still give the tree enough root room to stay reasonably happy.
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Puglvr, thanks for straightening up my pic for me. I wasnt quiet sure how it ended up sideways! Your potted Lychee looks very healthy. Hopefully it will give you a sample next season. Your description of root pruning sounds pretty close to what I do. I also like to take a couple wedges off of each side verticly from top to bottom of the root ball. Alternating that cut every year to the opposite sides. At least thats how I do my figs. That way the entire root ball is turned over every 2 to 3 years.
Do you have any other Lychees? Ive read they have a better fruit set in the presence of another variety. I wanting to get either a Hak ip or Emperor to pair up with mine. If you dont have Sweetheart may be we could arrange a trade in the future?
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Rob, I've tried longan and lychee both, I don't seem to have much luck with them in the Houston area. I'm being to think I may have a city water (pH) issue. I seem to be having the same chlorosis issues everytime.
What is your watering and fertilizer schedule?
btw, good looking tree.
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I have two lychee trees in pots, which I bought from distinct sellers in september of this year.
The smaller has something like 80 cm tall and around 20 fruits growing, and the bigger has something near 2m tall but no fruits yet. I donīt have practice pruning lychees, so, Iīll watch this topic with interest. Sellers said me that both trees are from layering (alporquia).
As a side note, my bigger tree is recovering from acaro-erinose, a health issue to much common in lychees.
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"Do you have any other Lychees? Ive read they have a better fruit set in the presence of another variety. I wanting to get either a Hak ip or Emperor to pair up with mine. If you dont have Sweetheart may be we could arrange a trade in the future?"
Hey Rob, Appreciate the offer of the trade...but I'll pass, I really don't need another lychee tree,lol...way too many trees already plus I do NOT know how to graft or air layer, thanks though!!
I do have another lychee (planted inground) ...I've had fruits for the last 2 years ;D
Its Mauritius...here it is when I planted it in Feb. 2011
(http://s14.postimg.cc/qdeeggafh/Lychee_Mauritius_2_21_11_004.jpg)
Nice new growth flush taken today...
(http://postimg.cc/image/qdeeggafh/)
(http://s14.postimg.cc/okbhs4p8t/IMG_4850.jpg)
Hi Cassio...Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your lychee trees 8) (http://postimg.cc/image/okbhs4p8t/)
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still trying to sell my 25 gal sweetheart for $200....any takers?
So far i've been disappointed with this tree...lots of flowers, but fruits all seem to fall off or split.
I've seen brewster and mauritius fruiting well in small pots...
I know treehouse nursery had some nice 200 gal trees...they would fruit just like any tree in the ground....there's a pic of one such tree in Bill Whitman's book, 5 decades.
(http://s2.postimg.cc/qpudneep1/IMG_0047.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/qpudneep1/)
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"Do you have any other Lychees? Ive read they have a better fruit set in the presence of another variety. I wanting to get either a Hak ip or Emperor to pair up with mine. If you dont have Sweetheart may be we could arrange a trade in the future?"
Hey Rob, Appreciate the offer of the trade...but I'll pass, I really don't need another lychee tree,lol...way too many trees already plus I do NOT know how to graft or air layer, thanks though!!
I do have another lychee (planted inground) ...I've had fruits for the last 2 years ;D
Its Mauritius...here it is when I planted it in Feb. 2011
(http://s14.postimg.cc/qdeeggafh/Lychee_Mauritius_2_21_11_004.jpg)
Nice new growth flush taken today...
(http://postimg.cc/image/qdeeggafh/)
(http://s14.postimg.cc/okbhs4p8t/IMG_4850.jpg)
Hi Cassio...Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your lychee trees 8)
(http://postimg.cc/image/okbhs4p8t/)
Pud we have shared are concerns with the threat of Frost before wiht us being in zone 9b...
Was hoping you could tell me how yuor Lychee has fared with the Light Frost compared to Mangos?
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Beautiful looking Lychee tree Adam!! Wish I knew someone that's interested in buying your tree...she's a gorgeous tree!!
Hi Clay, I was very fortunate... I did not protect my Lychee tree at all last winter...we had a couple of mornings of light frost and temps reached appx. 30 degrees (coldest that winter) but only for a few hours (2-3) and it did not have any major affects on the lychee...it did nipped a few of the blooms and also some on my mango branches and blooms were fried...but overall most of the lychee blooms survived and made it...
