Interesting facts about lychee. We grow an exotic lychee tree on the window
Few people are familiar with the sweet fruits of lychee, they still know how to grow this exotic tree at home from a stone. less people. Experienced gardeners we have seen in practice that, subject to certain agrotechnical measures, this task is not difficult.
Lychee fruit - growing at home
The tropical, fruity lychee tree is a plant that can grow at home on a windowsill. IN natural conditions in the garden, trees can grow up to 25-30 meters, at home - the height reaches maximum size 2.5 meters, but more often it does not even reach such parameters. This allows it to take up little space while growing indoors.
To grow litchi from a stone at home, seeds from fruits bought in a store are suitable, following certain rules, you can ensure their 100% germination. The conditions necessary for seed germination are as follows:
- Warm room with humid air, reminiscent of the rainy season in the tropics.
- Constantly, but moderately moist soil.
- After planting the stone, the air temperature in the room should not be lower than 25-30 ° C.
- Until the first leaves appear, keep the pot in dark place, then provide sufficient lighting, but avoid direct sunlight.
Lychee - growing at home from the stone
After studying the information on how to propagate lychee, and how to grow a tree from a stone at home, prepare necessary conditions and purchase the necessary containers, soil and fertilizers. Prepare the bone extracted from the fetus for planting, to do this, wrap it around wet wipe from the fabric, leaving it in this form for a week, periodically sprinkling with water to maintain moisture.
For planting a swollen seed, take a pot or container that has drainage holes, lay a layer of expanded clay on the bottom, fill it with nutritious, loose soil (with the addition of peat). It is more reliable to plant several seeds at once, deepening them by 1.5-2 cm, filling them with water until the soil is completely wet and excess moisture flows out through. To create a greenhouse effect, tighten the container with cling film, ensuring that the lychee right conditions cultivation (warmth and humidity), wait for germination in 15-20 days.
How to germinate a lychee bone?
To increase your chances of growing a seed tree, here are a few tips on how to germinate lychee seeds:
- Before lowering the swollen seed into the ground, prick it slightly, so it will be easier for the sprout to break through.
- Do not deepen the bone too much.
- Immediately after planting, use soft, warm water for watering.
- Place a small pot or container covered with foil in a dark, warm place, preferably near a heater.
- Check the condition of the soil daily, moisten if necessary, avoiding both drying out and stagnation of water.
- After the appearance of the first stalk, remove the film and move the container to a slightly shaded place.
- When 3-5 leaves appear, transplant the plant into a larger pot, place it on the windowsill, without exposing it to hot sun rays on a tree, water sparingly.
Which side to plant the lychee bone?
Having decided to grow an exotic tree in the house, having bought a fruit in a store and seized a seed from it, you need to know how to properly plant a lychee bone in the ground. Before growing lychee from the stone at home, make sure that the fruit chosen for its extraction is fully ripe, has a red skin and a strong aroma, only in this case you can count on success. The seed should be rich brown in color and have a rounded shape. It is best to plant a lychee bone horizontally, since both the roots and the stem of the plant can simultaneously break through from the side of the blunt end.
What will grow from a lychee bone?
Some enthusiastic gardeners, having bought exotic fruits in supermarkets, try to grow small ornamental plants from them in their living quarters. Having completed the necessary agricultural practices, you can grow from a bone house tree litchi. When growing litchi from seeds, you should be patient, the process is slow, during the first six months the grown seedling will release only 2-3 leaves.
Lychee can also be called Chinese plum, Chinese grape. From a bone planted at home, a beautiful one will grow, ornamental plant, evergreen with glossy pointed, long leaves, with a neat rounded crown, which must be formed in the first year of life. The tree has a powerful root system, so it should be transplanted three times into a larger container before the age of three.
Can lychee bear fruit from the stone?
Lychee trees planted vegetatively from cuttings bear fruit best of all, they carry the genetic characteristics of this species. It is more difficult to achieve fruiting of a lychee planted from a seed, but if you provide the plant with high humidity in the room and an elevated temperature, that is, create almost tropical conditions, there is a possibility of fruit.
Hard pruning of the crown should not be carried out, it will exclude the appearance of flower panicles, pruning is done only at the first stages of development. The lychee tree needs to be cross-pollinated. In order for flower buds to form and develop, it is necessary to provide a slight seasonal temperature fluctuation (moisture and warmth in summer, a relative decrease in temperature in winter). Fruiting can occur at 6-10 years of plant life.
