How to grow lychees at home from a seed. Planting and growing lychee (Chinese plum) from seed. Stages of growing from seeds

Lychee is a rare but tasty fruit native to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia. Recently, it has begun to appear frequently on the shelves of Russian stores. If after purchasing you like its taste, then later, in order not to spend money, you can try growing it at home. It's easy to figure out how to grow lychees.

Description of lychee: benefits and harms of berries

Lychee belongs to the Sapindaceae family, genus litchi. It is distinguished by rather small fruits that can grow up to 3.5 cm in diameter and weigh no more than 20 g. The fruits are round or oval in shape, covered on the outside with a dense, brittle and rough skin of a pink or red hue. Inside there is juicy pale pulp. It has an unusual slightly sour taste and pleasant aroma. In the middle of the fruit there is a dark brown inedible seed.

What does lychee look like?

For your information! Due to where lychee comes from, it is also often called Chinese plum.

The tree, on which the fruits grow in clusters, grows up to 30 m in height and has a dense crown. Its dense and leathery leaves are typically dark green in color.

Lychee fruits contain many vitamins, microelements and fiber, making them a very healthy product. With their regular use, a person receives a lot of nutrients and also feels a surge of vigor and strength. The fruits have a tonic effect and have a positive effect on the immune system.

Note! Since ancient times in China, the fruit was considered a natural aphrodisiac; it had a rejuvenating effect on the body and increased sexual desire.

As for harm to human health, it is believed that lychee does not have a negative effect. In some cases, it can cause an allergic reaction, so you should try a small amount of fruit the first time. In addition, Chinese plum is contraindicated for people with individual intolerance to this product.

How to grow lychee fruit from seed at home

Growing a lychee tree from a seed is a rather labor-intensive process. For everything to work out correctly, you need to consider the following points:

the plant should be planted in a room with a temperature of 28-30 ° C and an air humidity of 70-80%;
provide sufficient lighting;
Watering should be moderate, spray the leaves with settled water;
do not forget to feed lychees with mineral fertilizers on time;
choose the right container and soil before planting the plant;
replant in a timely manner.

How to choose a seed

In order for the future tree to grow healthy, you should choose the right planting material. Fruit with a stalk and bright red skin is best.

Important! If the lychee has a green, brown or dark green surface, then inside it there is an overripe or underdeveloped seed that is not suitable for germination.

How to prepare and germinate a seed

To grow lychees at home from a seed, you need to buy a fresh ripe fruit, remove the seed from it and peel it from the pulp. After this, for it to sprout, you need to do the following:

Wrap the bone in natural fabric and moisten it.
Always ensure that the material remains wet at all times.
After about 7 days, the seed will begin to sprout. After this, you can replant it in the ground.

Note! To increase the likelihood of germination, it is recommended to keep the seed in water for a week before planting and treat it with a growth stimulator.

Sprouted seeds

Soil preparation

It is quite difficult to choose the correct composition of the substrate for lychee, so it is better to purchase a special mixture for exotic plants in the store. It is important to know the main requirements for soil:

it must have sufficient acidity;
have the correct chemical and mineral composition;
have good air and water permeable properties;
the package with soil must contain a quality certificate;
It is advisable to use a substrate produced by reliable and trusted companies.

Landing rules

Prepare the seed for planting.
Fill the planting container with properly selected soil, not forgetting the drainage layer.
Deepen the seed 10 mm into the ground and water it with warm, settled water.
Cover the container with transparent material to create a greenhouse effect.
Place the container in a room with a temperature of 28 °C.
Ensure proper care of the plantings - regularly moisten and aerate the soil.
After about 15 days, the first shoots will appear, after which the covering material can be removed.
Move the container with the plant to a well-lit room with a temperature of 25-29 ° C and air humidity of 70-80%.
After at least 4 leaves have formed on the sprout, it can be transplanted into a large pot.

Lychee sprout requires careful attention

How to care for lychee sprouts in a pot at home after planting

In order for a tree to begin to bear fruit at home, it needs to be properly cared for.

Lighting and temperature conditions

Chinese plum naturally grows in hot climates, so indoors for the development of sprouts it needs to be provided with a temperature of 28-30 °C, and after the tree grows, it can be lowered to 22 °C.

Also, for active growth of lychee, bright lighting is necessary. The container with sprouts should be placed on eastern or western windowsills.

Ensuring adequate lighting

For your information! If the tree is on the north side, then it needs to be provided with additional artificial lighting, and on the south, on the contrary, it needs to be protected from excessive exposure to sunlight.

