Chinese lychee (lychee) - an evergreen tree plant, belongs to the Sapindov family. Grows to 10-30 m and above
Features Lychee
On a spreading crown, small (2-4 cm) outlandish red fruits ripen in pimples and with white, sweet, juicy and aromatic jelly-like flesh. Because of them, this plant is also called Chinese plum. The fruits are consumed in a fresh, canned form, prepare various desserts and wine. They ripen, depending on the variety, in late May or June.
Bone Lychee Growing
Lychee is a tropical plant and is considered exotic for mid-latitudes; acquiring its seedling is a big problem. However, you can try to grow it at home from the seed.
Preparing planting material
First you need to choose a fruit that has the following properties:
- strong smell;
- peel of red color;
- translucent juicy pulp.
Then a freshly sown bone (it quickly loses its vitality) is stimulated before planting, for this:
- It is wrapped in a damp cloth.
- Stand for a week, constantly soaking in water.
- When it swells, they plant it in a pot.
Landing
Capacity preparation:
- Take a small cache-pot with a drainage hole.
- Broken bricks are laid at the bottom, expanded clay taking up ¼ of the pot.
- Prepare the soil, consisting of garden soil and peat (2: 1).
- Fill them with the rest.
Several swollen seeds are deepened by 1 cm in a prepared container with soil, watered.
To stimulate growth, it is necessary to create greenhouse conditions:
- The container with planting material is covered with a transparent jar or film.
- They put in a warm darkened place (+35 ° C).
- Maintain soil moisture, briefly ventilate.
- After 0.5-1 month, when the sprouts appear. The mini-greenhouse is removed.
- The container is placed in a lit place and provide a temperature of + 25 ° C.
Care for young lychee sprouts and adult tree
When a seedling is already there, it is important to properly care for it. For this:
- Young plants are watered daily in moderation in order to prevent drying or waterlogging. At low humidity, the seedlings are additionally sprayed with settled water at room temperature.
- Adequate amount of light (at least 12 hours per day) is important for further maintenance.
- After rooting, when the sprouts reach 20 cm, they are planted in volumetric pots to grow the root system.
- Feeding in time, introducing mineral fertilizers. The first time they do this 3 months after planting. Then in a year. A two-year-old tree is fertilized every 2 months.
If all the conditions are met, you will get a beautiful lychee tree. To form a more beautiful plant, the first two years you can trim it. Then simply remove the dried parts. Strong pruning can interfere with fruiting.
With further care of an adult tree, it is necessary to observe the rest period (September - February) and the 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 lowered to + 10 ... +15 ° C, it will begin to develop new flower buds, which afterwards will lead to the formation of fruits. As a rule, this occurs at 3 years of age.
It is necessary to constantly monitor the tree so as not to miss the infection with harmful insects: a scab, a spider mite, aphids. If this happens, you need to treat the leaves and trunk of the tree with soapy water, leave for 10 minutes, then rinse under running water. If this does not bring results, you need to use insecticides (Aktara, Actellik). Just not at the time of the appearance of the fruit.
With proper maintenance, the tree will delight with fresh fruit every year.