Lychee (otherwise "fox", "liji", "Chinese plum", "laisi", " dragon eye") is delicious and useful fruit, which can be found not only in countries South-East Asia but also in domestic supermarkets.
Recently exported to us to a greater extent from Vietnam and Thailand. Nevertheless, many still do not know what it tastes like and how to use it. The benefits and harms of the "Chinese plum" are of interest to many consumers. Let's try to figure this out.
What does a lychee look like?
This fruit has small size(from 2.5 to 3.5 cm in diameter) and weighs about 15, maximum - 20 g. It has an oval or ovoid shape. The reddish or pinkish lychee peel is dense, but brittle, consists of numerous tubercles. The jelly-like juicy pulp of the fruit has a white or creamy hue. It has an excellent, refreshing, sweet and sour taste and pleasant aroma. Inside the fruit is an inedible seed, oblong, dark brown in color. This is what a lychee fruit looks like, the photo clearly demonstrates this.
This interesting fruit grows in clusters on evergreen trees of the Sapindaceae family, reaching a height of 30 m. They have a dense, spreading crown. Their leaves are dense and leathery, usually a rich dark green hue. Lychee trees bloom with numerous yellowish flowers, collected in hanging inflorescences, similar to "umbrellas".
Where did this come from
China is considered to be the homeland of the lychee, where this fruit has been grown for over 1000 years. Since ancient times, the Chinese called this fruit because of bright combination red skin, white flesh and brown seed. In Europe, this tasty fruit was known only in the 17th century. Where does lychee grow now? Today, trees of the Sapindaceae family are actively bearing fruit in vast areas of Southeast Asia, Australia, in the countries of South America and Africa (South Africa), as well as in the southern United States. This fruit is exported to Russia mainly from the northern regions of Vietnam and Thailand. Harvested in the subtropics in May-June, cutting the bunches together with the stem part of the branch. Individually harvested fruits spoil extremely quickly and begin to ferment.
Lychee - a storehouse of vitamins and minerals
This tropical fruit has a variety as it contains a lot of vitamins. The dragon's eye is rich in valuable micro and macro elements. Lychee contains B vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. Also, the "dragon eye" contains vitamins K, E, H and folic acid. Especially a lot of vitamin C in its composition. In addition, lychee is rich in healthy dietary fiber and big amount clean water. In addition, the Chinese plum is also rich in minerals, including copper, fluorine, zinc, manganese, and iodine. It contains phosphorus, sodium, calcium, iron, sulfur and potassium. The sugar content in lychee varies between 5-15% depending on where the fruit grows.
Lychee fruit. Benefit and harm
Such a high content of valuable vitamins, micro and macro elements, as well as fiber and pure water makes the "Chinese plum" extremely useful product. It saturates a person with the necessary substances, gives strength and vigor. Lychee has a wonderful tonic effect on the body as a whole, mobilizes the immune system. It has been known in China since ancient times that "dragon's eye" is the strongest natural aphrodisiac. It is able to rejuvenate the body, activate attraction and maintain "love" functions at the proper level. Lychee fruit has been successfully used for the prevention and treatment of many serious diseases. Its benefits and harms are, in fact, disproportionate. Counts,
It cannot cause serious harm to human health. But its benefits are enormous. However, it is advisable to be careful when consuming the fruit. Do not immediately eat too much lychee. Otherwise, an allergic reaction may occur. It manifests itself as acne on the skin and damage to the mucous membrane in the oral cavity. To begin with, you should try one or two fruits and track the reaction of the body. If everything is in order, you can fearlessly eat up to 250 g of "Chinese plum" per day (for adults). Children over 2 years old should consume about 100 g of fruit. It is undesirable to include litchi in the diet of one-year-old babies. "Chinese plum" is contraindicated for those who have been found to have its individual intolerance.
How is lychee fruit used in folk medicine? how is it useful?
This tropical fruit is widely used in folk oriental medicine. It can and should be used to prevent beriberi and anemia. Lychee is often used to prevent cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis, because it contains a significant amount of potassium.