I'm hoping for the same this year...Fingers crossed!!
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Fyliu, from what I understand a seedling plant will not do well in pots at all as it has a large tap root
You are right. I have made 5 ft long airlayers and had one in a 1 gallon pot for 2 years. It didn't die but the new leaves would dry up and fall off because there's not enough water to support them. Eventually I found someone who wanted it and gave it away.
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thanks Puglvr!
i ended up pruning the tree quite heavily, out of spite....because the tree hasn't fruited.
now the shape is nice...low and spreading canopy....
i know lychees can be pruned heavily, and respond well
Beautiful looking Lychee tree Adam!! Wish I knew someone that's interested in buying your tree...she's a gorgeous tree!!
Hi Clay, I was very fortunate... I did not protect my Lychee tree at all last winter...we had a couple of mornings of light frost and temps reached appx. 30 degrees (coldest that winter) but only for a few hours (2-3) and it did not have any major affects on the lychee...it did nipped a few of the blooms and also some on my mango branches and blooms were fried...but overall most of the lychee blooms survived and made it...
I'm hoping for the same this year...Fingers crossed!!
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Adam, I think lychee will respond well by vigorously regrowing the lost branch and more, but not in putting out flowers the next year.
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Hey Rob,
Welcome to the forum...:)
Gorgeous Lychee Tree!! It seems to be very happy.
I have two lychees in containers, a Sweetheart and a Mauritius. I didn't get any fruit this year, but went ahead and pruned them. At the same time I also repotted both up to 10 gal containers, pruning their roots, esp. the circling roots. They are both doing just fine and have flushed out nicely with all the warm weather we are having lately.
I have noticed that they don't mind being root bound as much. However, you have to keep up with the watering (sometimes daily in the heat of summer). They do like a lot of water, and if you let them dry up, you will loose fresh tips and leaves, and if not watered, you can loose the lychee plant within days. Just something to be aware of for container growing, esp. in our hot South.
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Htown representing, I love it!!! Doglips, Houston water is horrible for all kinds of plants, especially acid loving plants which Lychee and Blueberries are. I use nothing but rain water collected from my gutters and Microlife Fert. I fert about every 2 months starting late Feb/early March. Also starting with the right PH potting mix helps as well. For both Blueberries and Lychee I use a mix of about 60%-70% pine bark mulch and the rest Spag Peatmoss. If I have perlite on hand I will sift out the dust and throw some in the mix as well. That's it, nothing to it.
Green thumb, thanks for the welcome. What time of year did you root prune your Lychee? Did you get yours from the Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale? I've noticed the water demand of these plants! My blueberries are exactly the same! Water every day it's over 90 degrees or they start to wilt in the heat. Thankfully this summer was mild compared to the last few. Hope that doesn't mean a long cold winter!!!!
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Adam, I think lychee will respond well by vigorously regrowing the lost branch and more, but not in putting out flowers the next year.
yes for sure..if you cut them back too hard, they will not fruit the next year...
but if you do it just right (after fruit is harvested) not cutting the tree back severely, I've heard it can really help increase productivity the next year.
honestly I don't have much experience with Lychees..I'm reciting what I learned from Toppy in Merritt island FL.
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still trying to sell my 25 gal sweetheart for $200....any takers?
So far i've been disappointed with this tree...lots of flowers, but fruits all seem to fall off or split.
I've seen brewster and mauritius fruiting well in small pots...
I know treehouse nursery had some nice 200 gal trees...they would fruit just like any tree in the ground....there's a pic of one such tree in Bill Whitman's book, 5 decades.
(http://s2.postimg.cc/qpudneep1/IMG_0047.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/qpudneep1/)
Adam, I wish you lived in San Diego, I'd take that tree in a heartbeat. Perhaps you can try girdling a branch or two this winter in order to increase fruit set. I have a theory that the Sweetheart variety has high fruit drop rate due to the high number of atrophied seeds in its fruit. Not sure if the chicken tongue seeds are caused by malformed pollen or what but I would hazard to guess that girdling branches will help with fruit retention.
Simon
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Htown representing, I love it!!! Doglips, Houston water is horrible for all kinds of plants, especially acid loving plants which Lychee and Blueberries are. I use nothing but rain water collected from my gutters and Microlife Fert. I fert about every 2 months starting late Feb/early March. Also starting with the right PH potting mix helps as well. For both Blueberries and Lychee I use a mix of about 60%-70% pine bark mulch and the rest Spag Peatmoss. If I have perlite on hand I will sift out the dust and throw some in the mix as well. That's it, nothing to it.
