What is the best longan?

[bradflorida]

Thanks Oscar, BMC and Dave.

I just spoke with a couple of local growers about these varieties.  One  guy said that Chompoo is even sweeter than Biew Kiew.  The other guy said Biew Kiew is a more consistent producer in Southwest Florida.

So perhaps Biew Kiew will be the one.

Brad

[FlyingFoxFruits]

what about fortune eye?

frankie sells it and Toppy says it's the best...the trees I saw were absolutely loaded with fruits and only about 12ft tall...very ball like shape to the tree

[Tropicalgrower89]

I'm thinking about buying a longan tree and I'm undecided between Biew Kiew and Kohala. I've read that both are top tier, but I would like to know which one is the best. Besides flavor and overall fruit quality, I would like to know their growth behavior. Does one grow quicker or get larger than the other? 
Also, does longan like sandy soil?

Thank you,

[bradflorida]

Adam - where did you see the Fortune Eye tree?

Brad

[FlyingFoxFruits]

toppys got em! just saw em last week

[fruitlovers]

I'm thinking about buying a longan tree and I'm undecided between Biew Kiew and Kohala. I've read that both are top tier, but I would like to know which one is the best. Besides flavor and overall fruit quality, I would like to know their growth behavior. Does one grow quicker or get larger than the other? 
Also, does longan like sandy soil?

Thank you,

Kohala is a very upright tree and eventually can get giant sized. It has good tasting fruit but seed size is quite large. Kohala is considered better for sub tropics and Biew Kiew better for tropics. Kohala originates from northern part of this island, but almost never produces fruit here.

[fruitlovers]

what about fortune eye?

frankie sells it and Toppy says it's the best...the trees I saw were absolutely loaded with fruits and only about 12ft tall...very ball like shape to the tree

Don't have that one. Fortune Eye is a very old Chinese cultivar for which someone has translated the original Chinese name... original name is Fuyan. It's supposed to be late bearing:
http://books.google.com/books?id=49PB5MhHqkcC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=fortune+eye+longan&source=bl&ots=caQeJCArse&sig=dYgxKaYF7l01bYw03FtrlxMZRBE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YmThT8yFL6SQ2gWn8rm-Cw&ved=0CE4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=fortune%20eye%20longan&f=false

[bradflorida]

Thanks for your input guys.  I ended up picking up a Biew Kiew tree.

Brad

[Mike T]

I also reckon they are the 2 best common varieties with biew kiew a feather better in taste.

[bradflorida]

There are a few tropical fruit growers in Bokeelia, pine island with whom
I spoke and they both said that Sri chompoo was very sweet
Almost too sweet. One of the guys said that biew kiew produces
Better than chompoo in this area. 
I ended up finding a large tree at treehouse nursery which was maybe
6 feet tall and 4 yrs old for $50.

[morris4000]

Only 3 choices to choose from
Fortune eye
Biew kiew
Sri chompoo

Which one and why?

[HMHausman]

Can't comment on Fortune Eye, but you can't go wrong with either of the other two.  They are large fruited, with excellent flavor and sweetness.  They are both productive trees.

[FlyingFoxFruits]

anything but that awful BQ.

I'd take Kohala over BQ.

LOL just kidding...I had to do that..u know why..

Diamond river was a real disappointment to me though.

I've tasted BQ and C shampoo, they both taste way better to me than Kohala...much like a red fleshed pitaya tastes better than the store bought white fleshed ones.  I remember them having a nice flavor (aftertaste, aroma, what have you) that the Kohalas don't seem to match...although it's probably just a matter of opinion...Kohala is an excellent fruit, that's hard to beat.

[Cookie Monster]

While we're on the subject of longans -- how did your longans fare compared to your lychee trees after wilma slammed into your property? Were they uprooted?

Can't comment on Fortune Eye, but you can't go wrong with either of the other two.  They are large fruited, with excellent flavor and sweetness.  They are both productive trees.

[Cookie Monster]

That's pretty much how I feel. BQ == super yummy, Kohala == pretty stinkin good, and diamond river == poopy in some years, decent in others. Haven't had sea shampoo yet.

anything but that awful BQ.

I'd take Kohala over BQ.

LOL just kidding...I had to do that..u know why..

Diamond river was a real disappointment to me though.