The fetus also contains nicotinic acid, which has a positive effect on lipid metabolism in the body. Helps cleanse blood from cholesterol and dilates blood vessels lychee fruit. What else is useful? It is used to normalize blood sugar levels, so it is indicated for people with diabetes or hypoglycemia. In addition, useful decoctions and infusions are made on the basis of the "Chinese plum", which normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, have a mild laxative effect, and have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the liver and kidneys. Lychee preparations are prescribed for people with lung diseases, including those suffering from bronchitis, asthma, or those with tuberculosis. These drugs make breathing easier and normalize the function of the respiratory system. Regular consumption of lychee is useful for those who have peptic ulcer, gastritis and pancreatic diseases. In oriental medicine, "Chinese plum" in combination with lemongrass is even used for treatment oncological diseases, including breast cancer. Is lychee peel good for you? It is no less valuable than the pulp of the fruit. Lychee peel is used to prepare decoctions and infusions that have a pronounced diuretic effect. They contribute to the removal of excess fluid from the tissues of the body, as well as increase the overall tone and improve well-being.
"Chinese plum" in diet food
Nutritionists recommend eating lychee in order to saturate the body with water, as well as reduce hunger. The "Chinese plum" contains pectin. It allows you to quickly saturate the body, giving nutrition to the beneficial intestinal microflora. Therefore, it is recommended to consume several lychee fruits before each meal, which will reduce the standard serving of food and not overeat. The calorie content of lychee is only 76 kcal / 100 g, so people who carefully monitor their weight can safely eat it.
How to choose a good, fresh fruit in the store?
If you want to purchase high-quality, tasty fruits, you must be guided by the following simple rules. First, when choosing a lychee, you need to pay attention to the color of its peel. It should be pink or red. Brown color says that the fruit was plucked from the tree a long time ago and has already deteriorated. The taste of dark-colored lychee will be unpleasant, and the smell will be sharper and stronger. The light yellow color of the fruit, on the contrary, indicates its immaturity. This fruit is also not worth buying. Secondly, when choosing a "Chinese plum" you need to pay attention to the presence of damage. A good fruit will not have any suspicious spots, dents, cracks. Thirdly, the lychee should be resilient, as if it would "burst" soon. Too soft or, conversely, hard fruit should not be taken. Fourthly, in the place where the petiole was located, there should be no white spots and mold. And finally, the smell of lychee should be pleasant, fresh, slightly reminiscent of the scent of a rose. Too heavy and sweet indicates overripe and stale fruit.
"Dragon's eye" in cooking
How to eat lychee? The fruit just needs to be washed under running water, peeled, and then the inedible bone removed. The juicy pulp of the fruit can be eaten fresh. Reminiscent of a mixture of strawberries, white grapes, currants and dried apricots lychee fruit. Its taste is pleasant, sweet and sour, fresh. In addition to fresh consumption, lychee canned, dried, frozen and heat-treated. Drinks, desserts are made from it, including delicious ice cream, a variety of sauces, mousses, and jellies. On the basis of lychee, an excellent golden wine is also made, with a pleasant fruity aromatic and soft sweet and sour aftertaste.
"Dragon's eye" is also used in the preparation of dishes from game, meat and sea fish. In Chinese restaurants, you can enjoy deep-fried shrimp with sweet and sour sauce with lychee (Lizhi Xia Qiu). If you manage to get a fresh "Chinese plum", be sure to try the homemade sweet and sour chicken with almonds and lychee sauce. In addition, the fruit is used in the preparation of a variety of pastries, it is added to the filling of pies and pies, cookies and cakes are made from it.
How to store lychee?
The question of storing the "dragon's eye" deserves special attention. In general, it is advisable to eat this fruit as soon as possible - on the first day after purchase. At room temperature, litchi can be safely kept for 2-3 days. In the refrigerator, at 7°C, lychee can be kept for one or two weeks, provided that the shell is intact and not damaged. In general, this fruit deteriorates quite quickly, its peel darkens and the amount of vitamins in its composition decreases. If you want to keep lychees for a long time, we advise you to peel the fruits and freeze them. You can also dry the fruit or preserve it. In China, pickled lychees are stored inside bamboo stalks. In India and Vietnam, whole fruits are dried, after which the peel becomes hard, while such fruits are called "nuts". In this article, we looked at an interesting Chinese fruit - lychee, the benefits and harms of which are of concern to many consumers. As you can see, the "Chinese plum" has practically no contraindications and therefore can be fearlessly eaten. Moreover, it is rich in vitamins, minerals and has a lot of undeniable advantages! Be sure to try this delicious exotic product.
