Lychee seeds

Lychee/ Litchi chinensis

An evergreen tree grows in nature up to 10-30 meters, on a windowsill in a pot or on the floor in a tub - up to 1.5 ... 3 m. The plant has a spreading crown. Its leaves are glossy dark green on the outside and grey-green on the inside. During flowering, small flowers appear on the litchi, collected in inflorescence umbrellas. These flowers are devoid of petals, their cups are colored yellow or green. Fruits give about 10% of flowers - these are small (up to 4cm) oval berries.

The lychee fruit is on average 2.5 - 4 cm in length and weighs 15 - 20 grams. It has an oval shape, covered with a bumpy red skin. Inside the jelly-like white pulp contains a large bone. The taste of the pulp is pleasant, sweet, reminiscent of grapes (it knits the mouth a little).

Lychees are eaten fresh. Widely used in soft drinks, desserts - ice cream, jelly and others. They make juice, as well as Chinese wine.

The small and oval fruits of the plant are covered on top with a red skin dotted with pointed pimples. Inside is a jelly-like light pulp that tastes like grapes.

Agricultural technology

Separate the stone from the pulp and wash thoroughly, wrap in a damp cloth and leave in a warm place for a week. Remember that the fabric should never dry out, constantly moisten it with warm water. After a week and a half, the bone should swell a little, now it can be planted in a small pot (for violets) with fertile soil.

Lychee grows best in acidic, well-drained, and rich in organic matter soil. If the bone is first split, then the sprout from the seed will appear faster. Make a small indentation in the center of the pot, plant a seed and sprinkle with a two-centimeter layer of earth. Pour with warm and settled water.

Periodically loosen the soil so that the roots receive enough oxygen. Do not water the plant too often, as the capricious lychee seed will not tolerate an excess of moisture and will slowly rot. For irrigation, use water at room temperature, which has settled for one to two days. When a sprout appears, apply fertilizer. Buy organic fertilizers for exotic plants in a special store, dilute according to the instructions.

When the sprout reaches a height of ten centimeters, carefully transplant it into a pot with a larger diameter. Lychee can also be fed with manure, compost or mineral fertilizers. Regular fertilizing prevents soil depletion and promotes abundant flowering of the tree.

In the first two years of life, pruning of the tree is used to give it a neat shape. Create conditions close to nature. Lychee prefers to grow in humid climates, so spray the plant with a spray bottle two to three times a day.
Lychees can also be grown at home, creating all the necessary conditions for the tree. This culture is propagated by seeds, cuttings, layering and grafting. As practice shows, seedlings obtained from seeds develop slowly and do not always inherit the qualities of their parents. In addition, fruiting in this case occurs later than with any other method of reproduction.

For planting, fresh seeds are taken, which are sown immediately after they are received, since they quickly lose their germination capacity. Landing is carried out in a small container filled with nutrient soil. Cover with a film on top to create the effect of a greenhouse. The container with seeds is placed in a warm place. Under such conditions, seedlings will appear in 2-3 weeks. After that, the film is removed.

For the first 6 months, the grown seedling has 3 leaves. On two of them, two sheet plates are formed, on the third - one. The period of active growth lasts from May to September. From May to July, new shoots are formed. In autumn, the growth of an annual plant slows down, the formation of leaves stops. In the first half of September, a period of rest begins, which lasts until the end of February.

This culture needs abundant lighting, so it grows best near windows facing south or west. The young plant is shaded from direct sunlight. In winter, additional lighting devices are used, such as fluorescent lamps and phytolamps.

When growing a lychee plant at home, it is necessary to ensure high humidity in the room, since the period of its active growth in nature begins in the rainy season.

When caring for a plant, litchi produce regular watering. Abundant watering is required during the growth period, but stagnant moisture should be avoided. In winter, the amount of watering is reduced. The soil is moistened as it dries.

This crop requires seasonal changes in air temperature. So, wintering at a temperature of 10-15 ° C, as well as a humid summer, contribute to the development of flower buds.

Feeding young individuals (up to 4 years) is carried out once every 2 months. For this, mineral fertilizers are used. Mature plants fertilize less often. The rotted manure, nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are applied to the soil.

When growing a lychee tree at home, formative pruning is carried out in the first 2 years to give the crown a compact shape. Periodic pruning can be done to remove dried and diseased branches.

When properly grown at home, the lychee tree will produce an annual crop of fruits with high palatability. Ripe fruits are immediately harvested, because when overripe they darken and their taste deteriorates.