Lychees

Lychees may have been cultivated in Asia as early as 2000 BC. The sweet-tart, floral fruits are a good reason to give these evergreen members of the soapnut family (Sapindus) a try.

Lychee fruits (B.navez) CC BY-SA 3.0

Lychee trees (Litchi chinensis) can be grown in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 10-11, making Hawaii, Florida, southern California, and Texas great places for lychee trees. There are three different types of lychee, and hundreds of cultivars, but none of them take well to container gardening. They can’t handle frost or temperatures below 25°F (-4°C). Despite their need for warmth, lychees need at least 100 chill hours before they can produce fruit.

As tropical trees, lychee prefer slightly acidic, moist soil in a location with full sun and protection from wind. They tend to grow tall and rather cylindrical because fighting for sunlight in the jungle requires arrow-like speed in many cases. Fragrant flowers grow in clusters, but it is the red, bumpy fruits that justify your landscape real estate. Lychee trees can be pruned to a much more manageable size. They really add character to a landscape.

Lychee tree (DiverDave) CC BY-SA 4.0

Lychee fruits are arils. Arils are fleshy outgrowths that fully or partially cover a seed. The lovely red netting over nutmegs, called mace, is an aril. Arils are also called false fruits, but there is nothing false about the refreshing sweetness of lychee fruit. Do not eat the seeds; they can cause hypoglycemia in some cases. Instead, peel your ripe lychees and savor the fleshy white treat inside

Lychee fruit, whole, opened, and seed (Ivar Leidus) CC BY-SA 4.0

You can start a lychee tree by air layering. Simply take a young, healthy twig and cover the cut end with growing medium, such as peat, and wrap the medium with plastic. Before long, roots will form, and you can remove the plastic and place your baby lychee tree in its forever location.