While the cultivation of an exotic lychee tree is still quite easy, the optimal care of the plantlet is more difficult. Lychee trees need a lot of light and warmth - they don't tolerate any cold, drafts or wind. The already slow-growing plants only thrive under optimal conditions.
The right location
Lychees need a lot of light, although seedlings and young plants in particular do not tolerate blazing sun. It is best to choose a bright and warm location. You should install additional UV lamps especially in the autumn and winter months, as it is simply too dark for the subtropical plants at this time.
Optimal conditions for your lychee tree
- bright and warm all year round
- Temperatures not below 12 °C
- high humidity
In the hot summer months, the plants also feel very comfortable on the balcony or in the garden. However, the prerequisite is a bright and sheltered location, and the lychee should always be slowly acclimated to the blazing midday sun.
The optimal plant substrate
Lychees need loose and nutrient-poor soil, ideally slightly acidic with a maximum pH of 7. If the soil is too rich, the roots cannot develop properly. It is particularly important that excess water can run off via a drainage system, as the plant does not tolerate waterlogging. She reacts to this with leaf shedding and root rot. If possible, use a mixture of potting soil, coarse sand and clay. You can also use garden soil. If you take soil or sand from outside, sterilize it before planting. This is done by heating it in the microwave (about 15 minutes at a minimum of 160°C).
Proper watering and fertilizing
Your home-grown lychee likes it moist, but not wet. The tree should be watered regularly, but only a little. Allow the top layer of soil to dry before watering again.
How to water correctly
- Use rainwater.
- The water must contain little or no lime.
- Water the plant evenly and regularly, but only a little.
You should also be economical when it comes to fertilizers. Young lychee plants need little fertilizer from the third month of life at the earliest, although you should use heavily diluted liquid fertilizer. However, organic fertilizer is better because it does not contain salt. Fertilize every four to six weeks at most, but not at all during the winter months.
tips and tricks
Since lychee trees naturally grow very slowly - growth pauses of several years are normal - you do not need to prune your tree. It will also lose a shoot of its own from time to time. The only exception: diseased or dead shoots should of course be removed.