Tree · Sapindaceae
Lychee
Litchi chinensis
Give it heat, acidic soil, and a cool winter rest, and this tropical tree rewards the patience it demands.
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, prized for the sweet, perfumed flesh inside its rough red shell. It grows slowly into a wide, rounded canopy and lives for decades, so planting one is a long commitment rather than a quick crop. In the ground it can reach 20 to 40 feet (6 to 12 m) tall and nearly as broad.
This is a demanding tree, and most of the challenge is climate. It needs real warmth and frost-free winters, which limits it to USDA zones 10 and 11 or a sheltered microclimate. The quirk that catches people out is flowering: a lychee needs a brief cool, dry spell in winter to set flower panicles, and a mild winter often gives you a flush of leaves and no fruit.
Where it's happy, the payoff is real. Trees fruit from May to July, peaking in June, and a settled tree can carry a heavy crop. Just expect alternate bearing, where a big year is often followed by a light one.
Care
The short version: full sun, fertile and well-drained acidic soil, and steady moisture through the growing season, with a cooler, drier rest in winter to set flowers and shelter from frost and wind.
Light
Give lychee full sun for the best growth and cropping, though it will take some partial sun. A wind-sheltered spot matters as much as the light, since the brittle wood breaks in storms.
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 give the cool, dry rest that helps trigger flowering. Lychee won't stand for standing water or salty water.
Soil
Plant in fertile, well-drained acidic sandy loam rich in organic matter, ideally at a pH of 5.0 to 5.5. The tree is intolerant of salinity, so salty ground or water will set it back.
Temperature
Lychee handles a range of about 32°F to 95°F (0°C to 35°C) but is genuinely frost tender, and a freeze browns the leaves and kills branches. A short cool winter spell, on the other hand, is what nudges it into flower.
Humidity
This tree likes humid air, ideally around 50% to 80%. Dry air suits it poorly, which is part of why it thrives in warm, humid regions.
Feeding
Feed seasonally through the growing season, roughly March to November, with a complete fertilizer that includes micronutrients. Lychee is hungry for manganese, zinc, and iron, so micronutrient foliar sprays during growth help head off yellowing leaves.
Pruning
Prune lightly after harvest to shape the tree and hold its size, taking out dead, crossing, or weak branches. An established lychee needs little more than that.
Repotting
A young container tree can be potted up every 2 to 3 years until it's ready for the ground. Once it's established, plant it out, since this is a tree that wants to live in open soil for the long haul.
Size & spacing
Expect 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 and wind has somewhere to go.
When to plant
Lychee runs on the warm season and won't take frost. Plant in spring once the cold has passed and the soil has warmed, let the tree flower from late winter into spring, and pick fruit from May through July, with the heaviest 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 trouble traces back to climate and soil rather than pests. Poor flowering, yellowing leaves, and cold or wind damage cover nearly all of it. Match what you see below and act before a season's crop is lost.
Browning leaves and dying branches after cold or wind
Lychee is frost tender, so foliage that browns or blackens after a cold snap points to freeze damage, and whole branches can die back. Strong wind does the same kind of harm to this brittle-wooded tree. Cover and warm young trees through a frost, and plant in a wind-sheltered spot from the start.
Fix:
- Protect young trees during frost with covers or added heat
- Relocate or shelter trees from strong wind
Plenty of leaves but few flowers or fruit
A lychee that keeps pushing leaf growth without flowering usually missed its cool, dry winter rest, the short cold spell that triggers flower panicles instead of another leaf flush. Lychees also fall into alternate bearing, so a heavy crop one year can mean a thin one the next. Hold back water and nitrogen through late fall and winter, and ride out the lean years.
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
Yellowing between the veins on new leaves
When the newest leaves go yellow between green veins or brown at the edges, the tree usually can't pull enough iron, zinc, and manganese from the soil. Alkaline or salty ground locks up those micronutrients, and salty irrigation water makes it worse. Spray chelated iron and micronutrients, acidify the soil back toward a pH of 5.0 to 5.5, and switch off any saline water.
