From Echotech (fruit) website:

"A longan is an excellent choice for a containerized fruit tree, as it will bear heavily in a pot. We have several longans growing in our arboretum."

http://www.echotech.org/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=98

The funny thing about Longans is that you can artificially spur flowering by exposing the tree to potassium chlorate. I guess you're all wondering how I know that? Well, apparently in China, after heavy celebrations with fireworks close to the trees, they come to life with blooms within a week or two. Fireworks (certain types) are heavily laden with potassium chlorate, of course. A researcher in Hawaii was studying that connection.

Thanks everyone. People did told me that longan tree is harder to grow. My friend in CA have a longan tree and it bloom and start fruiting but then dried up and die. So at the end they remove the tree since it kept on doing that to them. I guess I should save my space for something else. I ordered a rambutan tree. The guy who sold it said it is a true asian variety so it doesn't need two tree to fruit and that it should fruit in 3-4 years. I think rambutan is the best, better than lychee. You guys should try it.

Also, anyone know where I can get potassium nitrite? I heard if you use that on the dragon fruit it might induce bloom.

Thanks

Kristy

I believe the only place you can obtain this stuff is a fireworks mfg. I don't believe anyone else will be offering it to the public...leastways nobody I've read about on different forums have found it.

Wonder if I went out and bought a bunch of firecrackers and let them off in the greenhouse would work???!!! My luck it would scare my plants to death!

Jay- I did a little digging and found this article as well:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=202599

Apparently a bleach form of sodium hypochlorite also works. If you do set off fireworks in your greenhouse; you must take some pics of it...lol.

Ch3rri- If you think a longan is hard to grow, just wait until you get that Rambutan. They are ultra-tropical, so I hope that you're ready for that.

I know that rambutan will take forever and need extra extra care. But I'm running out of fruit tree to buy...lol. I love the rambutan so hopefully i will get it to grow. Did you ever try planting one?

Anyone try planting a rambutan?

My Longan tree is in a 1/2 whiskey barrel. It produced a few nice bunches of tasty fruits last year, at under 3' in height. I picked them when the sugar ants swarmed on them. The fruits were much better than Lychees I have tried.

I find the Longan much easier than Lychees. I have 3 Lychees in the ground, and they are very slow, very boring plants so far. None have fruited yet. They seem to need at least 5 years or more in the ground here, in my neighborhood, to fruit. Longans fruit much earlier.

Sapodillas are much more productive and certainly pretty as well. My potted one is doing great, flowering better thsn my in-ground trees!

Lisa

Ch3rri- Rambutan and mangosteen are out of my league right now; because, I don't have a greenhouse to put them in. The lychees/mango are growing like weeds, and I'm going to have to fit them inside this Fall, so I don't have anymore room either. Time to upgrade the house!

gcmastiffs

After hearing that you get nice bunches of longan I want to get one too. But do you think it worth it to get one since I can buy the fresh or frozen at the supermarkets? The fresh one is like $4.99/lb. Sometimes it's only $2.99-3.99/lb. Do you guys think it worth it to get a tree?

Thanks

NTM, I checked out that USDA article. Not much help was it? Would have been nice if they explained how to do this application!! I'm not about to go experimenting on my one and only tree. I'd just as soon go get a brick of firecrackers and let them off inside the greenhouse. I'll save the bottlerockets and roman candles for later!

Lisa...I can see poor LL clutching his chest after your lychee comments!! Poor guy.

Lychees like more frequent water than longans, seem to be more shy about bearing fruit reguarly. Both are beautiful trees when their requirements are met. My first couple lychee plants flowered as a small air layer, probably due to a cool winter. They do have a desire for some winter chill, and withholding fert in fall/winter probably will help with flower production.

Gary

Jay- There are a lot of articles out there, but none that explain the process in detail. The closest one I could come to (without joining one of the sites) is:
http://www.actahort.org/members/showpdf?booknrarnr=665_31

This one, at least, explains it is a soil drench, and the relative concentrations of the solution. The thing I don't like about sodium hypochlorite is that it will partially sterilize the soil.

Ch3rri- Where do you shop that you can get all of these great treats in a supermarket...in PA no less?!?!?! I would definitely buy a Longan if you have the space. Fruit straight off the tree is infinitely better than from a supermarket.

The supermarkets are in Philadelphia, PA. On 6th and Washington Ave., 12th and Washington Ave., and 16th and Washington. Most of them have lychee and longan. They also have dragon fruits, sapodilla, wax apple, guava, jackfruit, papaya, recently mangosteen, mango....etc. Also, the Chinatown some of these fruits too. All fresh.

