I'm a huge lychee fan (hence my moniker) and mauritius lychee is my fave tasting lychee of several varieties i have tried.

I tried to find a lot of those varieties as well, but haven't been able to. The Fei Tsze Sieu is quite common in Australia, and the nursery I found stated that they have a deal with Pine Island for U.S. distribution. Pine Island did have Kwa Luk and No Mai Tsze at one point, then a hurricane wiped them out. I never did ask about getting a Fei Tsze Sieu through them though. They also have other varieties, but that varies year to year. Lycheesonline does have at least one Kwa Luk(hanging green) in their orchard (I read this in one of their articles) and they claim that they could source any plants requested...I haven't pursued this route either. Montoso gardens in PR might have some interesting varieties, but you'll have to contact Brian to see what he has, and if he'll air-layer some for you.

Kaimana is the Hawaiian variety because it is more tropical, as lychees go. I think it'll do fine in a less tropical climate. It's just that certain "mountain" varieties (i.e. No Mai Tsze, Emperor) won't do as well in tropical climates.

I've read mixed reviews on the Kaimana quality, but the flavor is in the taste buds of the eater. Hak ip seems to be the baseline lychee. They are heavily produced and quite common, as you know. Emperor is a good quality variety...mine just needed to be a little sweeter, and I may have picked some prematurely. As far as the others, I haven't tried them. They are lychees though, so I wouldn't worry too much. I have really limited space, so I strive for the best I can get.

I would go with the Ohia pink just for something different looking. The last two I am thinking about buying are a No mai tsze and the Ohia pink. It seems tough to find a No mai tsze for a reasonable price in FL though. You guys are lucky out in CA.

Hey Lycheeluva, I've seen on several threads that you highly recommend Mauritius. Brewster and Mauritius are very commonly available here in San Diego when it is lychee season so that is why I am trying to steer away from these two varieties. I have tasted Mauritius many times and find them somewhat tart and not as sweet as say a Hak Ip. Maybe they were picked too early or too late but I have experienced this almost every year they are in season.

North tree man, I think we have similar tastes in Lychees in that we are after the quality varieties even at the risk of them not fruiting at all. Someone in an older thread mentioned that we can get Scion wood from all the rare lychee varieties from the USDA but this would involve grafting, which I am not good at. Hmm, I wonder if the USDA would sell some rooted air layers?

I will definitely contact lycheesonline to see if they will air layer a Kwa Luk for me. I will also contact Pine Island to see if they have any Fei Tsze Sieu. Even though I know these lychees may never fruit here in San Diego, I have good reason to think they will fruit. It may just take a very long time but I think it will be worth it. In China, the trees that are in full production are huge, around 30-40 feet tall and wide and I feel that we can get some good production from our lychee trees here in the USA once are beloved trees size up.

jsvand5, ohia pink is very high on my list because although I have never tasted it, Pine Island rates it 5/5 unless I have mistaken it for another variety. I think the price for of the No Mai Tsze here in San Diego is the only thing good we have going for us. Ong Nursery has many varieties but the old lady that work there, Mr. Ongs mom, keeps giveing me different prices and quoted me around 95 bucks for a 3 gallon Kaimana. The worst part is, every time I ask her for a price, she changes her mind.

In Florida, you guys have the humidity that lychees love and lots of good nurseries also. Oh man, I still can't make up my mind.

simon- mauritius definitly has more acid than the other varieties i have tasted,but for me that enhances the flavor- i have never found them not at all sour or tart- just a perfectly balanced acid-sweet taste very reminscent of pear drop candy. but if you have mauritius freely available to buy, i could definitly understand why you would opt for adifferent variety to grow. I humbly suspect that the tart fruit you ate was either not mauritius or was an underipe mauritius-

i too would always choose flavor over any other consideration- i have always chosen to grow mauritius because i have found them to have the best flavor.

my problem is that when i find fresh lychees, the seller never has a clue which variety they are- (often the seller doesnt even speak english)- so with the exception of mauritius and brewster which are really distinctive looking and which ripen at a very specific time in florida, i never know the names of the other varieties i find in the market

anyway keep us posted and post pics

I contacted lychees online earlier this year and the guy stated he no longer had the kwa luk.

I went looking for kwa luk (hanging green) in the book litchi and longan by Menzel and Waite, and didn't see this variety listed in there. Is there an alternative name?

Jsvand5-were you able to locate a seller of No Mai Tze in Fl and how much were they asking? I couldn't find a nursery in FL that sells it.

Simon- I have insidious plans to graft my own Kwa Luk from the USDA scion wood. I currently have around 25 seedlings to use as rootstocks (brewster and emperor). The origianl plan was to graft both No Mai Tzse and Kwa Luk, but If I can buy a No Mai Tsze from that nursery you mentioned, then I might try for a Fei Tsze Sieu instead. Having looked at their site, I seriously doubt the USDA would air-layer one for you.
Here's a link for Australia : http://www.australianlychee.com.au/
I don't recall the nursery that had the info about Pine Island being their distributor, but it never hurts to ask.

Kubi- Bad news about lycheesonline not having a Kwa luk anymore. I don't know of any other names for that cultivar, but it is one of the most prized to be sure.

