How's Your SoCal Lychee and Longan Trees Doing This Year?

[Johnny Eat Fruit]

Thus far I have had good growth on my two Lychee trees in 2022, Mauritius and Bruster. I planted my trees in the ground in 2020 so I do not expect any fruit until 2025. 

They are attractive specimens so I am glad they are in the ground with full sun.

Johnny


Brewster Lychee Tree (9-9-22)



Mauritius Lychee Tree

[johnb51]

Thus far I have had good growth on my two Lychee trees in 2022, Mauritius and Bruster. I planted my trees in the ground in 2020 so I do not expect any fruit until 2025. 

They are attractive specimens so I am glad they are in the ground with full sun.

Johnny


Brewster Lychee Tree (9-9-22)



Mauritius Lychee Tree

Yes, nice trees.  Good luck with them.

[sc4001992]

Johnny, your trees look great. My large Brewster is so big and growing over the house that I need to figure out how to air layer some of the large branches so I can cut back the tree before I dig it up. My tree has been in ground for over 30yrs so I'm worried the roots are growing under my concrete slab foundation. When I planted the tree, it was too close to the corner of my house (about 4 ft), big mistake. But it makes so many fruits I keep delaying cutting it down. My goal is to air layer as many branches as I can (once I figure out how to get good success) then dig out the tree next year.

[Seanny]

If you could add a pot after roots formed, and water often, your AL should be robust after cut.

I added a pot to this lychee after 10 weeks of AL.
This AL flushed after 10 days in pot.

It’s flushing again after 6 weeks in pot.
I’m seeing fat root tips at bottom of pot.
I’m planning to cut after 2nd flush harden.
I’m expecting AL to handle full sun after a week in shade.

My 1st lychee AL is still weak after a year, from cut and hide method.

[sc4001992]

Seanny, thanks for posting the photo and mentioning your method to do the air layer. I was thinking of doing something similar since my dad who was a bonsai instructor always used pots on the air layer branch for his bonsai. Good to hear it works, my previous years air layers (10) all had roots but after I moved them into small pots, 70% died in one year.

This year I will do the normal air layer, then once i see roots, I will try your pot method with soil, it sounds like a good idea. I have some large air layers going now (2-3" diameter, 6-8ft tall), so I will make sure to try your method. I plan to air layer maybe 20 branches so I can get as much of the branches off before I cut the tree down.

Here's my large Brester lychee tree photo from 2021.












Thanks.

[vin1]

My lychee and longan are new so no fruit or flowers yet. Here's a video of my lychees (Hak Ip and Sweetheart) plus longan (Biew Kiew and Ruby). https://photos.app.goo.gl/2wnTH47YXaEpyZtb9

[sc4001992]

Nice Ruby longan.

[Victoria Ave]

Seanny, thanks for posting the photo and mentioning your method to do the air layer. I was thinking of doing something similar since my dad who was a bonsai instructor always used pots on the air layer branch for his bonsai. Good to hear it works, my previous years air layers (10) all had roots but after I moved them into small pots, 70% died in one year.

This year I will do the normal air layer, then once i see roots, I will try your pot method with soil, it sounds like a good idea. I have some large air layers going now (2-3" diameter, 6-8ft tall), so I will make sure to try your method. I plan to air layer maybe 20 branches so I can get as much of the branches off before I cut the tree down.

Here's my large Brester lychee tree photo from 2021.












Thanks.

What an absolute monster of a tree, I’ll keep an eye out if you sell any of those air layers

[Eggo]

Seedling lychee.  The tree had fruits sparsely so still determining how productive it will be.



Seedling lychee fruit on the left.  Emperor on the right.

[Eggo]

Longan subspecies Malesianus.  Never seen this tree held so many fruits.  However, I think this been a good year overall for longans.

[sc4001992]

Eggo, your lychee tree looks very healthy. How was the fruits, is the seeds small or large?

Your right about the longan, my tree had the most fruits in a while as well. But not as much as your tree.

[Eggo]

Eggo, your lychee tree looks very healthy. How was the fruits, is the seeds small or large?

Your right about the longan, my tree had the most fruits in a while as well. But not as much as your tree.

The fruits were sweet but had a slight astringency I never tasted in lychees as it was more suttle last year.  I've read before that some fruits that had this may have some more ripening to go through and can get a lot sweeter. I think I picked them early this year as the birds were getting to them.

All the longans did really well maybe due to the even drier winter we had this year.