If you translate the name of the lychee fruit, then it sounds like a Chinese plum. The fruit is very popular not only among locals and tourists, but also among perfumers, confectioners, gourmets, as well as manufacturers of Thai cosmetics for hair and skin care. Many millions of tourists travel to Thailand with several main goals, among which - to try exotic fruits and lychees in this list of exotics occupies a leading position. It is best to buy lychee in the markets, where fruits are fresh and inexpensive.
In appearance, the lychee looks like a small ball of a rounded even shape, and its peel resembles a thin red shell. Lychees grow on fruit tree in the form of large clusters, which from afar look like a cluster of large raspberries on a branch.
The color of the lychee varies, but in general it is included in certain color ranges - from pink to a bright purple hue. The fruit may have a slight shade of plum color, for which it received the name Chinese plum.
How does lychee grow?
Lychee grows on tall exotic trees, the height of which ranges from 10 to 30 meters. Fruits are collected on the branches of the tree, the diameter of which rarely exceeds 4 centimeters.
When is lychee season in Thailand?
For a long time, lychee fruit was not grown in Thailand, but was imported into the state exclusively from China. Therefore, it was considered expensive and inaccessible to the local population. However, for recent decades Thais have learned to cultivate this crop on their own.
Lychee season in Thailand is from April to June. It is in this month that a sufficient amount of precipitation falls and the air temperature is kept within 26-30 degrees around the clock. All these weather give ideal conditions for growing lychee within famous resorts Thailand.
Lychee fruit is always sold only on a twig, because without it, the fruits are very poorly stored and quickly deteriorate. The average cost of lychee in Thailand per kilogram ranges from 40 baht in the north of the state to 70 baht in the south and popular resorts.
Lychee taste
Lychee pulp is very tender, tasting similar to grapes. The pulp contains a large amount of liquid, therefore it is considered unnecessarily watery. The taste of the fruit can give a slight sourness or even a slight astringency.
Lychee grows not only in Thailand and China, but also in Africa and Latin America as well as in Cambodia and Vietnam. And on different continents, the taste of lychee can vary - from very sweet to very sour. Such features depend on the number of sunny days and the amount of precipitation that falls during the growing season of the fruit.
Useful properties of litchi
Lychee contains useful components that have a beneficial effect on human digestion. These components include vitamins B1 and B2, as well as a high content of vitamin C. In addition to the group of vitamins, lychee contains phosphorus and iron in combination with nicotinic acid.
Normalization of digestion to a greater extent occurs due to the high concentration of carbohydrates in lychee. Most often, lychee is used as a tonic, but the fruit is also recommended for use in various diseases:
- Anemia or anemia of mild severity.
- In diabetes, to restore and normalize blood sugar levels.
- With violations in the work and functioning of organs such as the kidneys, lungs and liver.
- Recommend the use of litchi in the presence of diseases of the cardiovascular system.
- When making a diagnosis such as high blood cholesterol.
- Prevention in the treatment of atherosclerosis.
- With violations of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Already for a long time traditional healers Thailand and China create their own recipes for the treatment of serious cancers. Lychee is added during the preparation of a decoction based on medicinal herbs and lemongrass. Such a tool will also help to quickly restore lost physical forces after illnesses.
The low calorie content of this exotic fruit attracts everyone who is on strict diets or adheres to healthy eating. The calorie content of 100 grams of lychee is 66.
Lychee damage
The harm of lychee can manifest itself only in two cases: with excessive daily consumption of fruit or when eating a bone. Children are not recommended to give more than 100 grams of raw lychee to avoid manifestation allergic reactions(rash, redness, itching, etc.).
With individual intolerance to any component of the lychee, it is worth refusing to consume the fruit.
How to choose the right lychee?
Enough big choice fresh and only cut lychees can be found in the north of the state, since it is in this part of Thailand that the majority of plantations with fruit crops are located. Lychee prices still remain quite high compared to other exotic ones.
When choosing lychee, it is worth remembering that lychee is divided into dozens of varieties. Therefore, if you see a fruit that is not the same as in the pictures, you should not think about its staleness or poor quality, as these are just differences in the species diversity of the fruit.
When choosing lychee, it is necessary to pay special attention to the integrity of the outer cover of the fruit:
- there should be no soft areas;
- the peel of the fruit should be free of cracks, chips and breaks;
- to the touch, the fruit should be dense and elastic;
- the brown color of the fruit indicates its staleness.
How to store litchi?
