Lychee question

[AndrewAZ]

Are there any Lychee varities that would grow in zone 9b, or, is it purely tropical?

[giorgosgr]

i believe lychee is not purely tropical as it needs some chill hours to set fruit. I had tried last year some lychees from seed that didnt have succees but didnt die from my winter (-2) coldest temp for some hours only one night. I am not sure if longan or lychee is more cold hardy but i am planing to test one of them next year. But i believe it is supposed to be doable in a protected spot

[sapote]

Lychee is not a tropical plant. In Vietnam people only grow in northern area, and the middle to south have zero lychee practically. Below 0C will kill the young trees but I think a big 15 ft tree will survive with top parts damaged. This happened to my longan: Killed down to soil level then it popped up from under the soil in warm weather and now it is 15 - 20 ft big tree after about 10 years.

[BluePalm]

I live in zone 9b and grow a bunch of them. They do really well here.

[spaugh]

Summer is going to be more of a problem than winter in AZ. 

[monkeyfish]

There are many lychee around Tampa as well, 28F for 8 hours only resulted in defoliation for me, no die back, in slightly protected location. But they love humidity which Arizona is sorely lacking.  Occasional misting in summer would be futile, continuous misting, expensive.  A large humidity tent / greenhouse might be impractical, but that may be the only way.  Difficult to replicate jungle conditions in the desert.

[Mvule101]

Hmm...
What is the minimum temperature needed to enduce flowering? I live in Uganda and we rarely get temperatures below mid or low 60s. Would I still get fruit?

[giorgosgr]

from what i have reasd, a certain amount of winter chilling is necessary for flower bud development. Most varieties need between 100 and 200 hours of standard chilling (32° – 45° F). So with temps at mid 60s it should be a problem.. but you could always try and see the results

[Mvule101]

from what i have reasd, a certain amount of winter chilling is necessary for flower bud development. Most varieties need between 100 and 200 hours of standard chilling (32° – 45° F). So with temps at mid 60s it should be a problem.. but you could always try and see the results

OK thanks. I have been unsuccessful in getting kiwi fruit to flower but I did have Cherimoya flower this year.

I will have to wait and see how my seedlings do.

[spaugh]

from what i have reasd, a certain amount of winter chilling is necessary for flower bud development. Most varieties need between 100 and 200 hours of standard chilling (32° – 45° F). So with temps at mid 60s it should be a problem.. but you could always try and see the results

OK thanks. I have been unsuccessful in getting kiwi fruit to flower but I did have Cherimoya flower this year.

I will have to wait and see how my seedlings do.

Theres varieties grown in Hawaii like kaimana that dont need chill hours