Thanks for the info, Ch3rri. I'll have to check them out.

Rambutan is my wife's favorite fruit, and seeing is that I live in Missouri, I would have to build an enormous green house, or I would have to bring it indoors for the winter. Does anyone know where I can find a dward version that produces sweet fruit. If anyone can help me they would oficially be my hero. Please Help.

I live in Coimbatore and have a longan tree that is 13 years old. I grew it from a seed. There was a suggestion in this forum saying if crackers can be burst closer to where the tree is located it would start bearing fruits due to the potassium chlorate factor.During Diwali (Festival of lights), the public in general fire crackers and you could see a thick cloud of smoke in the early hours on the day Diwali is celebrated. And this happens every year. So all these 13 years, the plant is exposed this smoke and it has not bore a single fruit. So I don't buy the suggestion of fire crackers smoke as a solution to induce fruit bearing. From what I have heard, adding potassium enhances the flavor of the fruit. Hope to see some follow up comments

luvfreshfruit,
I'm no expert on Rambutan but you should be able to find some varieties at Montoso Gardens and also Frankies Nursery, both I believe are in Hawaii. Just do a google search to find their website. Rambutans will probably need a heated greenhouse and I believe they like high humidity. The cost of heating a greenhouse in the wintertime should be considered before purchasing your Rambutan and building your greenhouse.

Prakash India, I believe it is the Potassium Chlorate in the fireworks that induces blooming in Longan. I'm not sure if the smoke will do anything for Longan. Perhaps if the remnants of the exploded fireworks were in the very close vecinity of your tree, it may help. You also have to take into consideration that you grew your Longan From seed and seedling grown Longan take a long long time before fruiting. Hmmhausman(Harry) in Florida has a seedling grown Longan and it took his tree a long time before fruiting. Using the actual chemical Potassium Chlorate in the correct amounts may still help your tree produce but because it is a seedling grown tree, it may simply be too young for it to produce. Perhaps if you give your tree some drought stress in the months prior to expected flowering(ask Longan growers around you when their trees normally flower)and you also girdle a large branch, it may help induce flowering but your tree may still just be too young.
Simon

I'm trying to grow a longan tree. Bought it off ebay as a seedling. It is struggling now and the leaves are turning brown about halfway on the leaf itself. I have it in a pot with a mixture of 1/4 part each of the following: sand, potting soil, vermiculite, pearl lite. I bring it in the house when it drops below 40. I keep the soil moist but not soggy. Any idea what could be happening to my little seedling?

Air is probably too dry. Needs more humidity. Don't over fertilize either. Try fashioning a clear plastic tent around the plant with a few small holes to allow some ventilation. This will boost the humidity and also helps a plant to recover. Don't put the plant in full sun either.

My experience with planting Longan is at best a confusing one. I started by planting them in the pot. They did ok for a while and produced some fruit. Then I planted one in the ground. It had a bad accident. The neighbor's dog dugged under the fence and shredded it up. Poor thing, it was badly damaged, but it survived and came back the next year growing much bigger in the pot and it also bore some fruit.

Then I planted another one in the ground. It was healthy when I bought it and was blooming, but it didn't do too good in the ground. It did worse than the other one in the pot.

Both of my Longans (one in the pot and the other in the ground) had aphids problem. It's very difficult to treat them. I cleaned them out with alcohol, sprayed soapy water and washed them. Nothing works. I didn't want to try harsh chemicals as I often don't get the results from them. Even Neem Oil didn't seem to work also.

Anyway, my personal conclusion is Longan is a weaker plant in terms of disease resistance than Lychees. However, it seems they're more determined to bring their flowers to fruition than Lychees. Also, I haven't had luck seeing them grow well in the ground. Maybe, I just wasn't doing the right thing, but with my Lychees, at least they do grow bigger in the ground. In fact, they do better in the ground than in the pot. I had one died in the pot and the second one isn't growing too well.

Maybe some of you are able to grow it successfully. If so, I'd like to hear your success stories.

I begin to grow my longan seed on 10/14/2013 and is now about 3inches tall. 3/5 seed grow, was surprise at first didn't expect it to grow.

I always try to grow tropical fruit from seed first before I buy a grafted or named variety. Just to see if I can keep it alive for a few years before spending the money on having one shipped to me. I live in zone 7 (Raleigh NC). I started a Rambutan and a Longan seed two years ago. Both sprouted. The tags have gone missing so I don't know which one is which. One is huge - maybe 3.5 feet tall, very lush and healthy. The other one is tiny and weak and maybe a foot tall. I assume the larger one is a Longan.

