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  • What do I need to plant and grow a lychee tree?

    Created by Shawn Goklaney on December 21, 2018 at 9:51 am

    I am planting a lychee tree by march and wanted to buy supplies early for my grow, the plant is lychee sweetheart variety 7 gallon, 5 feet high. Its coming in a pot 5 day shipping and then going into my backyard in a large hole. I need advice on what products to use for the entire first year. This is a very important project for me so I am trying to get prize results and a very large, sweet fruit producing tree with products that will specially help this tree.

    I need one good product for transplanting and shock. 1 good product for stimulating roots after it is transferred. 1 good product to stimulate heavy heavy growth during the first year. 1 product to add vitamins, 1 sweetner product. and possibly one product for water retention. I am looking for something nice so let me know products you would suggest, even if not in stock but at least on the website, so i can start to preorder. If there is anything I missed let me know. Remember this is year 1 so I need everything to get the first year right, its growing in California 93311, growing zone 9b. Im trying to go for a max size, sweetness, and healthy tree.

    I know it sounds like a lot to help this question but expert help is what i need, first major tropical tree project. basically just looking for a long list of product suggestion and reasons why it was picked.

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  • December 27, 2018 at 9:44 am #294684

    Eric Vinje
    Keymaster

    Hi Shawn –

    Your first step is to determine what type of soil you have in the backyard. Lychee trees are prone to root rot and diseases if planted in a heavy, clay soil. If you have a clay, I would avoid adding anything that will retain water until your tree older and stronger. Adding compost to clay soils can help with the structure of the soil and make it more ideal for planting. Also, young lychee trees have almost no tolerance for frost. They should be protected for the first three years until truly established.

    Nutrient demands aren’t too high for young trees. They can actually get nutrient burn fairly badly while they are young, and it isn’t recommended. However, we offer a fertilizer additive, Maxicrop liquid seaweed (0-0-1), that can help with transplant shock. The tree won’t require many nutrients until it is mature, and demands nitrogen for healthy top growth. I recommend an all-purpose fertilizer or a classic fruit tree fertilizer, which we offer on our website.

    Here is a website I found that was incredibly helpful and has a more in-depth description of what you may be looking for.

    http://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Com_Ag/Subtropical/Minor_Subtropicals/Lychee/

    Hope it helps!

    April 10, 2019 at 2:07 am #297118

    tonyzack
    Member

    You’re an expert!! Thank you E. Vinje

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