Lychee
8
3
1Will it grow where I live?
Lychee is not winter-hardy in Central Europe (zone 10): outdoors from spring to autumn only, otherwise a container plant overwintered frost-free. The summer heat it needs to ripen is out of reach outdoors in Central Europe – greenhouse or conservatory.
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Profile
- Family
- Sapindaceae
- Habit
- Tree
- Height
- 11 m
- Spread
- 9.1 m
- Growth
- slow
- Lifespan
- 100 years
- First yield
- after 5 years
- Hardiness
- zone 10–12
- Shade tolerance
- light shade
- Soil
- Sand, Silt, Loam
- Soil moisture
- dry – moist
- pH
- 5 – 6.5
Varieties (14)
14 varieties of Lychee are listed in the Permaplans variety finder — each with its own page: taste, ripening time, disease resistance, parentage and use.
- Bengal Robust, large-fruited cultivar with strong growth and dependable cropping.
- Bosworth 3 Large, dark red Hawaiian lychee (Kaimana) with showy fruit.
- Brewster Classic Florida commercial lychee with large, aromatic fruit.
- Emperor Very large-fruited Australian lychee for the premium fresh market.
- Fay Zee Siu Very early, large-fruited lychee; one of South China's most important cultivars.
- Hak Ip Reliable mid-season commercial cultivar with a high rate of small chicken-tongue seeds.
- Kwai May Pink Top-quality aromatic lychee with cinnamon fragrance and crisp, small-seeded flesh.
- Kwai May Red Red-skinned, aromatic Kwai May selection with crisp, small-seeded flesh.
- No Mai Chee Premium Chinese lychee with a tiny seed, very sweet and aromatic.
- Salathiel Late Australian lychee with a small seed and good storage life.
- Souey Tung Early, reliable Chinese commercial lychee with good yields.
- Sweetheart Large, heart-shaped US lychee with an almost consistently tiny seed.
- Tai So Early, most widely planted commercial lychee with variable seed size.
- Wai Chee Late, extremely reliable commercial lychee for warm climates.
Uses
Frequently asked questions
Lychee: how big does it get?
Lychee (Litchi chinensis) grows as a Tree and reaches roughly 11 m in height when mature, with a spread of about 9.1 m. Growth is slow.
Lychee: what site does it need?
Lychee tolerates light shade. Suitable soils are Sand, Silt, Loam. Soil moisture should be in the range dry – moist. The pH may lie between 5 and 6.5.
Lychee: is it hardy?
Lychee is listed as hardy in zone 10–12 and survives normal winters outdoors there.
Lychee: will it grow in Central Europe?
Lychee is not winter-hardy in Central Europe (zone 10): outdoors from spring to autumn only, otherwise a container plant overwintered frost-free. The summer heat it needs to ripen is out of reach outdoors in Central Europe – greenhouse or conservatory.
Lychee: is it poisonous?
Individual parts of Lychee are noted as mildly problematic — the plant does not count as poisonous. With wild plants, never rely on a database alone, only on a confident identification.
Lychee: what is it used for?
Rated on a scale up to 10: Edible 8/10, Medicinal 3/10, Other uses 1/10.
Which Lychee varieties are there?
The Permaplans variety finder lists 14 varieties of Lychee, including Bengal, Bosworth 3, Brewster, Emperor, Fay Zee Siu, Hak Ip, Kwai May Pink, Kwai May Red, No Mai Chee, Salathiel, Souey Tung, Sweetheart and 2 more. Each variety has its own page with taste, ripening time, disease resistance and parentage.
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