Watering rules and humidity

Those from tropical regions require more water than other indoor plants. It is important to take into account some nuances:

You need to water the tree with settled water at room temperature as the soil dries;
it is necessary to spray the leaves once a day from a fine spray bottle (in the hot season this can be done twice a day);
The humidity in the room should be kept at 70-80%.

Note! If the room has dry air (for example, in winter with the heating on), this can be corrected using a humidifier or simply placing a tray of water next to the pot.

Only if all conditions for caring for the plant are met can you expect to receive a harvest. In this case, the first fruits will appear on the tree no earlier than after 8 years.

Problems in growing: diseases and pests

Various fungal infections and pests can interfere with the growth and development of lychee. Most often, a tree suffers from the following diseases:

anthracnose This type of fungus appears when overwatered. In this case, gray-green and red-brown spots or bumps appear on the leaves. Reducing watering and treating with fungicides will help get rid of the disease;
stem cancer. Occurs with abundant moisture and low temperature in the room. In this case, the tree branches crack at the ends. To get rid of the disease, you need to remove the affected areas with pruners and carry out antimycotic applications for preventive purposes;
powdery mildew. When infected by this type of fungus, the tree bark turns white or pink, and the lychee's vascular system begins to collapse. To get rid of powdery mildew, it is necessary to remove the damaged areas and treat with antifungal agents;
fungal root rot. With this disease, the tree can completely wither and die. To avoid this, the plant must be transplanted into another pot with a new substrate, and the roots must be treated with anti-fungal agents.

Some types of pests are also dangerous for lychees: spider mites, mealybugs and aphids. As a result of their actions, small holes and spots appear on the leaves, and the web gradually entangles the entire plant.

For your information! Insects are difficult to detect with the naked eye; they usually hide on the back of the leaves.

Spider mite

To get rid of pests, it is necessary to use insecticides and acaricides. You can remove insects from a tree with a cloth soaked in a soapy solution, and then treat it with chemicals.

The exotic lychee tree is definitely worth trying to grow at home. Of course, it requires constant care and is quite finicky. However, if everything is done correctly, then lychee will become a wonderful decoration for an apartment or house, and after a while it will be able to please its owner with tasty, juicy fruits.

The lychee, or Chinese plum in other words, a fruit most often known to us from supermarket shelves, is actually a tropical tree whose natural habitat is China. The tree bears fruit, usually called the same as the whole plant ( lychee, lychee, liji, laysi, lisi, Chinese plum, dragon eye). Due to the fact that these fruits are considered one of the the most delicious in the world, lychee is grown in many areas of the world where it is favored by a warm climate, such as in India, Australia or the USA.

In these countries, the lychee grows up to 12 meters in height and is an evergreen tree with feathery leaves and small greenish-yellow flowers collected in inflorescences. The fruits are transported to stores and factories as soon as possible after picking, as they are picked when they are already very ripe. Due to its short shelf life, it is not very often possible to find fresh lychees in supermarkets and in our country. On the shelves of stores offering delicacies from all over the world, perhaps we can find compote or dried fruit.

Growing and care

If you want to grow lychees at home on a windowsill in a pot, and who knows, maybe even wait for the fruits. But you need to prepare yourself for a long wait, possible difficulties and even failures in cultivation, because lychee has great requirements, and our climate is not conducive to its development.

What does the Chinese plum fruit itself look like? Its size can be compared to a plum fruit. Under the thin red skin, which peels off easily when the fruit is ripe, there is white-pearlescent pulp, and there is a brown seed in it. After eating such a fruit, the seed can be used to grow lychee at home. This must be done as soon as possible, otherwise the seed will not germinate. Lychee seeds can wait a few days for planting at most.

Place the seeds in a pot with soil to a depth of about 2 to 4 cm. It is worth remembering that the seed should be located horizontally. At room temperature, after about a week, a sprout will appear. This first success, however, is unfortunately the easiest to achieve.

Further cultivation will be a little more challenging, but don't give up!

It is imperative to provide the plant with frequent spraying, good lighting and suitable soil. Although lychees like regular watering, you must ensure that there is no stagnation of water. Only soft water is used for irrigation. The plant has quite high temperature requirements. The room where it grows can never be less than 10 degrees Celsius.

