Exotic fruits such as lychees can be found in every well-stocked supermarket in this country. Beautiful plants can often be grown from their seeds, which can also thrive well in Germany with the right care. Lychees and other exotic plants are wonderful houseplants for lovers of unusual plants that not everyone has.
Selection and preparation of the seed core
Lychees are commercially available in the months between November and March and in the summer months of July and August. If you want to grow small trees from the seeds of the fruit you have bought, then you should plan this project during the summer months if possible - then the weather is optimal for the lychees, which come from the subtropics. Choose fruits that are as ripe as possible for seed extraction. You can tell how ripe a lychee is by the color of the skin, which should be as dark as possible. If in doubt, you can also let the selected fruit ripen for a few more days. However, do not put them in the fridge because lychees do not tolerate the cold very well.
How to prepare a lychee
- Carefully remove the thin peel and the pulp without damaging the core.
- Wash the core under running lukewarm water.
- In the process, remove the shiny brown skin.
- Soak the core in stale water at room temperature for about 24 hours.
- Only use fresh seeds for planting. Those that have already dried are no longer germinable.
Once that is done, you can plant your lychees.
Plant a lychee properly
Get a small plant pot with drainage holes at the bottom to allow excess water to drain. Lychee plants do not tolerate waterlogging. A mixture of potting soil with some coarse sand is best suited as a substrate - the lychee likes it airy and loose. Insert the core about one to two centimeters deep into the soil and cover it loosely. The core should be on the side. Place the plant pot in a bright and warm location, but not in the blazing sun. Keep the substrate moist but not wet. It is best to use a spray bottle to moisten the soil. Within about 30 days, the lychee will germinate. As soon as the small plant has developed three to four leaves, it can be moved to a larger pot. Water them regularly, but save on fertilizer.
tips and tricks
Too much fertilizer will damage your lychee plant. Lychees are very slow-growing trees, which means they only need a few nutrients. Fertilize with a little liquid fertilizer every four to six weeks, but use no more than a quarter of the amount indicated.