In order to preserve lychee for a long time, it must first be purchased in clusters along with branches and leaves. Within one month it is possible to keep the fruit if it is stored in cold store with temperatures ranging from 2 to 7 degrees Celsius. At room temperature, you can keep lychee fresh for no more than 3 days.
How are lychees cleaned and eaten?
To peel the lychee, you just need to cut the thin shell with a knife and separate it from the pulp. Before taking lychee, you need to remove a large dark bone, which can have a toxic effect on the human body.
Lychee is consumed raw, but quite often you can find options for adding fruit to exotic alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails. In restaurants in Thailand, lychee pulp is used to prepare the base for sauces for meat or fish, as well as sweet syrups for ice cream and desserts. It is a long tradition to add fresh and dried lychee peel to tea as a persistent and pronounced sweet aroma.
When dried, with a bone inside, the lychee turns into a kind of small nut, which can also be consumed. Many locals in Thailand use lychee for canning in sugar syrup, which is very tasty.
Lychee is very popular all over Thailand and many tourists in the growing season of the fruit instantly buy it from the counters of markets and supermarkets. A large number of vitamins and trace elements make lychee not only a delicious fruit, but also insanely useful for our body.
Some exotic plants that you can grow at home not only decorate the interior with their fresh and unusual appearance, but also give tasty and useful fruits. These include lychee, an Asian exotic that has successfully taken root in apartments, offices and winter gardens Central and Eastern Europe.
Litchi chinensis (lychee, fox, lidzhi) is an evergreen fruit-bearing tree belonging to the Sapindaceae family (sapindaceae). We can highlight the following features:
- Lychee is also called Chinese cherry, Chinese plum, Chinese grapes.
- Judging by the name, botanical or folk, one can understand that the birthplace of the plant is the southern regions of the Celestial Empire. Today it naturally grows in the territories of India, Siam, Korea, as well as in the tropical regions of the American continent. Madagascar lychee is actively exported to Europe. Also, this fruit is a popular Thai gastronomic souvenir.
- An evergreen tree grows in nature up to 10-30 meters, on a windowsill in a pot or on the floor in a tub - up to 1.5-3 m.
- The root system is fibrous superficial.
- The plant has a spreading crown. Its leaves are compound, they consist of 4-8 simple leaves, lanceolate or ovoid in shape. The edges of the leaf plate are solid, on the outside it is glossy dark green, on the inside it is gray-green.
- During flowering, small flowers appear on the litchi, collected in inflorescence umbrellas. These flowers are petalless, their calyces are yellow or green color. Despite the fact that the inflorescence often reaches more than half a meter in length, only about a dozen fruits develop from it.
- Lychee fruits are small, about 4 cm, oval berries. They are dressed in a red bumpy skin. The pulp is translucent, whitish or yellowish, reminiscent of jelly. Inside the berry is a large dark bone. Because of the color of the stone and its oval shape, the tree is also called the dragon's eye. The taste of lychee fruits is similar to grapes.
In China, many legends and beliefs are associated with lychee. For example, they say that the concubine of Emperor Yang Guifei adored the berries from this tree, and the ruler sent a whole army of soldiers to the southern territories of the country to provide the favorite with his favorite delicacy.
Is it possible to grow exotic lychee fruit at home
All those flower growers who want to plant litchi at home or in the country need to know two important points:
- Fruit-bearing trees grow very slowly, therefore, undertaking cultivation from seeds, you will have to wait quite a long time.
- Lychee care is not easy, you need to be well aware of what conditions he needs to organize.
Soil and utensils
Lychee planting is possible in any soil for deciduous or exotic plants with pH 5.5-7.5. Plant it in spacious pots, tubs and containers.
Lighting
Since the tree is a tropical inhabitant, it needs a long daylight hours. It is necessary to choose the right place where to put the plant, and figure out how to organize additional lighting for it in the autumn and winter period. It is better to put the litchi on or near the southern windowsill and slightly shade it, and from October to March, in the evening, rearrange it under fluorescent lamps.
Temperature
It is quite hot in the countries from where lychee is imported to Europe, therefore, at home, the exotic must be kept at a temperature of 25 ° C to 30 ° C in summer and from 18 ° C to 25 ° C in winter. Unfortunately, due to such exactingness to temperature, the fruit rarely takes root in the country, unless it is grown in a greenhouse.