It is worth knowing that lychee is in the growing season all year round. Before planting the seeds, peat mixed with perlite is poured into the pot. This is a suitable basis. Improper care is usually associated with wilting of the outer leaves. You can try to save such a plant by moving it to another location, or by making changes in the frequency of watering or irrigation. If this is not the reason, most likely the lychee will need to be replanted, since leaf wilting may be caused by too high a concentration of salt compounds in the soil.

After such soil changes, we fertilize the lychees only after three months, and then monthly.

In our climate, lychee rarely survives until 5 years, when the first fruits appear. Most often, it can grow for about 2, 3 years, due to our unfavorable climate. If the plant grows well and blooms, in order to wait for the fruits, we must help it a little by transferring pollen from one flower to another using a brush. The fruits ripen in about 3 months.

In countries where the Chinese plum is widely grown, it can even grow for more than 1000 years, and the average age of the tree is 300 years. If you manage to buy lychee fruits in the supermarket, they can be consumed raw, for example, as an independent dessert, an ingredient for a salad, frozen, or used as a compote in a jar. Of course, this will be a sweet dessert for the winter. You can also find dried lychee in supermarkets, suitable for direct consumption as a healthy and tasty snack.

Weight watchers should know that 100 grams of fruit provides about 70 calories and 16 grams of sugar. In addition, this serving has 50 mg of vitamin C and some mineral salts and malic acid.

Is it worth growing lychees at home? Of course, growing successfully is a lot of fun. The Chinese plum is an exotic plant, and although rather modest, it will make an interesting decoration even if it does not bear fruit.

Chinese Lizhi (lychee) is an evergreen tree plant that belongs to the Sapindaceae family. Grows up to 10-30 m and higher

Features of lychee

Small (2-4 cm) unusual red fruits with pimples and white, sweet, juicy and aromatic jelly-like pulp ripen on a spreading crown. Because of them, this plant is also called Chinese plum. The fruits are consumed fresh or canned, and various desserts and wine are prepared. They ripen, depending on the variety, at the end of May or June.

Lychee is a tropical plant and is considered exotic for middle latitudes; purchasing its seedlings is a big problem. However, you can try to grow it at home from a seed.

Preparation of planting material

First you need to choose a fruit that has the following properties:

strong smell;
red peel;
translucent juicy pulp.

Then the freshly removed bone (it quickly loses its viability) is stimulated before planting, for this:

It is wrapped in damp cloth.
Leave for a week, constantly soaking with water.
When it swells, plant it in a pot.

Landing

Preparing the container:

Take a small pot with a drainage hole.
Broken bricks are placed at the bottom, expanded clay taking up ¼ of the pot.
Prepare soil consisting of garden soil and peat (2:1).
Fill the rest with it.

Several swollen seeds are deepened 1 cm into a prepared container with soil and watered.

To stimulate growth, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions:

The container with planting material is covered with a transparent jar or film.
Place in a warm, dark place (+35 °C).
Maintain soil moisture and ventilate briefly.
After 0.5-1 month, when sprouts appear. The mini-greenhouse is removed.
The container is placed in a lighted place and the temperature is provided at + 25 °C.

Caring for young lychee sprouts and an adult tree

When the seedling is already there, it is important to properly care for it. For this:

Young plants are watered daily in moderate quantities, avoiding drying out or waterlogging. If the room humidity is low, the seedling is additionally sprayed with settled water at room temperature.
For further maintenance, it is important to have a sufficient amount of light (at least 12 hours a day).
After rooting, when the sprouts reach 20 cm, they are planted in large pots for the growth of the root system.
Feed in a timely manner, applying mineral fertilizers. The first time they do this is 3 months after planting. Then a year later. A two-year-old tree is fertilized once every 2 months.

If all conditions are met, you will get a beautiful lychee tree. To form a more beautiful plant, you can prune it for the first two years. Then simply remove the dried parts. Heavy pruning can disrupt fruiting.

When further caring for an already mature tree, it is necessary to observe a period of rest (September - February) and a time of active growth (May - September). Each of these segments requires its own approach.

If in autumn and winter the plant is placed in a room with a temperature reduced to +10...+15 °C, it will begin to develop new flower buds, which will then lead to the formation of fruits. As a rule, this occurs in the 3rd year of life.

It is necessary to constantly monitor the tree so as not to miss its infestation with harmful insects: scale insects, spider mites, aphids. If this happens, you need to treat the leaves and trunk of the tree with a soapy solution, leave for 10 minutes, then rinse under running water. If this does not bring results, you need to use insecticides (Aktara, Aktellik). Just not at the time of fruit appearance.

