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fruitof76

Longan & lychee problems

18 years ago

I have a temporary greenhouse setup to overwinter my tropical plants. I have just found that my Longan appears to be dying. Its leaves are curling up and are changing color from emerald green to a grayish green mixed with brown.

I will post a picture later to show what they look like.

My Lychee doesn't look too well but still has some green and healthy leaves on it. The soil with both was a little dry when I checked it. I thought they needed drier soil in the winter in order to rest and then begin growing again in the spring.

Could this damage to the plant have been caused by 1) Dry soil, 2) Too much warm air, 3) too low a temperature in the greenhouse or some other combination of factors?

My greenhouse is heated with a simple fan forced air 1500W heater. This is to keep the temperature above freezing on cold nights. My greenhouse thermonmeter is on the fritz so I don't have a good reading on the lowest temperature inside it this winter.

Besides the Longan and Lychee, I have a Dragon fruit, Banannas, BOP, WBOP, Lemons, Lime, Kumquat, many Macadamias, foxtail palm, cardboard sago, Starfruit, sugar cane, and Jaboticaba in this same space.

All my other plants appear fine without signs of cold or heat damage. Neither lack from too little or suffering from excessive water.

Appreciate any suggestions on what may have gone wrong and what, if anything, can be done to allow the trees to recover.

Thanks.

Comments (9)

  • 18 years ago

    You most definitely need to keep the soil moist. I'm assuming they are in pots? The general logic of keeping them cool and dry in winter is for when they are planted in the ground. In other words, they shouldn't be irrigated in winter, and less humidity is desirable. That doesn't apply if you have them in pots.
    I'd imagine that temperature isn't a problem, as long as it's above 40 degrees...which it must be if all of those other plants are doing well.
    The only other thing I can think of is that the leaves do have a life expectancy, and when new vegetative growth starts, the older leaves start to brown and drop off. Generally, the vegetative growth should show up in time to replace the older leaves, but if the temps in your greenhouse are too low, that new growth may be delayed a bit. Vegetative growth initiates around 70 degree temps.
    I would strongly recommend that you maintain a good watering schedule. The hardest part for me is keeping my lychees moist but not drowned. I try to water just to the point of absorption, but not saturation. You may want to give them a good drink for the next week, then start a regular schedule. I hope that helps.

  • 18 years ago

    I agree with north tree man. I don't try to keep my lychees on the dry side in winter like some other plants. My lychee in the pot seems to do better with moist soil year-round. This is made much easier with a fast draining, large particle container mix. For a complete essay on that, check out the seminal thread on the Container Growing forum by Tapla entitled "Water Movement in Containers," now in its fourth iteration. I also sometimes use a strip of old towel in the bottom of the pot to wick out the water table so I can water fearlessly.

    SB

  • 18 years ago

    Thank you both for your advice. I will water them on a more frequent basis and hope for the best.

  • 18 years ago

    SB, I'm curious...What do you do with the towel strips. Are they on the bottom of the pot and then trailing up the side of the pot and over the top of the pot? I wondered about the wicking part of the long soil post.

    Thanks for the info.
    Tj

  • 18 years ago

    As an update, my Lychee has put out new growth and appears to be recovering well. My Longan, although still having green cambium, has not budded out at all. I think it is done for. Would any sort of root stimulator or other compound be of any use at this point?
    Or should I expect to wait longer for new leaves?

  • 18 years ago

    Glad to hear the lychee came back. As for the longan, you'll probably need to take the "wait and watch" approach. Maybe 'DGHays' will stop by and give some insight...he seems to be the longan expert around here.

  • 18 years ago

    I agree with people above its almost certain to be a watering issue, and also that there's not much to do except water it the correct amount now (don't over-correct), and hope it sprouts its leaves. You could attempt to plant it in a good spot to see if that helps, and dig it back up at the end of the summer. Irrigation and fert is much more difficult in container gardening.

    Gary

  • 18 years ago

    Well, I've continued to water the Longan in it's pot. Today I found a new sprout and other buds on its branches, so it is coming back. Thanks everyone for the help. Assuming it grows back to a regular sized canopy this year, what is the recommended fertilizer and schedule to follow for this tree?

  • 18 years ago

    Hi. I'm glad to hear your longan is coming around. Here's a fertilization, etc. schedule as it relates to longans in Florida (bottom of the page):
    http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG049