While growing an exotic lychee tree is quite easy, optimal care of the plant is more difficult. Lychee trees need a lot of light and warmth - they do not tolerate any cold, drafts or wind. The already slow-growing plants only thrive under optimal conditions.
What tips are there for caring for a lychee tree?
When caring for the lychee tree, pay attention to a bright, warm location without direct sun. The soil should be loose, slightly acidic and well-drained. Water regularly with low-lime water, fertilize sparingly and ensure high humidity. Use additional UV lamps in the winter months.
The right location
Litchis need a lot of light, although seedlings and young plants in particular cannot tolerate full sun. It is best to choose a bright and warm location. You should install additional UV lamps (€101.00 on Amazon), especially in the autumn and winter months, as it is simply too dark for the subtropical plants during this time.
Optimal conditions for your lychee tree
- bright and warm all year round
- Temperatures not below 12 °C
- high humidity
In the hot summer months, the plants also feel very comfortable on the balcony or in the garden. However, the prerequisite is a bright and protected location, and the lychee should always be slowly accustomed to the blazing midday sun.
The optimal plant substrate
Litchis need loose and nutrient-poor soil, ideally slightly acidic with a pH value of up to a maximum of 7. If the soil is too rich, the roots cannot develop properly. It is particularly important that excess water can drain away via drainage, as the plant cannot tolerate waterlogging. It reacts to this by dropping leaves and rotting roots. If possible, use a mixture of potting soil, coarse sand and clay. You can also use garden soil. If you take soil or sand from outside, make it germ-free before planting. This is done by heating in the microwave (about 15 minutes at least 160°C).
Watering and fertilizing correctly
Your home-grown lychee likes it moist, but not wet. The tree should be watered regularly, but only slightly. Allow the top layer of soil to dry before watering again.
How to water correctly
- Use rainwater.
- The water must contain little or no lime.
- Water the plant evenly and regularly, but only lightly.
You should also be economical when it comes to fertilizer. Young lychee plants do not need a small amount of fertilizer until they are three months old at the earliest, although you should use highly diluted liquid fertilizer. However, organic fertilizer is better because it does not contain s alt. Fertilize no more than every four to six weeks, but not at all in the winter months.
Tips & Tricks
Since lychee trees naturally grow very slowly - growth breaks of several years are normal - you do not need to prune your tree. It will also lose a shoot itself from time to time. The only exception: diseased or dead shoots should of course be removed.
