Looking at the size of that rootball, I too would switch to a much smaller container. When you mixed up your soil, did you pre-wet the soil and mix it in a bucket real good? Many mixes using sphagnum peat as the main ingredient will repel water unless really mixed well before planting.

When you pulled the rootball out, was the dirt dry? If so, I suspect the above to be a suspect. Other than that, unless you fertilized heavily or sprayed something on the plant, I'm not sure. Lychees should be able to handle wet feet for a few days. Your longan looks like it is starting to show the same symptoms. I would guess your lychee at least is a goner.

You might contact the seller and see if they will replace the trees.

lycheeluva,

1. It has 4 drilled holes on the bottom and I just transplanted my lychee tree into the black container you see there. I digged through the bottom of the blue tub and it seems moist and well drained.
2. This could also be a possible reason. I left it shaded until yesterday when I moved it near the gate.
3. Not much wind at all
4. Its usually above 50F+ here in Los Angeles at night.
5. No fertilizer but the soil comes with some (Scott's SuperSoil)

ohiojay,
The dirt wasn't dry. It was very moist. I didn't pre-wet the soil, I just broke up the big dirt clumps. I transplanted it from the blue tub to the black container you see there, still too big ?

I have a feeling it must be the soil being pre-fertilized and both plant not getting enough full sun.

nguyentry,where did you get your trees from?.....also how long where they in transit for before you got them.I am in the South Bay area of Los Angeles also.lychee ususally do not take shipping well it took mine 2-3 weeks to recover after shippping.Just make sure they get enough sun especially we are in the 80's now.I used palm and cactus mix as my soil and add perlite.I'll try to post pics of my lychee..

I got both from nipahutgardens from ebay. Took 7 days to ship from FL to CA. The thing is mine got worst since march 8th when I received it. I just relocated both trees to where it would receive the most sunlight today. I hope it makes it. What brand palm and cactus mix are you using ?

Thanks for all your help

Nguyenty,That is were I got most of my tropical plants from nipahutgarden all all of them are doing great.the 7 days in transport might be a reason they use USPS last year and I usually received my plants from them withn 2-3days.I think this year they change carrier to UPS that takes longer.Give them a little tender loving care for the 1st month.I used palm and cactus by supersoil and add perlite.

OMG, I came home and found BOTH trees doing worst than they did. The leaves are super curled up now and they crackle when I squeeze one. Doesn't look good at all ...... Seriously think its the fertilizer problem as I just relocated them in the morning and they had good full sun for a few hours.

Guys, should I transplant both of my trees outside in the garden soil ? It is 13 inch wide and very long. Its a long strip of area on our walkway.

I think you best shot would be to get them in the ground if possible. Can't hurt, and you don't have to worry about water issues with your potting mix.

I think your problem is that your mix holds way too much water. You CAN pot your trees in very large pot if your mix holds no perched water, but your mix does hold perched water so a container that large will not work. With your mix the only way I can see you having success is by putting the plant in a 3gal container at most. That way the roots have a chance to soak up the water before rot starts. If you want to keep them potted you should go with Al's gritty mix. I think that is your only shot at saving them unless you put them in the ground.

Nguyenty, I think the lychee was in the wet soil for too long and too cold. The tree should be in a small pot about the size of the root ball just a couple inches bigger. I think at this stage you should not pre-water the soil. Just plant the tree in with some new potting soil. Since the rootball soil is wet, it will wet the new soil. Set it at a warm sunny place. When you see the soil is dry then water it.

Looking at the pictures, I think your trees are in pots that are too big for the small size trees. If they are healthy then don't disturb them now. Usually for us who have to plant these tropicals in pots then we should just plant them in a pot just a couple inches larger than the rootballs. Only change to a larger size pot when the tree is healthy and adapted to your area.

If you plan to plant it outside, then make sure the temperature is warm. I think at least over 65 since the tree is at stress due to over watered and cold. My first time planting (2006) a lychee did not make it since it was wet and cold in the house. The soil stayed wet for more than a week even it was drained well. Same with my soursop and jackfruit. They were in too big of a pot and almost die from it. Lucky I change it to a much smaller pot with new soil and left them at the sunny window. Now they are growing slowly but still alive.:)

I have friends who live in LA and they told me there is this vietnamese nursery around. See if you can find a nursery near your area and order from there instead.

Good luck.

It is the typical tranplant shock.
With 7 days in dark, the tree should be kept away
from direct sunlight for at least a couple of weeks.
The roots cannot support so many leaves after transplant.