With proper maintenance, the tree will delight you with fresh fruit every year.

Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is a plant that belongs to the Salinda family. There are several other names for the fruit - “Chinese plum”, “liji” or “lisi”. The plant was first grown in China. Currently it is widespread in America, China, Africa, and Japan.

The fruit has an oval shape. The peel is pimply, red. The flesh is white or cream-colored. The diameter of the fruit is 3 cm.

The leaves are narrow and elongated. Productivity has been growing for 20 years. Fruit harvesting occurs from May to June.

In Southeast Asia, a fruit similar to lychee is grown - longan. They are smaller in weight and size and ripen somewhat later. One tree produces about 300 grams of fruit. Experts say that when canned, longan has more benefits than lychee. At the same time, the plant is more cold-resistant, which allows it to be grown in central Russia.

What are the benefits of fruit

Lychee is distinguished not only by its pleasant taste, but also by the fact that it is rich in useful substances. Lychee contains vitamins, potassium, proteins, phosphorus, iron and pectins. The fruit is rich in vitamin PP. The presented substance effectively fights atherosclerosis.

Lychee is good for the gastrointestinal tract. It normalizes digestion and metabolic processes. Since the fruit fills you up quite quickly, it should be consumed before main meals to avoid overeating. Lychee promotes faster production of gastric juice.

Lychee is a wonderful aphrodisiac. Its benefit lies in the fact that it normalizes hormonal levels.

Harmful properties of the fruit

Agricultural technology

Growing from seed

Knowing the peculiarities of agricultural technology, fruit can be grown even from a seed. How to do it?

Separate the pulp from the pit.
Rinse the seed with water and place it in a thick cloth moistened with water.
Place it in a warm place for 7 days.
If the fabric dries out, it needs to be re-moistened.
After 7 days, look at the size of the bone. If it has become larger, you can start planting.
Then take a container, fill it with soil, and plant the seed 3 centimeters deep.
Watering is done as the soil dries.

Cultivation by direct seeding

To grow lychees by direct sowing, you will need a flower pot. You can use universal soil, which is suitable for all seedlings. There must be a hole at the bottom of the container to drain water.

When planting a seed, make sure that its blunt end is up - this is where the sprout appears. Watering is done as it dries.

In a few weeks a sprout will appear. This means it’s time to move the plant to a warmer place. Watering, again, is done as the soil dries out - about a day later. Lychee is growing quickly. It is recommended to spray its leaves with a spray bottle.

Cultivation by soaking in water

There is another method to grow lychee. To do this, the bone is dipped in a small amount of unboiled water. After a week, the seed will split and a root will come out. When it reaches a length of 1 cm, it can be planted in the ground. A layer of soil is placed on top. It is necessary to water periodically.

How to care

To grow lychees, you need to ensure that the roots of the tree receive the required amount of oxygen. To do this, loosen the soil. For irrigation, only well-settled water kept at room temperature is suitable. Do not water the plant too often, otherwise the roots may rot. The leaves are sprayed with a spray bottle.

After the sprout reaches 10 centimeters, it is transplanted into a larger pot. To give the lychee a neat shape, pruning is done in the first 2 years. Feeding occurs using fertilizers for exotic plants.

Varieties

There are more than 100 plant varieties. All fruits are edible. The most common varieties:

Muzaffarpur;
rank;
Late Seedles;
purbi;
yearly large ed.

Small-seeded varieties are of great value. They need pollination. According to scientists, it is not possible to breed seedless trees.

The fruit does not have any serious pests or diseases. In China they are simply protected from flying dogs and birds.

In America, longan is grown in the state of California. Sometimes the fruit is cultivated even in places where it does not grow.

Features of cultivation in central Russia

Growing lychees in central Russia is quite difficult. The plant prefers a subtropical climate with dry, cool winters. The tree can grow up to 30 meters in height! Development is slow. With vegetative propagation, fruiting can occur after 4 years. Seedlings can expect fruit to appear only after 8 years. The soil requires fertile, well-moistened soil.

During the first three years, seedlings develop extremely slowly. Overflowing and drying out of the soil should not be allowed. A drainage of 3-4 centimeters is required. An excellent option would be soils with a pH of 5.5 to 7.5. You will need mycorrhiza, but you can take artificial one - it is sold in granules. Lychees are sensitive to the salt composition of the soil - this also needs to be taken into account. After a warm winter, the plant can’t wait to bloom.

