Hello ScottR, Jim is doing well but still a bit frail, thanks for asking. Everyone is chipping in, helping to keep him active by taking him to events and visiting him at his home. The rare fruit growing community is amazing and really takes care of our members in need of help.

Here are some pictures of three varieties of Lychee that are ripe now. Brewster has colored up but not at full size and flavor.
SweetCliff


Mauritius


Sweetheart


Simon

Are there from San Diego backyards?Wow!!!

I purchased mine from Roger, from what I can remember, his was in the ground, very vigorous looking. He just grabbed a bunch of fruits to give me,and I had to buy the plant.  He's in Fountain Valley, and pretty much everything grows there, LOL.

About 3 years ago I bought one from Roger Myer after he gave me a few fruits to taste. It's been in the ground ever since. Growth rate has been slow, no flowers ever. I believe that my alkaline clay soil is to blame. I tried gypsum and soil acidifier, no improvement. I'm thinking of putting it in a pot so I can better control the soil mixture. Does this plant do reasonably well in a pot?
Thanks,
Trung

Not a huge deal to most of you guys, but I'm pretty happy. 😀 About 2 years in the pot. I got rid of all other fruitlets and just kept 1. Most likely will transplant to the ground next year.

I was visiting a public garden in Stockholm, and plenty of these fell from the tree, so I ate some. Definitely some type of prune. Taste is a mix of sweet and tart, quite enjoyable. The fragrance is different from any plums I've had in the US.
Thanks,

I see you're in Garden Grove, are you aware of all the Vietnamese markets in Westminster? I'll tell you what I can remember:
(1) ABC supermarket at the intersection of Magnolia & Bolsa. They have some stuff, but the better choices are the few fruit markets next to ABC.
(2) Tien Phat fruit market, on Bolsa between Brookhurst & Magnolia. Google the name for exact address.
(3) Tam Bien fruit market. Same general area as (2).
(4) There's a fruit place at the intersection of Magnolia & Westminster. I don't remember the name.
(5) All the supermarkets in the Little Saigon area sell tropical fruits. Selection and quality vary widely.

My favorites are (1) and (2).
Good luck,
Trung

    Trung

 I'm sorry, I tried posting a pic but was unable to figure out how. Maybe someday I'll figure out how to do it . It is a 4-5-4 formula 100% natural blend. I also use filtered water . I bought a water acidifier  granular product from a guy in diamond bar off of ebay. He sells plants and this water acidifier product . It has helped a lot in addition to the acid fertilizer. Regular unfiltered tap water seems to stunt their ability to grow. If you have worm castings too, sprinkle  a couple tablespoons around the drip line, they love that too.

 As far as my cocktail foliar spray , I tried to copy the one that Shamus O'Leary mixes up. To 1 gallon of filtered water I use 1 tablespoon of each=  Humax humid acid , Growmore seaweed extract , EcoVie ionic trace minerals , Liquinox chelated iron and zinc.  When I first started using this my trees were definatley needing the micro nutrients so I would spray in the evenings just before dark twice a month but now once a month is sufficient . I had to use EcoVie minerals since I was not able to find a source for the Hep 35 that Shamus uses. I compared labels on both and the EcoVie was close. This has worked well for me in addition to the 7-4-2-fertilizer.

 William

Yeah I've watched several of Shamus' videos, very informative, his climate  is similar  to ours. I'll look into your  concoctions.  My tap water is  pretty basic, so I've  been using pH Down to acidify it when I use the watering can. To post photos, you upload them to photobucket (that's  what  I use, but there are others), and copy & paste  the link here. If you need specific step by step, let me know,  I'll show you in PM.

Dr earth is kind of pricey, no? I heard it's good.
Some people use bioflora dry crumble. It's also getting pricey now. The rodents around my house love to eat it too. They think it's organic dog food or something.

Regular price was something around $10.xx, on sale for $5.xx, so  I figured  I'd give it  a try. I normally use Dyna grow liquid, plus  some other supplements.

    Trung

 That's the one I've been using on my trees with the exception of cherimoyas. It has given very good results on my mangos, sapodillas, canistels,and lychee's just to name a few.

 William

William,

Good to hear from you. Why did you exclude cherimoyas?
Trung

All those shoots that are popping up, should they be cut off? Will doing that adversely affect fruit production next season? Any advice is appreciated. The tree is about 7 years old, production is variable year to year.
Thanks!

I usually see pine needles used for mulching. There are none around my area, but I do have a bamboo hedge that drop a ton of leaves every year. Are they beneficial around tropical fruit trees?
Thanks,

I use the best of both worlds, glyphosate (Round-up) and mulching.  I have no weed issues.  Both are "organic" solutions for those so inclined to embrace that ideology.

Yes, keep vegetation away from the area within the drip-line, or farther out.  Speaking of the latter, another horticultural myth or frequently parroted paradigm if you will...... is to fertilize or mulch from the trunk out to the drip-line.   On an older tree the feeder roots are far beyond that point.  I have run a subsoiler for a neighbor's new garden who had fairly old trees and was stopped short by hanging up on 2-3" caliper roots that were at least 80' away from the drip line.    What we thought was a nice clear area was full of large roots.

Wood chips are fine, just watch for N deficiencies.

I mulched my trees with bags of this stuff from home depot. How can I tell if they have nitrogen deficiency, and how to treat it?
Thanks,