Ok just found out my dad put 2-3 inch of compost on top of the soil when we first planted it. He thought compost was just regular soil. Compost is fertilizer right ? I really believe its over fertilizing. Along with 7 days being in the box and shipping shock I can see how this plant is fading away so quickly.

tagtail, yes the guy who sent me the plants sent directions to keep them away from direct sunlight and I did for a week until yesterday i moved them for better partial sunlight. Today I moved them for almost full sunlight and I can't beleive my eyes when I came home to see the Longan doing as bad as the Lychee tree.

I moved it to sunlight because apparently it wasn't doing so good in the shade either.

Nguyenty, it looks like it could be a combination of transport(were these barerooted) and soil(possibly). For any new plantings I would avoid soil with fertilizer. Take your lychee and repot it. Water it heavily once and bag it up with a clear plastic bag, try to create some humidity for it. The longan looks like it will drop all it's leaves but should survive. In terms of stressed out plants, yellow leaves that drop are usually a better sign than dried crispy leaves. Good luck.

Both are rootballs. I should have the gritty mix ready by tomorrow. Just missing granite grit. I think I will put the lychee in first and see how it goes.

I second Eggo's advice. I doubt that the compost did any harm and most commercial potting soils have so little fertilizer added, I can't see it causing issues either. Getting the plant as much humidity as you can may benefit them the most. I would also prune them back a bit and remove the crispy leaves. Set the plants in light shade, no direct sun if you cover them in plastic. When you cut back the branches some, if there is still green beneath the bark, you have a chance. My concern was the same as Eggo's...yellow leaves better sign than crispy ones. If your overnight temps are in the 50's, I would bring the plant inside to keep it as warm as possible.

Another option as far as nurseries go is Ong's in San Diego. He carries nice selections of many types of trees.

The guy who sold the plants to me said to put up stakes around the plant and wrap them in saran wrap. Ill do this right after I put both trees in a new soil mix.

You said your Dad put 2-3 inches of compost on top of the soil. From what I've read you're not suppose to bury the rootball...you're suppose to plant the tree at the same depth as it was planted in the plastic container and no deeper. Adding 3" of compost on top of the soil might have kept the soil too wet and prevented air circulation? Its also possible that the compost your dad added has cow manure which might have burned some of the tender roots? Not saying this is the cause, but it could have added to the problem. Just some possibilities? Good luck and hope it recovers.

WOW the rootball grew ALOT. I applied some mycorrhizal fungi when I received them.

Rootball 3-18-10

I removed all of the dead leaves with a pruning scissor on the Longan tree. The lychee tree is covered with a plastic bag and sealed. It seems to be recovering or at least not doing any worst. I will put the Longan tree into the gritty mix as soon as I am done making the batch.

3-16-10

3-18-10

I think you overpotted all your trees. They seem to be dying of root rot from overly wet,acidic, potting soil. In my experience-unless you can get them into perfect conditions-the right size pot,the right temperatures...Otherwise when tropical potted trees look that bad so soon,in California,they usually dont recover.IF the stems stay plump and only leaf loss-your still in the game...shriveled branches or worse,trunk, is a very bad sign...

I also notice that these sun and warmth lovers are in shade(for photos only?). In California they need all the sun they can get.
Those trees do grow and bear fruit in soucal...so dont give up.

I had to take off all the leaves on the lychee tree too. Both trees has small branches that broke off extremely easily with a little pressure so I pruned all the little branches off. I hope that was the correct thing to do. Now I'll just have to wait and see.

I hope it comes back for you, it looks really bad. Lychees are a bit of a pain, especially in pots. You at least have a bunch of people here that grow in pots. I no longer do anything special for my potted plants, just well aged soil from near my compost bin mixed with pine bark chips, that's it. Good luck, will give it a horticultural prayer.

Gary

My $0.02: Don't give up too soon on a leafless lychee. I have a Brewster which I pulled out of the ground nearly lifeless. 2 years in a pot and back into a different area of the greenhouse and it is now healthy with fruit.

Its been 6 weeks since I removed all of the leaves & weak small branches on both trees and there is no new signs of growth yet. It is still green underneath the bark, however. Being such expensive trees, I won't give up until I'm 100% its dead lol

My local high end nursery (and proponent of natural organics for plants) recommended that I spray and feed my almost dead cherry tree with Liquid Kelp spray. It worked for me. So, you might want to give that a try. It is sad to see your trees like this - I lost a lychee tree in the frost a few years back and it took me several years to get back to growing tropical trees again. Best wished to your trees.

nguyenty
What was the follow-upon your lychee and longan tree. This site read like a suspense mystery novel. Everyone was hoping the best. I live in the Riverside area. I ordered a lychee tree from Plant o gram last year, and it is doing fairly well. The greatest damage is the wind. I just planted it into the yard and I have a burst of new growth and fruit. Mickey give you a free tree with each order.

