PlantFiles: Lychee
Litchi chinensis

Here in Mauritius we have many of these. Also there is cultivar named Mauritius. Easily grown from seed or air-layering or even grafted. The easiest way is from air-layering that takes about 45 days to 70 days to roots on the mother plant. In Mauritius , the fruits ripe in summer which is nov - jan.

Delicious fruit, tree will not survive in my area w/o a whole lot of winter TLC or a greenhouse.

We love Lychee. My wife buys them by the pounds at the grocery store. We literally throw the seeds out into our garden and they grow. I have transplanted quite of few of them in pots. we are finding out that the love shade when they are still young. I can't wait until we get one big enough to put into the ground. Anyone know how long they take to get 3-4' tall? How log before they produce fruit?

The dictionaries (onelook.com) list the pronunciation as lee-chee like the davesgarden listing at the top of the page does, vs. lie-chee.

I grow smaller lychees in a zone 5 greenhouse. I thought I would add my "lessons learned" under the species, but I grow 'Brewster' and 'Sweetheart.'

The lychee is tricky to grow here. I grow them in raised beds, not in containers, upon the recommendation of the Florida nursery from which I purchased them. They are in loam well-amended with peat and compost. Lychees in my greenhouse go through several growth flushes per year. During these growth flushes, adequate moisture is essential; they do best with a thorough watering daily. They are salt sensitive, and so rainwater or treated water should be used. They are sensitive to overfertilization; with too much fert, the leaves will brown from the edges. And finally, the new, emerging leaves are wind-sensitive. Even an oscillating fan blowing through the tree is enough to wreck leaves.

If you live in a northern climate and grow tropicals, this one will test your green thumb.The plant has a light chill requirement, but it is possible to get flowering and fruit set from the tree in this setting.

if all you've ever tasted is canned lychee (yuck), you haven't tasted the bit of heaven fresh lychee is. When lucky I get a box from my brother on the Big Is. Like them chilled, will try frozen, sounds good. I've always heard the tree is temperamental and will go a few years without bearing if it doesn't like conditions. Nice looking tree. My neighbor had one but it stopped producing no matter what he did to encourage it so took it down.

Lychee are pronounced Lie-chee, not Lee-chee........It grows very well in Hawaii. This year the crops seem to be especially large and the fruit bigger, plumper and juicier.

Love the perfumey taste.

The fruit reminds me somewhat of the "mamomcillo" I grew up with in Cuba, though the taste and shell are not the same at all.

If you search for Litchi chinensis, you would find that there are postings already for the top 6 varieties of Lychee,

Kwai Mai Pink
Emperor
Sweet Cliff
Mauritius
Brewster
Hak Ip

I can not believe no one has posted a positive note on this tree and it's World renowed fruit, that bestows an addictive flavor that makes them impossible to stop eating!! They become ripe the second week of June and must be picked before they quickly drop onto the ground. In growing zone 9a-9b, they do well as long as the Winter cold snaps do not stay below freezing for over 3-4 hours. In 1982, a severe cold snap killed many Lychee Trees in our area. Now the area is full once again with Lychee Trees, and most if not all are for personal use, and not grown in central Florida for market sales. In south Florida they do grow them to sell and they bring a very hefty price. They can not be compared to the canned lychees. The canned are much too sweet and have the can taste, unlike the fresh off of the tree taste, that is just this side of Heaven! The best way to obtain a lychee tree besides buying one from a nursery, is to air layer a limb, and after about 6-8 weeks, roots will have formed and you can cut the branch you have air layered and plant the Lychee Tree. If grown from seed they reach 18" inches for 18 months before growing any taller. Between my Dad and myself we must have air layered over 30 trees, and we are more than happy to share our harvest with friends and family. My favorite way to eat them is to freeze them and eat them while I watch television. The taste is so good it will make your tongue "slap-your-brains-out"!! LOL!! :-)