Humidity and watering
Lychee should be watered moderately, but the plant loves moist air very much. It is necessary to spray several times a day not only its leaves, but also the air in the room itself. Watering is carried out moderately as the top layer of soil under the plant dries out.
top dressing
For the first time, three-month-old sprouts are fed. Next in turn is compost and mineral liquid fertilizer the tree is brought in every 1 or 2 months.
pruning
The branches of the plant are cut only in the first two years of its life in order to give the crown a neat shape.
How to plant lychee
Since tropical exotic fruits can be bought in many supermarkets and fruit and vegetable stores, many are interested in how to sprout lychee from the stone.
Indeed, it is quite possible to propagate a plant in this way. Be sure to buy fresh fruits. They are carefully peeled off. Seeds are extracted from the pulp (the pulp, by the way, is better to eat, as it is very useful, but its properties will be mentioned later). They should be washed well, but not running, but well settled and heated to room temperature water. One seed is planted in pre-prepared dishes (usually plastic cups with holes made in the bottom). Under a polyethylene cap at a temperature of 30-35 ° C, they germinate for two to three weeks. As soon as the shoots rise, the temperature can be reduced to 25 ° C. Usually seedlings grow up to 20 cm and go into a dormant state for a year or even two. At this time, actively developing root system plants.
Lychee grown from seeds bears fruit very slowly. In addition, it is difficult to predict whether a young tree will have decorative qualities. Therefore, flower growers often prefer another method of its reproduction - vegetative.
The benefits and harms of litchi
For those who still did not know what lychee is, the way its fruit looks in the photo, especially if it is peeled, can make a double impression. The vitreous pulp will seem very appetizing to some, while to others it will remind the human eye, it is unlikely that you will want to eat it.
Nevertheless, lychee fruits are very useful, they are widely used in cooking and traditional medicine.
They taste sweet and refreshing. The composition of the pulp includes ascorbic and folic acids, other vitamins, fructose and glucose, proteins, pectins, as well as minerals necessary for humans such as potassium, iron and phosphorus. At the same time, the calorie content of the fruit is only 66 kcal per 100 g. If the diet for weight loss is such that you need to count calories, lychee can be included in its menu as a snack.
Fruits similar in taste to grapes are widely used in cooking. Dessert dishes are prepared from them. Homemade lychee jam is perfect for filling pies and cakes. They are added fresh to fruit salads. Fruit juice is boiled with sugar and jelly sweets like Jelly are prepared from it for children.
The lychee bone is not eaten, it is poisonous.
Lychee pulp and tincture from its seeds are used in folk medicine, they treat diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and the cardiovascular system, and metabolic disorders.
If a woman has swelling during pregnancy, she can eat lychee to get rid of them. Lychee fruit contains substances that promote the movement of water in the body. But pregnant women should not overdo it. There are contraindications to the use of exotic fruits: individual intolerance and the possible presence of an allergy.
Berries are also used in cosmetology. The gruel from the pulp is mixed with other components and used as a face mask, which has a rejuvenating, moisturizing, nourishing and protective effect.
For understandable reasons, there was a wrong opinion that exotic fruits cannot be grown at home. Practice shows that it is not so difficult if certain rules are followed. Lychee just refers to those plants that can be cultivated on their own, enjoying its fruits and excellent appearance. It is worth a little understanding of the features of growing this foreign guest.
What is known about lychee
The names of such interesting plant quite a bit of. Lychee is also called Chinese plum or Chinese cherry in another way. In nature, lychee can reach 30 meters in height. Naturally, growing at home does not allow the plant to develop to such sizes: in most cases, its height is a maximum of 2.5 m. But usually lychee does not grow to such sizes on the windowsill. Therefore, he will not need much space if the owners want to grow a tree on their own.
Small fruits appear on the lychee, the diameter of which rarely exceeds 4 cm. The shape of the lychee berry is oval, while they themselves are covered with a bumpy peel. In many ways, the taste of such fruits is similar to that characteristic of grapes. Actually, in the alternative name of this plant given fact also reflected. Many interesting beliefs and myths are associated with lychee. Therefore, all lovers of Chinese culture have now become interested in plants. But how exactly to grow it at home? Now this is what needs to be sorted out.
cultivation
There are quite a few aspects that must be observed when growing such a tree. You will have to pay serious attention to the air temperature in the room, the quality of irrigation, the composition of the soil in which the plant is planted. But it’s worth starting with planting, which is not as difficult as with many other plants. IN general view imagine the cultivation of Chinese grapes as follows.