I always placed my fruit and vegetable scraping in the yard under dirt. You can do that also in your small space. I use Stark bro fertilizer and fish emulsion.

Next time I would buy tropical trees from Mimosa Nursery, in east Los Angeles. They have a large selection of healthy tropical trees.

Can anyone help. I live in the UK so I'm trying to grow a lychee tree indoors. The tree is growing fine but the leaves are going brown at the end. I'm guessing soil isn't giving enough nutrients so I'm trying to feed it once a week. Has anyone ever had anything similar? The picture attached is why it looks like and it important I keep it goon as I planted it when my son was born plus I want some juicy lychees out of it. Any help appreciated. Kai

Anyone help or advise?

All Lychee trees have leaves with brown dried tip, and it's not unusual. It's could be it's ready for a new set of leaves, but I really don't know why it's this way -- maybe too cold or cool.

Sapote

From what I know about Lychee trees...they love water but the potting mix must drain well...they don't like to dry out and they don't like a LOT of fertilizer..."weak" fertilizers are best. Fish emulsion at one third strength should be fine for a tree that small, fertilizer burn especially on potted lychee trees are very common.

Sapote is right...all lychee trees are prone to those brown tips on the leaves... but high PH, and the reasons I mentioned above seems to be some of the most common cause/s...Best of luck!

This post was edited by puglvr1 on Tue, Sep 17, 13 at 11:35

Really appreciate the comments. Trying to grow a lychee in England, especially when winter is coming is tough. Will try the water thing. Do you think it needs repotting with new soil. Should I use soil from the garden or continue with the fertiliser? I'm amazed I've grown it from seed in the first place

Kai

kaicrayford,
your little lychee, looks like it's not happy with the water you're using. If your using sink/tap water, maybe it is too hard for the lychee. Switch to filter water or distilled water. Those two are gonna cost you in the long run, when the lychee gets bigger. The best kind of water is to catch the run off rain water from your roof or how ever you can catch the rain water into a large container. Rain water doesn't have any chemical likes city water does+ it's free. Or if you want to use city water, you should reserve some of the tap water into a 5 gallon water and let it sit for a few days, for the chlorine and other chemicals to evaporate. Or for faster use of the tap water, use a fish pump, to create bubble in the water, to help aerate the chemicals out.

I have also heard people adding a small amount of vinegar or pickle juice to the water, to make it more acidic. I don't see how the vinegar can hurt the lychee plant. Since they like acidic soil anyways, the acidic water will just help keep the soil acidic enough, to keep the plant happy.

He's a sad chappy right now but he is still growing new leaves! Ok ill change the water to filtered as we have very limescalely water plus I live I'm London so it generally ruff. But is there anything I can do to improve the soil. Vinegar sounds odd to me

Kai

You're in London, doesn't it rain a lot over there? Catch all those rain water into a large 55 gallon drum or similar and save those for your plants water. Will be cheaper than the filter water in the long run. As for soil, they like organic soil, that is well draining. Get one that has a lot of pine barks/wood chips, or make your own. There is a recipe for making a well draining soil mix called Al's Gritty mix or his other one is called 5-1-1 mix. You can find many post about it on the forum. But, I just used kellogs' orgainc brand soil mix, and that works fine. Not, sure if you have that brand over there, but, it is a major brand, so you can probably find it or similar.
Vinegar mix with water is to help, keep the soil in an acidic condition. But, if the soil, you're using is already acidic enough, I don't see the reason for the vinegar. I can't remember all the details from the article, I read a while back, but it's also says, it's for breaking down the limestone and other minerals, found in the hard city water.

One last thing, try to avoid soil mixes with lots of peat moss. That is acidic, but retains to much water and can caused root rot. I just stick to just organic soil mix, that work well for me.

Do you want to grow Lychee for the tree look, or for fruit? Lychee is a relatively slow grower, especially from seed. It's much easy to "air layer" graft a 1" or smaller branch and plant it -- take about 3 months. This clone is a guarantee true to the fruit, not seedling.

Sapote

I'm looking to grow fruit from it not just a little tree... I have ambitions of being the first lychee farmer in the uk!

Kai,
Sorry to rain on your parade, but lychee grown form seeds take a long while(10+ years, but if you're lucky, maybe 5+ years instead) to fruit. If, you want fruits faster(2-3 years from air layer/grafted plant), go the air layer route and get it from a nursery. There are a few European tropical fruit nurseries, you can order online from, with grafted and air layer plants. Look at this forum http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=5585.0
at another site talking about the different European online tropical fruit nursery.

