Tree · Sapindaceae
Lychee
Litchi chinensis
Give it warmth, acidic soil, and a cool winter rest, and this tropical tree will reward your patience beautifully.
Full sun
Every 3–7 days
USDA 10–11
20–40 ft · 6.1–12.2 m
Overview
Lychee is an evergreen tropical tree from southern China, loved for the sweet, perfumed flesh tucked inside its rough red shell. It takes its time, filling out into a wide, rounded canopy that lives for decades, so think of planting one as a happy long-term friendship rather than a rush job. Given ground to spread, it can reach 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) tall and nearly as wide.
It is a demanding tree, and honestly most of that comes down to climate, not fussiness. It wants genuine warmth and frost-free winters, which keeps it to USDA zones 10 and 11 or a sheltered pocket of your yard. The one surprise that trips up new growers is flowering: a lychee needs a brief cool, dry spell in winter to form flower panicles, and a mild winter can leave you with a lovely flush of leaves and no fruit, which is nothing to feel bad about.
Where it feels at home, the reward is well worth the wait. Trees fruit from May to July, peaking in June, and a settled tree can hold a heavy crop. Do expect alternate bearing, where a big year is often followed by a lighter one, and simply enjoy the rhythm.
Care
The short version: give it full sun, fertile and well-drained acidic soil, and steady moisture through the growing season, then let it rest a little cooler and drier in winter to set flowers, and keep it safe from frost and wind.
Light
Give your lychee full sun and it will grow and crop at its best, though it will happily take a little partial sun too. A wind-sheltered spot matters just as much as the light, since the brittle wood can break in storms, so tuck it somewhere protected.
Water
Keep the soil consistently moist through active growth, and especially while the tree is young or carrying fruit. Then ease off in late fall and winter to allow the cool, dry rest that helps set flowers. One thing it won't forgive is standing water or salty water, so mind the drainage.
Soil
Plant into fertile, well-drained acidic sandy loam rich in organic matter, ideally sitting around a pH of 5.0 to 5.5. The tree cannot cope with salinity, so salty ground or water will hold it back, but good soil sets it up to thrive.
Temperature
Lychee copes with a span of about 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C), yet it is truly frost tender, and a freeze will brown the leaves and kill branches. A short cool winter spell, on the flip side, is the gentle nudge that brings it into flower.
Humidity
This tree loves humid air, ideally somewhere around 50% to 80%. Dry air does not suit it, which is a big part of why it feels most at home in warm, humid regions.
Feeding
Feed seasonally through the growing season, roughly March to November, with a complete fertilizer that carries micronutrients. Lychee has a real appetite for manganese, zinc, and iron, so micronutrient foliar sprays during growth are a kind way to head off yellowing leaves.
Pruning
Prune lightly after harvest to shape the tree and keep its size in check, clearing out any dead, crossing, or weak branches. An established lychee asks for little more than that, so there is no need to fuss.
Repotting
A young container tree is happy potted up every 2 to 3 years until it is ready for the ground. Once it settles in, plant it out, because this is a tree that longs to live in open soil for the long haul.
Size & spacing
Look forward to a mature tree of 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) tall with a spread of 20 to 30 feet (6 to 9 m). Give it that much open room, well clear of buildings, so the wide canopy has space to grow and the wind has somewhere to pass through.
When to plant
Lychee lives by the warm season and simply won't take frost, so there is no rush. Plant in spring once the cold has passed and the soil has warmed, let the tree flower from late winter into spring, and pick your fruit from May through July, with the biggest crop in June.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Plant: Spring, after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed
- Harvest: Flowers late winter to spring; fruit ripens May to July, peaking in June
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 10–11
Temperature: down to -1°C
Troubleshooting
Most lychee worries come back to climate and soil rather than pests, which is good news since those are within your control. Poor flowering, yellowing leaves, and cold or wind damage cover nearly all of it. Match what you are seeing below and step in early to save a season's crop.
Browning leaves and dying branches after cold or wind
Because lychee is frost tender, leaves that brown or blacken after a cold snap are telling you the freeze reached them, and sometimes whole branches give way. Harsh wind troubles this brittle-wooded tree in much the same way. The good news is that a little care goes far: wrap and warm young trees when frost threatens, and settle the tree into a wind-sheltered spot from day one so it grows up protected.
Fix:
- Protect young trees during frost with covers or added heat
- Relocate or shelter trees from strong wind
Lots of green growth but hardly any flowers or fruit
If your tree keeps unfurling leaf after leaf and skips the flowers, take heart, it almost always just missed its cool, dry winter rest, the short chill that coaxes out flower panicles instead of another leaf flush. Lychees also settle into alternate bearing, so a generous crop one year can be followed by a quiet one, and that is normal. Ease back on water and nitrogen through late fall and winter, then be gentle with yourself and the tree through the lean seasons.
Fix:
- Provide a cool, dry winter rest by withholding water and nitrogen in late fall and winter
- Avoid heavy nitrogen that drives vegetative growth at the expense of flowers
- Be patient through alternate-bearing cycles
Fresh leaves turning yellow between the veins
When the newest leaves pale between their green veins or brown at the tips, it is a sign the tree cannot draw enough iron, zinc, and manganese from the ground, and that is a fixable thing. Alkaline or salty soil ties up those micronutrients, and salty water only deepens the shortfall. Reach for a chelated iron and micronutrient spray, gently nudge the soil back toward a pH of 5.0 to 5.5, and swap out any salty irrigation, and the new growth will come back greener.