- Planting a home lychee
As is clear, the correct fit largely determines how well the lychee will develop in the future. You should start by buying the fruit itself. Regular fruits that can be purchased at the store will do. The fruit is peeled, the bone is removed from it, and then it is washed well. Without waiting for the bone to dry, it is placed in a container with soil. It is better to use several seeds at once to increase the likelihood of good seedlings.
The first shoots appear about 15 days after the lychee is planted in the ground. Every day before shoots appear, the soil must be watered. In addition, it is necessary to maintain a suitable temperature. It is about +35°C. Accordingly, you will have to keep containers with bones under the sun. To speed up the appearance of sprouts, the container is also covered with cellophane or polyethylene.
So that when landing, the lychee does not deliver big problems, immediately after the appearance of sprouts, you need to carefully maintain the temperature at a level of a maximum of +25 ° C. In the right conditions, the sprouts will gain strength very quickly. Usually they soon reach a height of 20 cm. After that, the aerial part of the lychee stops growing. But its root system is constantly developing. So that the roots do not meet resistance as they develop, the tree should be transplanted into a large pot from the previous small container.
- Proper lychee care
When the tree gains strength, it is necessary to provide it right conditions for further development. There are several points here that require special attention. First of all, you need to provide suitable lighting for the lychee. It should be borne in mind that such an exotic fruit loves light. Perfect option- constantly keep it on the window if the daylight hours last at least 12 hours. In winter, as is clear, this is impossible. To in winter time Lychee also received sufficient lighting, it must be provided with additional illumination.
Following important condition good development tree is associated with its watering. Here it is necessary to act very carefully, since both drought and too abundant watering are dangerous for lychee. be guided by this case can be the condition of the earth in the pot where the plant is grown. As soon as it becomes a little dry, you need to immediately provide moisture. It is also desirable that the air in the room was humid. If the air humidity is low, the plant must be periodically treated with water from a sprinkler or spray bottle. The water that is used for watering or spraying the fruit must be well-settled. Too cold or too hot liquid will not work. Its temperature should be at room temperature so that the plant does not get damaged. Otherwise, the root system may stop growing after a while.
And, finally, for litchi, the temperature in the room plays a fundamental role. Even in winter, it should not fall below +20 °C. Lychee belongs to the heat-loving varieties. It will be possible to accelerate the growth of Chinese grapes if daylight hours are used to the maximum in spring and summer. It is necessary to keep lychees on the window at all times if a particular side of the house is under the sun all the time. In this case, the tree will receive a sufficient amount of lighting and will be able to develop faster.
- Fertilizing Lychee
Now it’s worth talking a little about how to fertilize this fruit. Sometimes it seems to gardeners and gardeners that lychee can grow more actively if fertilizers are applied as often as possible. In fact, it is also necessary to fertilize this fruit correctly and in small volumes. It is especially important to be careful when fertilizing the plant in the first year of lychee development. The first time you can use top dressing after about 3 months from the moment the tree sprouts. A small amount of top dressing, rich primarily in minerals, is used. After that, you need to leave the fruit without fertilizing until it is at least a year old. And from the second year of life, lychees are fertilized every 2 months. In this case, the likelihood that the plant will develop actively will be as high as possible. It remains to be reminded that excessive fertilizer for this tree is also dangerous, so you should not use too much fertilizer.
Lychee Care
It would be helpful to go into more detail on how to secure lychee. Better conditions for growth. The main point in this case concerns hydration. Habitat The habitat of this plant requires the presence of humid air throughout the year. And in the case of domestic lychee, it is not so difficult. The ideal option is to use a humidifier constantly. In this case, the lychee will be able to grow normally, receiving sufficient moisture.
Fluctuations in air temperature are possible, but still they should be characteristic of a particular time of year. In summer, the lychee is accustomed to the fact that the temperature is consistently around 25-30°C. In winter, it may be less, but not significantly. If the owners themselves become hot from constant attempts to heat the air in the room, it is better to use local heating with an infrared lamp. It is not necessary to point this type of lamp directly at the plants, but it is quite possible to place it next to the fruit. If such rules are taken into account, it will be possible to provide your “pet” suitable conditions.
This plant does not present any incredible requirements for growing. Therefore, you can safely grow it at home or in an apartment. Then the lychee will delight with delicious fruits, although not immediately. It remains to be patient to wait for the fruit to appear. And then you will be able to enjoy the taste of Chinese grapes, not bought in a store, but grown on your own practically on the windowsill.
