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simon_grow

Sweetheart Lychees-home grown

simon_grow
14 years ago

Hello everyone, so Phase gave me a call last week to let me know that his home grown Sweetheart Lychees were ready so I stopped by his house for a taste test and WOW! I couldn't believe it. His Sweetheart Lychees were just as large as the Sweetheart's we ordered from Lycheesonline.com but they were even sweeter, more fragrant and less astringent.

The Sweethearts that Phase grew smelled like a mixture or roses, honeysuckle and honey. They were super sweet with a strong honey like taste and they did not have that bitter taste, probably because I cut the rind off with a knife. Phase's tree was flushing and his current flush was beautiful with little or no burnt tips. I noticed that my Sweetheart lychee tree also had the best flush in Summer.

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Comments (20)

  • simon_grow
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Here are some more pictures of the lychee and some of his tree. {{gwi:1327769}}
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  • swrancher
    14 years ago

    Wow those really look fantastic. I have been debating with myself about trying grow a Lychee tree but have been hesitant to give it a try. Your lovely pictures just gave me a nudge towards getting one. Anyone have a variety recomendation for South Florida zone 10?

  • boom1
    14 years ago

    mmmm those lychees look absolutely delicious.

    my Sweetheart was planted earlier this year, hoping for some fruit next year,

  • hmhausman
    14 years ago

    I have not had good luck with Sweetheart Lychees. I've killed the first two plantings. I now have two in the ground that seem to have gotten over the risky initial growth period. Both bloomed this past year and one set three fruits. The birds got them though before I could try them. Your fruits look amazing and I have heard very good things about them. I am growing Emperor, Bengal, Ohia, Red Ohia, Mauritius, Brewster, Kaimana, Seymour, Bosworth, Bosworth 3 (Kwai Mai Pink), Hak Ip, Sweetheart, Farwell Farm, Emperor Seedling, Large Early Red, Garnet and Peerless. Of all the varieties that I have grown, my favorites are Kaimana and Garnet.

  • boom1
    14 years ago

    hmhausman, do you grow lychee commercially?

    where are you located? i visited Pine Island not to long ago and they had several (maybe 5 different) air layerings of chinese named varieties of lychees that i never heard of, they had peerless, Groff, Late seedless and probably a few others i forget, but they are not listed on their website. the airlayerings are not established yet.

  • hmhausman
    14 years ago

    I do sell lychees during the season. I have a roadside stand out front of my house. I got 1.5 acres of my home property qualified for an agricultural exemption. I also have lots of private customers that call me during the season. Take care

  • puglvr1
    14 years ago

    Simon, Thanks for the wonderful pictures and the update on
    Phase's lychees...makes me wish the season wasn't so far away for us in FL! After seeing those pictures I really can't wait till I taste my first crop. I just hope we don't have another freeze!

    Congrats Phase...you did a great job!! They look so Yummy!!

    Boom, that's a nice Lychee tree you have there!

    Hmhausman...I wish you lived closer, would love to stop by your fruit stand next summer.

  • phase0001
    14 years ago

    Hi Simon, thanks for the complements for posing the pics. Sweetheart is really an exceptional variety. The ones that I gave to Simon are left on tree for very long, like 2-3 weeks after turning red fully. Later I picked some that had turned red fully for 1-2 weeks, and I found that they are actually sweeter. So now I believe that Lychees should not be left on the tree for too long, it might lose some flavor after passing the optimal point.

    I hope I can get more next year. My tree underwent a strong flush when the fruits were ripening. This is how it looks now.

  • phase0001
    14 years ago

    thanks pug. how are your trees now? Both your Brewster and sweetheart should be pretty big now.

    while the new flush of my tree is good, they always develop some burnt tip eventually.

  • puglvr1
    14 years ago

    Phase, your tree is looking REALLY GOOD!! I hope I finally get to taste my Sweetheart next year...assuming we don't have another killer frost? Keep your fingers crossed for us.

    Thanks for asking...My lychees trees are growing considering all the trauma they went through last year,lol...