Hey lycheeluva, I'll bet most the Mauritius I ate were a bit under ripe because they were the first lychees of the season and the growers probably wanted to unload most their fruit before all the other varieties were ripe. I completely understand what you mean about the acidity. Cherimoya lovers often skip the super sweet varieties like white in favor of the less sweet but more acidic and flavorful varieties like el bumpo. The acidity is where much of the lychee fruit flavor is.

kubi411, let me know if you ever find a source for the Kwa Luk A.K.A Hanging Green. Someone in Florida's has got to have purchased a Kwa Luk air layer that didn't get killed off in the hurricane. Guys, you don't know how badly I need this variety. After all the talk about how Prof Groff was given a single fruit wrapped in a box, I need this variety.

Hey north tree man, if you ever succeed in grafting a Kwa Luk, I hope you document it well so I can get a try at it. Is it better to graft onto seedlings or established adult lychee trees? I was thinking I can graft onto my Sweetheart and then once the Kwa Luk has grown for a season or two, I can get an air layer off it since the grafted section will probably grow very slowly. I really need to get a Kwa Luk, I want ot taste the fruit so bad! I wonder how the fruit will taste compared to No Mai Tsze?

The No Mai Tsze has has a scent of honeysuckle and the texture is very, I don't know how to explain it, kind of crispy and the best thing is the size of the seed is very small. I was in Hong Kong and the NMT's were the most expensive lychees there were and my aunt bought a large bundle of branches that were tied together and I ate one after another and almost every single fruit had a very small seed, probably around 80-90%. And, unlike what I have read, the size was not small, it was definitely a medium sized fruit if not medium-large.

the guy in Exotic Tropical Nursery recommended mauritius over No Mai Tsze, saying mauritius is much more rigorous and grows much faster, at least in San Diego weather. but Simon I guess you didn't like the taste too much? Wonder why a nursery would pick lychees pre-maturely, which seems very odd to me.

Hey Phase, I read on Lycheesonline.com that some growers will pick their lychees somewhat early so they can sell them as the first lychees of the season. Lychee growers face a huge problem in that all the lychees ripen within a very small window period. This means that at the peak of lychee season, they have to try and sell all their lychees within several weeks and it is advantageous to sell lychees early.

Phase, I am after quality and not quantity. Mauritius is much easier to grow and fruit in San Diego but the quality of No Mai Tsze is exponentially higher. I gave the Exotic Tropical fruit nursery a call and the guy I spoke with was not very open minded.

He said that they only carry Brewster, Mauritius and Hak Ip because he wanted something that can grow in the area. To me, this is close minded thinking because every year, we are finding more varieties that grow in San Diego and other regions around the world. There are new varieties under evaluation by the USDA and Lychee grower associations like the one in Australia and they are finding out that many of the new and some older varieties actually do quite well in these newly introduced regions.

I feel varieties like Ohia, Wai Chee, Kaimana and several other will do really well here in San Diego and I want to be a pioneer and not wait for others to tell me its possible before I try. Look at north tree man and others that are growing lychees in zones 6-7. Imagine all the treads that said it couldn't be done in those cold climates but perseverance pays off.

simon, I understand that commercial growers need to pick their lychees somewhat early. but I thought you tasted some Mauritius samples at Exotic nursery? Why would they pick them early? that to me would only discourage people from buying their trees.

Did you get your No Mai Tsze from Exotic? Last time I visited they sold out of their No Mai Tsze. They probably had a financial reason to recommend Mauritius too, since their Mauritius trees are big and can be easily air-layered.

While on the topic, I feel that the American general public is not picky about fruit tastes. People do not want to spend more money on better-tasting varieties. You cant find many exotic fruits at all in supermarkets except in ethnic stores. Many best-tasting varieties are never commercially grown, not just the exotic fruits. Australia, on the contrary, seems to be much more avid in introducing new varieties, not only in lychee.

Keep us updated on what you get. You said ONG has a Kaimana in the ground and did you know how it tasted?

Hey Phase, I tasted Brewster at Exotica and Exotica does not sell their fruit to the public, they give it away for free. The Mauritius that I tasted that were tart were purchased from the Asian Markets like 99 Ranch and Lucky Seafood and the first fruits that we typically get here are the Mauritius and Brewster and recently Hak Ip.

These supermarkets get their lychees from the lychee grower that pick them early and sell them as the first lychee fruits of the season and many people will buy them, not knowing their quality. This will tend to make people shy away from lychees, especially if its their first time tasting them.

Yes, I got my No Mai Tsze from Exotica and they had about 3 air layers total that were available and I picked up one and somebody must have picked up the other two. The plants were in their greenhouse and I'm sure they will air layer some more. You can always get an air layer from me too once my plant gets bigger, its tiny right now.

The Kaimana that Quang Ong has at his house was planted I believe one or two years ago and I believe this is the first time it flowered and I'm pretty sure it has not produced fruit yet although it looks like it might produce this year. The Kaimana is on the shady side of his crowded house so I would not judge the variety by his specimen even if it did produce fruit. I'm surprised it even flowered with so little light. I'll post some pics of my lychees soon.