Overview

Experience the joy of growing your own exotic fruit with this beautiful lychee fruit tree. This live plant, standing 10-12 inches tall and well-rooted in a half-gallon pot, is ready to thrive in your garden or patio. Known for its sweet, juicy fruit and attractive foliage, the lychee fruit tree (Litchi chinensis) is a wonderful addition for any plant enthusiast looking to cultivate unique tropical produce. Often referred to as Litchi plant, this hardy tree can be a stunning ornamental specimen while providing delicious fruit for years to come. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting, learning to grow lychee tree is a rewarding endeavor.

Originating from Southern China, the lychee has been cultivated for thousands of years and is cherished for its distinctive flavor. This young live lychee plant offers a head start on your tropical fruit journey, ready to adapt to its new home. It’s suitable for both in-ground planting in warmer climates and container growing in cooler regions, allowing you to bring it indoors during colder months. Get ready to harvest your own fresh lychees and enjoy a taste of the tropics!

Key Benefits

Cultivating your own lychee fruit tree offers a multitude of benefits, from the aesthetic appeal to the delicious harvest. This particular live lychee plant is specially selected to ensure a healthy start.

• Delicious Fresh Fruit: Enjoy the sweet, aromatic, and juicy flesh of fresh lychees directly from your own tree, a taste experience far superior to store-bought varieties.
• Ornamental Beauty: With its lush green foliage and attractive growth habit, the lychee tree serves as a beautiful ornamental plant for your garden, patio, or as a striking container specimen.
• Tropical Garden Accent: Create a tropical oasis in your outdoor space or sunroom. This tropical fruit tree adds an exotic touch and vibrant energy to any setting.
• Container Growing Potential: Perfectly suited for growing in large containers, making it adaptable for patios, balconies, or for those in regions outside its ideal hardiness zones. You can easily move it indoors during winter.
• Rewarding Cultivation: The process of nurturing a lychee tree from a young plant to a fruit-bearing specimen is incredibly satisfying for any gardener.
• Health Benefits: Lychees are packed with Vitamin C, antioxidants, and other beneficial nutrients, contributing to a healthy diet.
• Enhances Biodiversity: Attracts pollinators to your garden, contributing to a healthy ecosystem.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your lychee fruit tree is key to ensuring a bountiful harvest. These tropical plants thrive in warm, humid conditions and require specific attention to light, water, and soil. For optimal growth, your live lychee plant needs full sun exposure, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. If growing indoors, place it near a south-facing window or use supplemental grow lights to meet its light requirements. Protection from strong, cold winds is also crucial, especially for young trees.

When it comes to watering, lychee trees prefer consistently moist but not waterlogged soil. Moderate watering is ideal; check the top inch or two of soil and water when it feels dry. Good drainage is paramount to prevent root rot, so ensure your pot has drainage holes or your garden soil is well-draining. A slightly acidic to neutral soil pH (5.5-7.0) is preferred. Fertilize regularly during the growing season (spring and summer) with a balanced, slow-release fertilizer formulated for tropical fruit trees. Reduce fertilization in fall and winter. The lychee plant care routine also includes protecting it from frost. These trees are hardy in USDA Zones 9-11, meaning they can tolerate temperatures down to about 25°F (-4°C) for short periods. If you live in a cooler zone, container growing is recommended so you can bring the tree indoors when temperatures drop.

Pruning can help maintain the tree’s shape, encourage fruit production, and make harvesting easier. Remove any dead, diseased, or crossing branches. Pests are generally not a major issue for lychee trees, but keep an eye out for common garden pests and treat as needed with organic insecticides. With proper care, your tropical fruit tree will flourish and provide you with delicious lychee fruit for many seasons.

Size & Details

This offering includes one lychee fruit tree, a well-rooted live plant approximately 10-12 inches tall, shipped in a half-gallon pot. This size provides a robust start for your new tropical addition. When planted in the ground in suitable climates (USDA Zones 9-11), mature lychee trees typically reach an impressive height of 20-40 feet and a width of 15-25 feet. For container growing, the mature size will be considerably smaller and can be managed through pruning. The tree is shipped as a healthy, actively growing specimen, ready for immediate planting or transplanting into a larger container. Expect a moderate growth rate, with fruit production typically beginning after 3-5 years under ideal conditions. The live lychee plant is carefully packaged to ensure its safe arrival.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this lychee fruit tree get? A: This lychee fruit tree is currently 10-12 inches tall. When grown in the ground in USDA Zones 9-11, mature trees can reach 20-40 feet tall and 15-25 feet wide. In containers, its size will be more manageable and can be controlled with pruning.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The live lychee plant thrives outdoors in tropical and subtropical climates (USDA Zones 9-11). If you live in a cooler region, it can be grown in a large pot and brought indoors during colder months.
• Q: How much sunlight does the lychee fruit tree need? A: A lychee fruit tree requires full sun exposure, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily for optimal growth and fruit production.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: While tropical, lychee plant care is considered moderate. It needs consistent moisture, full sun, and protection from frost. With proper attention to these needs, it can be a rewarding plant for both beginners and experienced gardeners.
• Q: What condition will the lychee plant arrive in? A: Your live lychee plant will arrive well-rooted in a half-gallon pot, carefully packaged to ensure its health and vitality during transit. It will be ready for planting upon arrival.
• Q: How long until this tropical fruit tree produces fruit? A: Typically, a young tropical fruit tree like this lychee can start producing fruit within 3-5 years after planting, given ideal growing conditions and proper care.
• Q: What kind of soil is best for growing lychee tree? A: To grow lychee tree successfully, use well-draining soil that is slightly acidic to neutral (pH 5.5-7.0). A good quality potting mix with added perlite or sand works well for container growing.
• Q: Can I grow this lychee tree in a small pot? A: While it arrives in a half-gallon pot, for long-term growth, you will need to transplant your lychee fruit tree into a much larger container (e.g., 15-25 gallon) if growing it as a patio plant.
• Q: Is this lychee plant cold hardy? A: The live lychee plant is hardy in USDA Zones 9-11. It can tolerate brief dips to about 25°F (-4°C) but prolonged cold or frost will damage or kill the tree.
• Q: What is the best time to plant a lychee tree? A: The best time to plant your lychee fruit tree is typically in spring or early summer, after the last threat of frost has passed, allowing it ample time to establish before cooler weather.