    Don't know if you saw my post from last June ...it turns out my "Brewster" is NOT a brewster after all. The fruits are way different. There is a very good chance its a Sweet Cliff? But, I am very happy with the taste and flavor...plus the size of the seeds are all chicken tongue so that's another plus.

  • phase0001
    14 years ago

    thanks Pug. I am wondering if I should prune my tree at this time. The new flush is stilling going thru the hardening process. And the timing seems to be in sync with a Jan/Feb flowering flush.

    If the purpose of pruning after fruits picked are 1) spur flush 2) sync with the flush in Jan/Feb, then it does not seem that I need to prune my tree at this time.

    Any expert suggestions? Thanks.

  • puglvr1
    14 years ago

    Hey Phase,

    For what its worth...a few weeks after I picked the fruits of my "Sweet Cliff?", some of the branches of my tree started flushing (around end of June)and as per their recommendation of pruning around July 15th... I called Lycheesonline and asked if I should prune then, and he told me to just let it be since it was flushing...that it was doing what it needs to do. You can always call or drop Bill an email, he is very nice and helpful.

  • simon_grow
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    swrancher, I personally like Sweetheart. Many people also like to plant Brewster but it is so common in the markets, I wouldn't bother planting it. There are a lot of people here that like Mauritius also.

    boom1, your tree looks beautiful and I don't see any burnt tips like we have here in San Diego. Keep us posted on your tree.

    hmhausman, do you have some pictures? I always wanted to get a Kaimana tree, I've never even heard of a Garnet before. Can you describe how your Kaimana taste? Did it have a large seed, was the fruit large?

    Hey Puglvr, hopefully you guys will get just enough cold to initiate flowering but not kill the blooms. If your tree didn't fruit last year, that give it that much more of an advantage this year.

    Hey Phase, thanks again for the taste test. Your tree is absolutely beautiful and I can't imagine how large its going to be in a couple more years. Hopefully, everyone's tree will flower and fruit this coming year!

  • north_tree_man
    14 years ago

    Phase/Simon- Fantastic! You're making me drool here. My sweethearts were pretty good, but those look wonderful! Great job with the pollination. Did the birds or squirrels give you any trouble?

  • phase0001
    14 years ago

    hi Pug, thanks for the info. guess I will leave my tree alone mostly.

    NTM, no we don't have squirrels here. they are kinda rare in California. I only saw them in the beach area. Birds also left the fruits alone. but they will find out about it sooner or later I am afraid. If that is the case, will zip-lock work?

    BTW my loquat tree is sending out flower spikes for the very first time so I am very happy gardener now!

  • north_tree_man
    14 years ago

    The tree is small enough that you'd be able to cover it with bird netting. Easy to find at home depot...it worked for me.

  • hmhausman
    14 years ago

    simon grow:
    Kaimana is one of the largest fruited lychess that I have seen. I don't have any current pictures but could take some next year. The flavor is sweet, I would say flowery without the medicinal taste that some lychees, like Hak Ip have. The seeds are small but not all chicken tongues.

    BTW.....I see everyone posting these gorgeous pictures.......can I ask a real stupid question?? How does one post a picture? I feel like an idiot asking......but I don't see any instructions or place to upload. Can anyone help??

  • simon_grow
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Hey Phase, my Loquat is flowering too, I have two huge trees at my old house that flowers every year. One of my tree produces large yellow fruit that is very sweet and not sour at all. The other tree produces a fruit that is orange/yellow and the fruit is much more tart. I don't recommend growing loquat from seeds because my friends grew some from seeds that I gave him and the fruit is very tart. You can take a cutting from my tree if like, just let me know.

    Hey hmhausman, thanks for the info, I think I will pick up a Kaimana for my next lychee tree. As to how to post pictures, follow these instructions that Phase posted:

    as to posting pics, use , where http://url_to_photo is the URL of the pic

  • simon_grow
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Hey Phase, time for an update!

  • simon_grow
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hey Phase, any updates on you Sweetheart and Kiamana lychee?

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