Fix:
- Apply chelated iron and micronutrient foliar sprays
- Acidify the soil and mulch with organic matter
- Stop using saline irrigation water
Toxicity
The ripe lychee flesh is a safe, well-loved fruit, so the tree itself isn't a household hazard. 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 away the seeds, and keep green fruit and pits away from children and pets.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Safe for
People
Cats Caution
A bite of ripe flesh won't hurt a cat, but the seed and any unripe fruit are the worry. The hypoglycin they carry can drop blood sugar, leaving a cat wobbly or sluggish, and the hard pit is a real choking risk.
Dogs Caution
Dogs often go for a dropped fruit whole, pit and all. Ripe flesh in small amounts is fine, but a swallowed seed can lodge in the gut, and the toxins in seeds and unripe fruit may bring on weakness or shakiness from low blood sugar.
Horses Caution
There's little reason for a horse to meet a lychee, and the flesh isn't a known problem in moderation. Still, keep fallen seeds and green fruit out of reach, since the hypoglycin behind the fruit's hypoglycemia hasn't been cleared as safe for horses.
Rabbits Caution
Skip lychee for rabbits beyond a tiny taste of ripe flesh. The sugar load suits them poorly, and the seed and unripe fruit hold the same hypoglycin that can crash blood sugar.
Livestock Caution
Windfall fruit under a tree is the usual way grazing animals run into trouble. The ripe pulp is mild, but seeds and unripe fruit carry hypoglycin, so rake up drops where stock can reach them.
Birds Caution
Birds happily peck ripe lychee flesh, and a little does no harm. The concern is the seed, both as a choking hazard and as a source of the same hypoglycin found in unripe fruit.
People Ripe fruit safe
Ripe lychee flesh is a popular fruit and safe to eat in moderation. The danger sits in the unripe fruit and seeds, which hold hypoglycin linked to dangerous low blood sugar, most of all in undernourished children eating many green fruit on an empty stomach. Eat only ripe fruit, throw away the seeds, and keep the pit away from 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 handful of named cultivars do most of the work in home and commercial groves, chosen for reliable cropping and good fruit. These are the ones worth knowing.
Brewster
A vigorous early introduction from China bearing large red fruit, it went on to become a leading commercial cultivar in Florida.
Mauritius
A dependable, heavy-cropping cultivar grown commercially across warm, humid regions.
Sweetheart
Its large heart-shaped fruit often carries a small shriveled chicken-tongue seed, which leaves more flesh to eat.
How to propagate
Lychee is propagated mostly by air-layering, because cuttings root poorly and seedlings are slow and unpredictable. The route you pick decides how true the tree runs and how long you wait for fruit.
Air layeringModerate
Warm growing season, spring into summer · Roots in about 8-12 weeks; trees typically fruit in 3-5 years
Air-layering, also called marcotting, is the main commercial way to multiply lychee, since ordinary cuttings root poorly. Work in the warm season from spring into summer, and the layer puts out roots in about 8 to 12 weeks. You get a true-to-type tree that fruits in roughly 3 to 5 years, far sooner than 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 dies within a few days, so sow it fresh the moment you scoop it out, and it sprouts in 1 to 2 weeks. The catch comes later. A seedling can take 7 to 10 years or more to fruit, and the fruit it finally bears is variable, which is why this route isn't the one to choose for quality.
GraftingDemanding
Growing season · Union forms in weeks; fruiting in 3-5 years
Grafting during the growing season knits a graft union within weeks and gives a tree that fruits in about 3 to 5 years. It's a way to carry select cultivars, but for lychee most growers reach for air-layering instead.
Myths
Every part of the lychee, ripe fruit included, is dangerously poisonous.
The ripe flesh is a safe, everyday fruit eaten the world over. The real concern is hypoglycin A and MCPG in the unripe fruit and seeds, and even then trouble shows up mainly when undernourished children eat many green fruit on an empty stomach. Enjoy the ripe fruit and discard the seeds.
You can easily grow a productive lychee from a seed.
Seedlings are slow, often taking many years to bear, and they're so variable that the fruit rarely matches the parent. Air-layering is the reliable route, giving true-to-type trees that crop far sooner.