How to Plant Lychee Seeds So They Bear Fruit? A Detailed Guide to Growing Methods

Lychee is a fruit we often eat in our daily lives. Every year during lychee season, we always buy a few jin to take home and enjoy, but many people do not know that you can grow a lychee tree from lychee seeds, and after a few years you can eat the lychees you grew yourself. So how do you plant lychee seeds so they bear fruit?

1. How to Plant Lychee Seeds So They Bear Fruit

Sow the seeds every year from April to June, or choose August to September. Before sowing, file the lychee seed with a file until the seed coat is scratched through to the endosperm, but be careful to protect the embryo bud. Then soak it in warm water at 50°C for 12 hours. After removing it and washing off the sticky liquid, bury the treated lychee seed in a sand basin prepared in advance. For lychee, the sand covering should be 1-2 cm thick. After watering, place it in a damp, dark place, and it will generally sprout after one week. However, lychee is not suitable for long-term growing in a pot, and it must be transplanted into the ground the following spring. In addition, our country is vast, and the temperature difference between north and south is large, so the sowing time for lychee seeds can be adjusted appropriately according to the local climate.

After the lychee sprouts and is established, related water and fertilizer management is also needed. Young lychee has few and shallow roots and is greatly affected by surface soil moisture, so in dry weather attention should be paid to watering to keep it moist, and in rainy weather water should be prevented from accumulating in the tree basin; fertilization should follow the principle of frequent light applications. Soil fertilization begins one month after planting. Within two or three years, the main goals are to increase root mass, promote new shoots, and strengthen shoots; in addition, in winter attention should also be paid to protecting the lychee tree from the cold, covering the top of the canopy with rice straw to prevent frost damage.

2. The History and Distribution of Lychee

Lychee is a long-lived tree species, and many century-old trees still bear abundant fruit. In Putian County, Fujian, China, there is an ancient lychee tree planted in the Tang Dynasty named “Songjiaxiang”, which has a history of more than 1,200 years. The cultivation history of lychee trees is very long. The Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu said in “Passing by Huaqing Palace”, “A rider raises red dust as the imperial concubine smiles, no one knows it is lychees arriving.” The lychee mentioned here is the same as the lychee we eat today.

In China, lychee is mainly distributed in the southwest, south, and southeast, with Guangdong and Fujian having the most extensive cultivation. Together with banana, pineapple, and longan, it is known as one of the “four great fruits of the south”. Lychee is very tender and delicious, and is also rich in various trace elements, which is very beneficial to human health.

Although purchased lychees are delicious, they are certainly not as satisfying as those you grow yourself. Friends who are interested can try planting lychee seeds themselves during lychee season.