The next time you eat lychees, save the seeds. Because with these you can easily breed lychees. Learn more here.
Exotic fruits quickly draw our attention on the fruit shelf, taste wonderfully sweet and fruity and can be integrated particularly well in tempting desserts. Today, however, it is often also possible to grow exotic fruits in a greenhouse or winter garden without further ado. This also works with lychees, among other things. We will now tell you how this works and what you need to consider.
Breeding lychees - How it works
You can grow a new plant yourself at any time from the core of a very fresh lychee (high season from January on the fruit shelf). To do this, carefully core the fruit and first thoroughly clean the core with warm water.
Then you have to put the core in a pot filled with humus about 2 to 3 centimeters deep. The soil should be as moist as possible. Now also cover the pot with an air-permeable and translucent film. In this way, the core germinates faster (germination time about 2 weeks). Alternatively, you can also use a small glass plate for this.
» Important:
Now you must always ensure that the soil is loose and moist during this time. But you should never keep it wet - avoid waterlogging! In addition, you should never expose the seedlings to direct sunlight. In addition, a constant room temperature of 25 degrees is very important during cultivation.
Care for lychee plants properly
Transplant:
After a certain time (about 4 to 8 weeks) you can transfer the seedlings to fresh pots. First and foremost, the lychee plants need acidic-sandy soil that is as loamy as possible.
» Tip:
Lychee plants can of course also be placed in a warm spot in the garden that is as sheltered from the wind as possible (e.g. on a house wall) during the summer months. However, direct sunlight is not good for the plants here either.
Water the lychees:
You should water the lychee trees regularly because theythrive in a moist culture. You can use rainwater or low-lime water, for example. You can also spray the lychee trees more often with this, because it increases the humidity.
» Important:
Always make sure that the water runs off as quickly as possible when watering the plants. You have to avoid waterlogging, otherwise there is a risk of root rot.
Fertilize lychees:
From spring to late summer you need to fertilize the lychee trees once a month with a fruit fertilizer. In the winter months, however, you can do without fertilization.
Lychees in winter:
In winter you should reduce water consumption and you can also lower the temperature to 10 degrees. However, even in winter, the lychee must receive enough natural light every day.
Generate Fruits
If you only keep your lychee plant as a container plant, it will hardly ever produce fruit. Which is why you should ideally transplant your lychee plant into a natural flower bed in a greenhouse or greenhouse.
For this purpose, you should first create a soil culture that is pleasant for the lychee and consists of acidic-sandy, loamy soil. In this bed, the lychees can then form a sufficient root culture, which means that over time you will reward the plants with fresh, white-fleshed fruits in crimson skin.
Link tips:
If you would like to grow more exotic fruits yourself, then you might be interested in the following links:
» Hardy banana trees - cultivation and care
» Growing pomegranates - How it's done
» Japanese grapes - cultivation and care