Trianglejohn,

I live just outside of Raleigh in Willow Spring, less then 10 minutes from hwy 40/42. I love lychee Longan and Rambutam and I buy the fruit from the Oriental Market off Buck Jones Rd. As much as I can carry as long as they keep it in stock. I had decided to keep the seeds and tried every way I could to get them to sprout. Most just smelt really bad. I got frustrated and gave up. I did take one seed from the Longan and stuck it in a pot on my front porch I had been growing mint in. Do you know that little sucker is now a foot tall?? We are a week from Christmas and it is still on my front steps. I was wondering if you had any advice on what I should do now? Bring it in, cover it up, leave it to God??? I garden a lot but will admit, if it thrives in my yard it's most likely because I gave up on it and out of its own sheer will to live it decided to carry on. For the plants sake I do hope you see this and we both appreciate any time and tips you can give. Thank you so much.

Stacy

They are tough but not THAT tough. They will die in a hard freeze. I would bring it inside until things warm up in the spring. Usually there isn't enough light (day length) in the winter to keep things happy so don't expect it to grow too much. If it survives til next summer it could get huge. I ended up planting mine in a large pot, maybe 45 gallon size and it got so tall and wide that I had to basically chop it in half to get it through the greenhouse door. It is still very happy. It is large enough to bloom but I have not idea if and when that will happen. I have a Litchi seedling also, it is much much older but over the course of its life it has suffered numerous attacks from rodents or some other sort of tree eating vermin. It is only 4 feet tall and kind of scraggly but it is also mature enough to bloom. One of these days...

I got a 4' tall longan tree for $5 at a garage sale a few months ago. It's now in bloom, still in the 12" pot.

I received some longan fruit from my neighbor who is from Cambodia. She purchased it from an Asian market. I decided to try to germinate a longan seed and planted in a 3" pot on or about September 30, 2015. The plant is now about 4 inches tall and I have brought it into the house for the winter. I believe that I will transplant it into a 20" pot and try to grow it as a pot plant that is moved outside during the warmer months.

Ok, 4" tall=20" pot? I am assuming that your little Longan grows slowly during your 'Winter' period. Go with a pot slightly larger+deeper for your little Longan. Chris

P.S You can always repot quickly as your tree grows....but too much "Grande Pot" will likely result in your trees demise. Best of luck, Chris

I live in Orlando FL... I have both a Longan and a Lychee tree... I grew them both from a seed of the fruit I bought from the Asian market store... it must be the soil in my back yard because BOTH of my trees are well over 10 feet tall and are producing more fruits than the tree can hold... I also have a mago tree and a Guava tree as well, which all have the same problems, the fruits are always too heavy for the branches to hold but every year I'm in Longan, Lychee, Mango and Guava heaven!! I started all of them from seeds and after the first year in the ground, they were all bearing tons and tons of fruits... I'm going on 3 years in the ground for the Longan and Lychee tree... my husband has to baby them by proper trimming and pruning every single year to keep them from growing out of control but both trees have yet to disappoint so far... I also have an Avacado tree in the ground for about 3 years now and it has yet to bear any kind of fruit yet but the Avocado tree is planted in my front yard, which is possibly due to difference in the soil, all of my other fruit trees are planted in my fenced in backyard that opens out to a lake in my backyard so I assume that the moisture and the humidity of being closer to a lake along with the moisture and humidity of the tropical weather in Orlando contributes to the health of the all of my fruit trees... I'm just wondering what kind of tree I should plant next cause it seems that every kind of tropical fruit grows extremely well on the soil in my backyard. Some of you mentioned "Rambutam?" Maybe I'll try that one next

Deez,

That's amazing! I was told that lychees and longans that were started from seeds take as long as 10 years to fruit. So, with your plants fruiting at one year old, this old theory just crumbles ... :) The lake close by sure is a great advantage to have. Perhaps it's the water body close by that is rejuvenating and nourishing the soil surrounding it and of course provide the moisture as you've mentioned all year round. In the Winter, the water body can also provide some cold protection as well.

As for the Rambutan, I would say why not? Although I would imagine they might need some kind of protection in the Winter. I'm growing two of them in the pot now. They're both into the 7 years now since I bought them at a height of about 2 ft or so. They haven't grown much--about 3 ft or so because each Winter, they die off and have to be brought inside for protection.

Here's a picture of my two Rambutans taken a few uears back. They haven't grown much due to the Winter dying back.

Do you have some pictures of your longans and lychee plants to share?