Green thumb, thanks for the welcome. What time of year did you root prune your Lychee? Did you get yours from the Urban Harvest Fruit Tree Sale? I've noticed the water demand of these plants! My blueberries are exactly the same! Water every day it's over 90 degrees or they start to wilt in the heat. Thankfully this summer was mild compared to the last few. Hope that doesn't mean a long cold winter!!!!
I root pruned my Lychees at the same time I gave them a pruning - late July of this yr. I followed the advice of lycheesonline.com and lychee experts on this forum. Lycheesonline says to prune the branches post harvest, around mid-July (even if you didn't get any fruit that year). I pruned my mangoes about the same time too, just after I harvested the fruit (around Aug).
I wasn't brave enough to slice into the lychee root ball, and only cut off large pieces of matted roots or circling roots, and loosened up the root ball before re-potting. I'll try to cut into it more with my next re-potting.
No, I wasn't able to make it to the Urban Harvest Fruit Sale this year, but I did attend their pre-sale talk. I heard they had the most beautiful lychee trees which sold out within minutes of the sale opening! Is your beauty from them? I got both of mine as 3 gals from local nurseries around town. The Mauritius lychee is originally from Pine Island Nursery, Fl. and I'm not sure where the sweetheart is originally from.
Summer was not so bad this year, but i'm a little worried about winter. I've just started working on getting things ready for winter. I'm hoping we don't get those nasty dips we got last year. I recall a couple of nights I got to about 24-26 F.
:) Happy growing!!
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I got my Sweetheart from the Galveston County Fruit Tree Sale. Urban harvest sells out to quick and I didn't get in line at 5:00 am like the year before. That's to way to do it man!!! You can get every thing you want if your one of the first 10 in line. What other fruits are you growing and what part of Houston are you in?
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Hi Cassio...Welcome to the forum! Good luck with your lychee trees 8)[/font][/size]
Thank you!
I canīt allow mine to grow like that! :o
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I got my Sweetheart from the Galveston County Fruit Tree Sale. Urban harvest sells out to quick and I didn't get in line at 5:00 am like the year before. That's to way to do it man!!! You can get every thing you want if your one of the first 10 in line. What other fruits are you growing and what part of Houston are you in?
I attended a presentation on Avocados at the Galveston County Agrilife Extension, just a week or so before the sale. They have some lovely fruit trees growing out there. Haha, yeah you have to get to the Urban harvest sale early, and all the sales always end up to be on the coldest mornings... :P You freeze your behind off just standing in line!!
I'm in the SW portion of Fort bend county. I did catch the bug really bad when I first started collecting. All I could think of was "one of everything please!!" But I'm doing a lot better now, well, hehe a little better!! I did a lot of gifting and now I am only growing plants that really make me happy. My more temperate fruit trees which include stone fruit trees, like peaches, plums, nectarines; I also grow citrus, pears, persimmons, olives, figs, pomegranates, bananas, mulberries and blueberries. Some of my tropical fruit trees include mangoes, longan, annonas, avocados, sapodillas, some eugenias, Jaboticabas, and many seedlings which I am still experimenting with. I also grow a few veggies and herbs, and some tropical spice trees. :)
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Doglips, very nice. Sounds like you got it going your way! Congrats, its a cool feeling when you get several years under your belt and finally have some big healthy fruit trees spitting out fruit. Its definitely a marathon and not a foot race. I'm just getting into the tropical so I'm in that one of every thing please mode. I was like that with Blueberries. Ive since been there and done that and finally calmed down. Settled on a few varieties after thinning my herd from 15 varieties and 50+ plants down to 10 plants that are really standouts. They are all mature plants now putting out lbs of fruit every spring. Then I got on the fig high and collected many of the sought after varieties. Now, all I can think about are MANGOS!!!!! Something very special about mangos, cant quite put my finger on it, buts special what ever it is! ;D
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Well, here it goes my Lychees, both in containers. :)
(http://s27.postimg.cc/pj8o4p3an/DSC01656.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/pj8o4p3an/)
(http://s11.postimg.cc/yfuajnsyn/DSC01657.jpg) (http://postimg.cc/image/yfuajnsyn/)