I have a Longan and Lychee I received about a month ago from a nursery in Florida. The Longan is suppossedly a Kohalo variety and the Lychee is a Sweetheart. I'm not happy with the trees at all but that is due to the seller and that's another story! Their idea of a nice tree is far different than mine...and far different than the pictures of the trees that they ship.

I did a lot of research on these... especially the Lychee. I think they are the best tasting fruit in the world after a Mangosteen. I was introduced to these in Thailand and I had to have this tree for my own. There is a ton of info on the web all you need to do is a search on Google. The following sites are great sources of info as well as obtaining the trees themselves:
http://www.lycheesonline.com/index.cfm
http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/
The Lycheesonline has everything possible on lychees and articles as well. The Emperor is a grafted variety. Slow growing and great container choice. Fruit is suppossed to be very good. I wanted a variety grown in Thailand so I was looking into the Hak Ip, also known as "black leaf". Well sought after fruit in Thailand. There are some others even better. Looking back here at the choices, you have to take into consideration the characteristics of the tree itself, size of fruit, size of seed, taste, and production. The Hak Ip was pretty good but I ended up deciding upon the Sweetheart instead. The production was better and more consistent. As for the Longan...research showed that the Kohalo variety would probably be the best choice.

Tropicalfruitnursery requires a minimum of two trees with the order. This may work out well for you in this instance since you are looking for one of each. You should call them first and inquire about the specific variety of Longan they have. The lychee varieties are covered in their "variety viewers". Doing it over again, Lycheesonline would be my first choice for a lychee tree.

-Kohala has larger fruit than Diamond River.
-Diamond River fruits seem to be juicier and sweeter.
-My wife prefers Kohala.
-Diamond River seems to be a more consistent bearer.
-Diamond River is more expensive because its a fairly recent introduction to the U.S.
-Kohala seems to be a more vigorous, upright grower.

I have three lychee trees: Mauritius, Hak Ip and Kwai Mai Pink. I prefer the Hak Ip to the Mauritius. The Kwai Mai Pink is in a bad location, so it's hard to compare. It seems to be a much smaller tree. The fruits are also much smaller and not that attractive. Still, the fruits are delicious and I think it might be a good choice if you were attempting to grow a lychee in a container.

I'm sooo jealous of you folks living in Florida!!

Thank ohiojay and ompus for your very helpful input. Just want I needed to know. I purchased Emperor Lychee tree from lycheeonline. The tree has arrived no more than a week. Their prices are higher than other nurseries, but I think it is worthy of it. I'd researched other mentioned websites too, and I decided to buy from them. Maily because Lychee is their primary product; therefore they probably do better with winter protection. I am pleased with the health of the tree. For the total price close to $100, I got a 32" tree(between 2.5' to 3') with a lot of new leaves and branches on the top. Half of the mature leaves had turned brown on the tips when they arrived. They are not excellent, but I know mail delivery is hard to trees.

I wish we can exchange our experiences the conditions of your trees when arrived, so that we all can compare whether if we get fair prices. Ebay has a credit rating on sellers and buyers. I think that helps to know where to shop, and not to shop especially these trees are not so cheap.

Ohiojay, would you kindly tell which nursery company you bought Lychee and Longan trees from? If you prefer, please email me to forest4513@yahoo.com.
Thanks.

One nursery in Texas told me that Kohalo is a more consistent bearer than Diamond River. She encouraged me to buy Kohalo from her because the Diamond one has been damaged from last winter. I don't know if the areas have to do with the different outcome than ompus's experience. This forum is a wonderful place to find out information and share experiences.
Thanks you all.

doing the google thing and found this!!

does anyone have input on pine island tree size compared to lycheeonline ..?

i was thinking of doing the Emperor Lychee and ice cream mango..

both which would end up in a 20 gal pot and gh during winter, 40ish inside..

happy growin,

hg