You might not be the first person in the UK, to fruit lychee, but, you might be the first to fruit it from seeds though. In the more southern part of portugal, Spain and the whole Canary Island, are more warmer and even tropical in parts.

Good luck, if you plan to be the first to fruit lychee in the UK, from seeds. Remember, it's going to take a while.

I think the vinegar track is killing the plant. The leaves are looking even more sorry for themselves. I will try the rain water and see if that makes a difference

Kai,
Oh, I'm soo sorry! I should've warn you to use it on only larger trees. Your little lychee is way too small. When, I use vinegar mix into the water it's 1TBSP per 1 gallon of water, about 4 liters. But, my tree is larger, it's an air layer 5 gallon plant. So, that ratio of vinegar is not too strong for my plant. Also try carefully re potting your plant with a different organic soil mix, that is well draining. Any mix with lots of pine bark is good, since pine bark is acidic. You might want to feed your lychee with micros. You can buy store bought concentrate of micros and dilute it your self or make worm tea with worm castings. It's a good organic fertilizer with beneficial micros in it. Or you can just buy ready made worm tea concentrate/tea online on eBay or somewhere in the UK, where you live.

Did you looked at that link I posted of the other forum, with the online European nursery, that ships? Might, be a good idea to order an air layer or grafted lychee from one of the European nursery.

For now, rain water sounds like a good idea.

The end of a lychee, third time lucky I hope! Better luck next time. Thanks for the tips, but I think the vinegar really got it

I'm so sorry, but, it doesn't look completely dead yet. Your potting mix looks very wet or is it just very black? Young lychee plant don't need the extreme moistness of larger trees does. Carefully pulled out the tree and look at the root ball/system. If they are still whitish and not dark brown. Then the lychee still has a fighting chance. All those leaves will eventually drop or you can pull them off now. It will be a slower process to regrow new leaves, but, if the root system is dark brown, then it is most likely dead. But, whitish roots, still have hope for recovering. Will be slower, but will recovered. I have some young plants like that too, all the leaves died and turned brown. But their root system is still alive, just took longer to recover, after such a stressful period of leaf drops. Hang on to the little guy, it will recover, eventually. Just don't give it water unless you notice the soil is getting on the dry side.

Searching for help on a lychee that seems to be dying. Wondering if nguyenty can provide an update on the outcome. Did any new leaves grow on your tree?

I have a lychee tree that is approximately 15 years old. It stands between 15 and 18 feet. I am located in Cutler Bay, Florida. Recently it has been dropping it leaves. The leaves yellow first and get soft to the touch. Tree has not been fertilized in the last year and a half. I have not used any pesticides. The tree was used successfully as a donor for air layering last May and was lightly pruned in July of 2019. Any suggestions ?

I read somewhere that iron is often the leading nutrient deficiency with lychee

I recently grew a lychee and am having a hard time finding solutions! It’s been growing great since I planted it back in May with no issues. I was gone for three days, just got home and now there are brown spots in the edges of the leaves :/ I’m not sure if it’s from the weather because it’s getting colder now that it’s fall? I haven’t read anything online about weather affecting the leaves. All I’ve been seeing is about mites and over watering/fertilizing! Thanks!

That's not that uncommon for lychee trees. Lychee trees are somewhat difficult to grow, and very slow growing even when everything is seemingly optimal.

The soil needs to be kept constantly moist. I also suspect dry air may be making the leaves not happy. Trees that are in containers tend to be more vulnerable to drying out because the roots do not reach down as deep.

I also wouldn't be constantly pulling out the tree by its roots if I were you, that can permanently damage the fine root structure, greatly set back the tree. I don't know if you had done that, but don't be pulling the roots out of the soil just to check on it!

You could have mixed a little mulch into the soil, which is too late now. But you can and probably should cover the top with mulch, it will help slow and prevent the soil beneath from drying out.

My lychee has green leaves but they are very dry and cracky. I haven’t done anything that could have harmed it. Any help here?

I haven’t been touching the roots no. I have yet to replant it either out of fear of it going into shock. It has produced a couple leaves that dried out before they got anywhere but recently it’s sprouted one that looks promising. Idk tho 🤷🏽‍♀️

Keep the soil moist, use soil that holds moisture well, and move the plant to a location that's more protected from wind, because dry wind can pull away moisture from the leaves.

It's also normal for the leaves not to look the best during the winter.

Surrounding it by many other plants and bushes, to help create a more humid zone, and misting the leaves wouldn't hurt.