Your tree looks like its right up against your house where it will not get full sunlight. What type of soil do you have in the container, how often do you water and have you given it any fertilizer?

If your lychee died and your longan is not doing very well right now, it can be caused by improper care, or possibly from bad nursery stock.

I used Al's gritty mix for around 11 months. I recently switched it to regular potting soil about 3 weeks ago but it doesn't seem to help.

I water once a week when it was in the gritty mix. It gets about 4 hour of direct sunlight each day. I haven't fertilize it at all so far.

I've seen other people 'pug' their plant. Maybe it should be something I can consider?

Thanks

I wouldn't prune the tree at all right now. The leaves look healthy, and it needs the few that it has to build up some energy. Just sit tight and wait for it to start growing again. I'd probably add a small amount of osmocote and leave it alone to recuperate on its own.

Jeff

4 hrs of sun just doesn't seem to be enough for a tree more suited to full sun.

I agree with the other posters, about the lack of sunlight. Another thing to consider is the time of the year and the below average temps Los Angeles has encountered the last couple months.

We had a cool, below average temp summer in SoCal. The winter has been cool and on the cloudy side. Most likely the tree has not adapted yet from having full sun (in a nursery setting) and the lower temps. Give it a little time, perhaps try to move to a sunny south side of the home.

I would not pug it anymore like Jeff said, it needs some leaves for photosynthesis. It has been really cool lately in SoCal and my inlaws longan hasn't grown much in the cold weather. Lychee and Longan grow in spurts. You can sometimes see little bump like protursion like zits on the branches before new growth pops out.

My inlaws longan wasn't doing very well in a pot for some reason but once they planted it in the ground, it started doing really well. There seems to be a consensus that your plant is not getting enough sunlight. I personally like to give my fruit trees Fish Emulsion and liquid kelp at very very diluted amounts. I think the brand I use is King Neptunes which is a combination of fish and kelp. I dilute it about double of what the instructions recommends.

Your plant probably wont even need any fertilizer until it has another growth spurt but a diluted feeding for a plant you've had for 9 months without any fertilizer shouldn't hurt.

The trunk of your tree around the base area seems a bit moist. May I ask why the cardboard is around your tree? In my opinion, the daily transpiration/evaporation cycles play an important role for the trees rhizosphere. By keeping the cardboard there, you may be holding in too much moisture and not allowing the soil to breathe properly. This may cause fungal or other problems.

Your tree still looks like its in good shape and with a little TLC, it should be able to branch and leaf out nicely. Let us know how it goes!

I will try to get it more sunlight but living in an apartment there's only so much I can do. I will also fertilize it lightly.

The cardboard is there because a few months ago stray cats were defecating in the containers.

Thanks for all the help.

I also agree with Simon in regards to the Fish emulsion. My mango trees and other tropicals love the stuff!! I have not ever seen the growth flushes I am seeing now.

I too live in an apartment and I too do not have a lot of natural sun light. Don't let that hold you back!! It is easy to supplement it with an HID or HPS light. I have been using mine since last September/October and my tropical fruit trees have really grown a lot since. Some, like my cherimoya are even producing flower buds now. The cherimoya actually has more flower buds than ever!
Yeah the lights are not cheap but worth every penny!

Andrew

C'mon people, anytime you see cardboard, duct-tape/packing tape (sticky side up) or bamboo punji sticks around the base of a potted plant it is to keep the bad cats out. : ) I live on almost 3/4 of an acre...I have swaths of grass, sand, beds of leaves, etc. Every evening when I'm walking my yard my cat wants to scratch the mulch around my lychee trees and pee there. Very annoying. But in his defense he kills a couple of squirrels every year.
I would give your longan more sunlight. I think that would be your main culprit.