I've tasted BQ and C shampoo, they both taste way better to me than Kohala...much like a red fleshed pitaya tastes better than the store bought white fleshed ones.  I remember them having a nice flavor (aftertaste, aroma, what have you) that the Kohalas don't seem to match...although it's probably just a matter of opinion...Kohala is an excellent fruit, that's hard to beat.

[fruitlovers]

Don't be dumb...get Bai Dum. That's my new favorite, but may be just this year it tastes extra good, and also 6 months earlier than usual. Biew Kiew is the commercially favored variety.

[morris4000]

Great info guys!  Goin with biew kiew fo sho

[HMHausman]

While we're on the subject of longans -- how did your longans fare compared to your lychee trees after wilma slammed into your property? Were they uprooted?

Most of my longans suffered only minor damage with Wilma. Most damaged was Daigelman.  My seedling of Kohala was actually the only one that was knocked down.  Go figure that the seedling would be more likely to uproot than the air-layered trees.  I lost an entire Bengal Lychee.  Several were knocked over and had to up righted but the largest of my lychee trees, Brewster, was one of the least affected trees in my yard.

[roboto212]

Ive had both Sri Chompoo and BQ and like them both, but Sri Chompoo is way better IMO... alot sweeter, if I remember correctly it has a bit more flesh than BQ... but they are always way sweeter than BQ

[Cookie Monster]

OK. Thanks for the info.

I've noted that air layered lychees and longans both have more aggressive rootsystems than seedlings. It does sound odd, but I think layering those is the better way to go.

While we're on the subject of longans -- how did your longans fare compared to your lychee trees after wilma slammed into your property? Were they uprooted?

Most of my longans suffered only minor damage with Wilma. Most damaged was Daigelman.  My seedling of Kohala was actually the only one that was knocked down.  Go figure that the seedling would be more likely to uproot than the air-layered trees.  I lost an entire Bengal Lychee.  Several were knocked over and had to up righted but the largest of my lychee trees, Brewster, was one of the least affected trees in my yard.

[fruitlovers]

OK. Thanks for the info.

I've noted that air layered lychees and longans both have more aggressive rootsystems than seedlings. It does sound odd, but I think layering those is the better way to go.

While we're on the subject of longans -- how did your longans fare compared to your lychee trees after wilma slammed into your property? Were they uprooted?

Most of my longans suffered only minor damage with Wilma. Most damaged was Daigelman.  My seedling of Kohala was actually the only one that was knocked down.  Go figure that the seedling would be more likely to uproot than the air-layered trees.  I lost an entire Bengal Lychee.  Several were knocked over and had to up righted but the largest of my lychee trees, Brewster, was one of the least affected trees in my yard.

Seedling trees would produce a tap root, air layers don't. But air layers may produce better laterals without the tap root. So in very shallow Florida soils maybe that is an advantage?

[ofdsurfer]

Could having a high water table make having a taproot useless?  I wonder it the air layer roots make it as deep as a taproot with a five foot water table?  If so they would be stronger because they also have a wider spreading base.

[Cookie Monster]

That's probably part of it. Also, unless you're using a 3 foot deep container, the tap root will hit the bottom and start to curl within a month or two of sprouting. So, the vast majority of trees planted out don't really have an effective tap root. You'd almost have to do in-situ planting to get a full taproot.

OK. Thanks for the info.

I've noted that air layered lychees and longans both have more aggressive rootsystems than seedlings. It does sound odd, but I think layering those is the better way to go.

While we're on the subject of longans -- how did your longans fare compared to your lychee trees after wilma slammed into your property? Were they uprooted?

Most of my longans suffered only minor damage with Wilma. Most damaged was Daigelman.  My seedling of Kohala was actually the only one that was knocked down.  Go figure that the seedling would be more likely to uproot than the air-layered trees.  I lost an entire Bengal Lychee.  Several were knocked over and had to up righted but the largest of my lychee trees, Brewster, was one of the least affected trees in my yard.

Seedling trees would produce a tap root, air layers don't. But air layers may produce better laterals without the tap root. So in very shallow Florida soils maybe that is an advantage?

[fruitlovers]

Within a month or two of sprouting? Lychee doesn't grow so fast as you think. That amount of time in a pot would be no problem at all for the tap root.

[Mike T]

I have been eating chompoo,biew kiew and kohala this week and have some experience in eating longans.I have consistently found biew kiew to be larger,fleshier and have a better taste than the other leading varieties.It is also the latest fruiting and farmers in this neck of the woods often ask for a higher price for biew kiews