After planting, young plants must be protected from cold weather for a couple of years. Methods such as smoking and covering with straw are suitable for this. Planting also requires protection from the wind. Dry winds will cause young trees to shed their leaves, and cracks may form on the fruits.

Despite the fact that loam is the best soil for lychees, the plants can exist in absolutely any soil. When propagating from seeds, it is recommended to plant the seeds immediately, otherwise they will lose their viability. The root system of the seedlings is strong. When planting, the distance between trees should reach 6-16 meters.

The main part of the plant's roots is located above the soil. At the same time, it is in symbiosis with mycorrhiza - soil fungi. Mycorrhiza perfectly absorbs nitrogen and nourishes the plant. In order for lychee to develop well, you should take soil from old plants and pour it onto the root system of young ones.

The main operations for caring for a plant are watering and fertilizing. In central Russia from February to June it is important to provide the soil with the necessary amount of moisture. In addition to nitrogen, the plant also requires phosphate fertilizers. A lack of zinc can be determined by the leaves - they acquire a bronze color. If this problem occurs, you should spray the tree crowns with a zinc solution. Pruning is minimal - it is necessary to remove dried branches.

Features of harvesting

In order for the fruits to be preserved for a long time, they are removed when they turn pink, along with the leaves and fruit twig. The fruits are placed in baskets, the depth of which should not be more than 25 cm. After a few days, the skin of the fruit darkens. From one tree you can get up to 150 kg of berries.

The fruits do not tolerate transportation well. After collection, they can be stored for three days at room temperature. The fruit can be stored in refrigerated rooms for several months - the temperature should reach 1-7 degrees. In China, India and Vietnam, lychees are dried, or they can be placed in bamboo stalks and stored there in a salted form. When dried, the peel of the fruit becomes hard, and inside there is dried pulp and seeds - lychee nuts.

Lychee is a healthy and tasty fruit, ideal for canning. His homeland is China. But, if you try, you can grow the presented exotics even in central Russia.

Lychee fruit (video)

Lychee is a sweet tropical fruit, 3-4 cm in diameter. It is covered with a dense red-pink peel, with sharp tubercles. Inside is juicy white pulp, jelly-like consistency, with a large seed. Lychee tastes like grapes. Homeland - China.

This fruit grows on an evergreen tree, which in nature can reach 15 - 25 meters. With long dark green leaves with a vein in the middle.

Flowers without petals, large, elongated. At home, the size of an exotic plant is limited by the height of the ceiling and the size of the pot, so its height is 2-2.5 meters. It blooms 7–8 years after planting.

For planting, you can use seeds from ripe fruit. It is important that the fruit is fresh, not dried or canned.

To grow lychees at home you need:

Fresh lychee seed;

Coconut substrate;

Container for planting;

Covering film;

Room temperature water

Landing

The pit is removed from the ripe fruit, cleaned of any remaining pulp and washed. Moist coconut substrate is poured into the container, a small depression is made and the seed is planted; do not sprinkle it on top. Water generously.

Cover with film to create a greenhouse effect and place it next to a radiator or in another warm place. The seeds are planted at a distance of 1.5 cm from each other.

After 2 weeks, roots will appear. At this time, it is necessary to plant the sprouts so that they do not intertwine their roots. There is no need to cover with film anymore.

Care

Plant the sprouts in any soil intended for fruit plants. Drainage is placed at the bottom of the pot to prevent rotting of the roots due to standing water. The soil must be moist and should not be allowed to dry out.

Lychee is a tropical plant, so it needs to create all the necessary conditions for a comfortable existence:

It is important to monitor air humidity. Spray the plant periodically or install a humidifier.

The pot is placed in a well-lit place. The ideal place would be a window sill on the south side. The main thing is to protect the plant from direct sunlight at midday by shading.

Watering. Lychees need to be watered regularly. Water for irrigation is pre-settled. The soil should be moist, but not swampy.

Fertilizers. Organic and mineral fertilizers are suitable for feeding. The first time they feed is at 4 months, then every year. Starting from the 2nd year of life, fertilizers are applied every 2 months.

Trimming. Upon reaching 1-2 years, the stem is pruned at a height of 20 -25 cm. This stimulates the growth of lateral branches. This way a beautiful bush will be formed.

In order for fruits to appear in the autumn-winter period, water less often, do not feed and lower the temperature to +15 degrees. This promotes good ovary.

If not cared for properly, the tree may become sick. The reasons may be: lack or excess of water, exposure to direct sunlight, small pot size, unsuitable soil.