Fix:
- Apply chelated iron and micronutrient foliar sprays
- Acidify the soil and mulch with organic matter
- Stop using saline irrigation water
Toxicity
Ripe lychee flesh is a safe, well-loved fruit, so the tree itself is not a household hazard and you can relax about having one around. The real caution sits in the unripe fruit and the seeds, which carry hypoglycin linked to dangerous drops in blood sugar, and the hard seed is a choking risk. Eat only ripe fruit, throw the seeds away, and keep green fruit and pits out of reach of children and pets.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Caution
A taste of ripe flesh will not trouble a cat, so try not to worry over a stolen nibble. Where you do want to be careful is the seed and any unripe fruit, since the hypoglycin they hold can pull blood sugar down and leave a cat wobbly or drowsy, and the hard pit could catch in the throat.
Dogs Caution
Dogs tend to gulp a dropped fruit down whole, pit and all, so a little watchfulness helps. Ripe flesh in small amounts sits fine, but a swallowed seed can get stuck along the way, and the toxins in seeds and unripe fruit may leave a dog weak or shaky from low blood sugar.
Horses Caution
A horse has little reason to cross paths with a lychee, and the ripe flesh is not a known trouble in small amounts. Even so, sweep away fallen seeds and green fruit, because the hypoglycin behind the fruit's hypoglycemia has not been proven safe for horses.
Rabbits Caution
It is kindest to keep lychee off the menu for rabbits beyond the smallest taste of ripe flesh. The sugar is too much for their gentle systems, and the seed and unripe fruit carry the same hypoglycin that can send blood sugar tumbling.
Livestock Caution
Grazing animals most often meet lychee as windfall fruit lying under a tree. The ripe pulp is mild enough, but seeds and unripe fruit hold hypoglycin, so a quick rake-up of the drops where stock can reach keeps everyone safe.
Birds Caution
Birds gladly peck at ripe lychee flesh, and a little does them no harm at all. What to mind is the seed, both because it can choke and because it holds the same hypoglycin found in unripe fruit.
People Ripe fruit safe
Ripe lychee flesh is a beloved fruit and perfectly safe to enjoy in moderation, so you can share it freely. The trouble lies in the unripe fruit and seeds, which hold hypoglycin tied to dangerous low blood sugar, above all in undernourished children eating many green fruit on an empty stomach. Stick to ripe fruit, throw the seeds away, and keep the pit clear of small children as a choking hazard.
Caution: UNRIPE lychee fruit and the SEEDS contain hypoglycin A and MCPG, toxins linked to dangerous low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), most notably in undernourished children who eat many unripe fruit on an empty stomach; the hard seed is also a choking hazard. Ripe fruit eaten in moderation is safe.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
A small handful of named cultivars do most of the work in home and commercial groves, picked for reliable cropping and lovely fruit. These are the ones worth getting to know.
Brewster
An early vigorous introduction from China that carries big red fruit, and over time it grew into one of Florida's most planted commercial cultivars.
Mauritius
A trustworthy heavy cropper you will find grown for market across warm, humid parts of the world.
Sweetheart
Its plump heart-shaped fruit usually holds a small shriveled chicken-tongue seed, which leaves you that much more sweet flesh to enjoy.
How to propagate
Lychee is raised mostly by air-layering, since cuttings root poorly and seedlings are slow and full of surprises. The method you choose shapes how true the tree runs and how long you wait for that first fruit.
Air layeringModerate
Warm growing season, spring into summer · Roots in about 8-12 weeks; trees typically fruit in 3-5 years
Air-layering, sometimes called marcotting, is the friendliest and most reliable way to raise a new lychee, since plain cuttings root so poorly. Do the work in the warm season from spring into summer, and the layer sends out roots in about 8 to 12 weeks. Best of all, you end up with a true-to-type tree that fruits in roughly 3 to 5 years, well ahead of a seedling.
SeedModerate
Sow fresh seed immediately, as viability lasts only a few days · Germinates in 1-2 weeks; seedlings may take 7-10+ years to fruit
Lychee seed only stays alive for a few days, so sow it fresh the moment you scoop it out and it will sprout in 1 to 2 weeks. Just know the wait afterward is long. A seedling can need 7 to 10 years or more to fruit, and the fruit it gives is unpredictable, so this is more of a fun experiment than the route to a good crop.
GraftingDemanding
Growing season · Union forms in weeks; fruiting in 3-5 years
Grafting in the growing season joins the union within weeks and gives a tree that fruits in about 3 to 5 years. It is a neat way to keep a chosen cultivar going, though for lychee most growers find air-layering the simpler friend.
Myths
The whole lychee, ripe fruit and all, is dangerously poisonous.
Rest easy, the ripe flesh is a safe, everyday fruit enjoyed all over the globe. What deserves real care is the hypoglycin A and MCPG held in the unripe fruit and seeds, and even that mostly causes harm when undernourished children eat many green fruit on an empty stomach. Enjoy the ripe fruit and simply set the seeds aside.
Growing a productive lychee from a seed is easy.
Seedlings ask for a lot of patience, often many years before they bear, and they vary so much that the fruit seldom looks like the parent. Air-layering is the dependable path, giving you a true-to-type tree that fruits far sooner and spares you the long wait.