Bananafan2... Actually, my husband is the one with the green finger, for some reason, anything he touches or plants always does REALLY well... anything I plant either dies really quickly or dies slow and painfully.... LOL! Also, I have 2 dogs that poops all over the back yard... people used to tell me that dog poop isn't so good and actually kills the plant and the grass but that theory has also proven to be UNTRUE as well... I'm asian and a really common asian belief is that it also depends on the temperament of the person planting makes a huge difference... that might be a little true in a way because I certainly don't have the patience that my husband does FOR SURE... maybe it's the "mojo" of the person planting? I guess? My husband says that ANY fruit tree left to grow in a container will either fruit very little or won't fruit at all and also takes a VERY VERY long time to grow (if they remain in the pots, like how you have them in your picture) he says that he knows the plant is ready to go into the ground once the stem is no longer green and has grown bark on them, even as small as they are (but that theory may only apply to tropical fruit trees that are grown in tropical climate... like Florida), it might be different if you are growing them in a state that snows during winter... here are a few pictures of my Longan tree as of this week, my mango tree as of last month and some pictures of my Guava trees from last year

Close up of my Longan tree with fruit only a few days ago

Lychee tree from my balcony view just last week

Lychee Tree... only starting to fruit for this year's harvest... you can see a piece of lake in the back on this pic

Mango tree, you can see my 2nd story balcony to give you an idea of how fast it grows (1 year in the ground)

More Mangos

Mango tree last month

Some of Last year's Guava and Longans harvest

Guava tree

Logan Tree... I caught a corner pic of the roof of my house in this picture (2 story home) so this should give you an idea of how tall this tree actually is

I read the same thing you did when I did the research on Lychee and Longan trees that also stated that it takes approximately 10 years too fruit... imagine my surprise when I saw fruits on the tree from only being in the ground for 1 year!! LOL!! Thank God for husbands, ehy?? ;-)

Logan Tree shot from the first floor of the house Lychee tree shot from 2nd story balcony which shows a clearer picture of the fruit Lychee From shot from the 1st floor maybe trying to grow a Dragon Fruit tree next... this here is the first time someone bought Dragon Fruit for us to try and I LOVED IT!! Especially the "red meat" Dragon Fruit... much sweeter than the "white meat" Dragon Fruit

Deez, I'm very impressed with all your fruit trees! You sure have a miracle yard there and above all else .. you've started all your fruit trees from seeds! I wonder if the extensions department in your area can do a study on the kind of soil you have and then write an article on that. It might become an area of interest for those who are into tropical fruit planting in your area. Whatever it is, great pictures of your beautiful fruit garden. Thanks for sharing them.

Thanks Bananafan... it could also be that the land my house was newly built on used to be nuclear bomb test site for the military back during World War II... I'm not sure if you've heard the news about the middle school down the street where live (East Orlando) where bombs were found behind the middle school, which was how the entire "nuclear bomb test site" was first discovered... the entire neighborhood was in on a class action lawsuit because things like these are supposed to be disclosed in the purchase agreement... as a result, our lawyers and the government had to send out several independent surveyors and government surveyors out here to perform SEVERAL soil samples and water sample tests that all came back with "No nuclear or other hazardous residuals were found" in the soil, water etc... but I swear it does have something to do with it because there are grasshoppers the size of Rabbits and the wild life around here is just straight up "unnatural." LOL! (If you only knew!!)... Although I probably should be weary, I've lived at my house for over 10 years now and we haven't had any health issues with the fruit itself (or people reporting that they've given birth to children with a 3rd eye or extra limbs)... then again my imagination with the animals might just be because I'm typically a city girl and not very knowledgeable on how "unnaturally" big animals or insects are supposed to be, who knows... basically, a class action lawsuit just turned into EXTREMELY fertile soil?? I would welcome any professional to come over and test the soil just to see what the difference is... we also used to have banana trees that grew out of control so made my husband uproot them... Anyways, thanks for sharing your experience and I hope to find more blogs like this to see what else grows well in tropical weather (with possible nuclear hazard soil... LOL!) so I can possibly continue to grow more cool fruit trees ;-)

Doubt it was a nuclear bomb test site in East Orlando, more likely a old bombing range.

Impressive growth nevertheless.

That could be possible too... who even knows anymore... I just know what the legal documents were claiming that it was a "nuclear bomb test site." I wasn't around during world War II... but with the kind of fruits I get from anything planted into the soil over here, I can't really complain

I live in Delaware where it is zone 6-7. Have been growing my longan for about a year now. Any pointers as to how to make this grow its best? Look at this gnarly thing