Steps
for Planting a Landscape Lychee Tree in Your Yard
1. Find a nice spot for your lychee tree in
your front or back
yard that has full sun, adequate irrigation, well drained soil,
protection from wind and enough room to grow.
Don't plant right
next to your house (less than 10 feet) unless you are absolutely sure
that you want it there. While you may want the cooling shade that a
lychee tree can provide, your house will shade the lychee tree and this
can inhibit growth and fruiting.
2. Dig a hole about 6 inches
wider and about 2-3 inches deeper than the size of the container the
lychee tree is currently growing in.
If you live in an area with
shallow soil or little to no top soil, like southern Dade County
Florida, you should increase the soil depth by planting the tree on a
mound. Due to the increase in drainage and runoff that occurs with
mounding, you will have to increase irrigation and fertilization
appropriately.
3. Remove your lychee tree from its container and
aerate the roots. This is an important step. If the tree has been
growing in the container for an extended time period the plant may be
"root bound". This situation can prevent the roots from absorbing water
and nutrients in the soil which will stunt or kill your tree.
A
root bound plant has a mass of intertwined roots growing circularly
around the inside of the pot. Make an effort to unwind some of these
roots and if the mass is very dense you should make several vertical
cuts to allow aeration into the center of the root ball.
4.
Treat with mycorrhizal fungi (like Myco-Stim) by shaking it into the
hole and onto the roots of the tree. You won't need NPK fertilizer for
about 4 weeks because the Myco-Stim already contains an organic
fertilizer from fish emulsion and kelp. Mycorrhizal fungi will help
your newly planted tree to establish a healthy root system and to
adjust to your trees new location.
5. Back fill the hole with
the remaining soil. If the soil is composed mostly of rock, sand or
gravel with little to no organic matter you can mix some topsoil or
potting soil into the material that you back fill into the hole. Be
careful not to bury the root crown of the lychee tree.
6.
Mulch heavily out to about 1-2 ft past the drip line of the canopy of
the lychee tree. Don't put mulch closer than 6 inches from the root
crown.
The mulch will provide organic nutrients, as it
deteriorates, to the roots of your lychee tree. Mulch helps to reduce
the daily temperature stresses to the lychee's root system and provides
an excellent growing environment for mychorrhizal fungi, earthworms and
beneficial insects, bacteria and other important soil organisms.
By
covering the root zone in mulch you will help to slow the growth of
plant species, such as grasses and weeds, from becoming established
beneath the leaf canopy and competing with your lychee tree for
important nutrients.
7. Soak down really well with water.
Water the freshly planted tree 1 - 3 times per day for about 3 - 4
weeks until it becomes established. Then irrigate regularly depending
on your irrigation system, rainfall, humidity and soil drainage
characteristics.
8. Spray the leaves with liquid phosphorous
fertilizer (like our Phyto-Fos) until runoff. Foliar spraying of
phosphorous acid is recommended for supplemental use when there are
high demands for phosphorous, such as transplanting, new root and shoot
growth, flowering and fruit production. This gives your lychee tree an
energy boost while it is adjusting to it's new location. If you decide
not to use mycorrhizal fungi you should also apply a good time-release
NPK fertilizer at this time.
by Bill Mee
and Krystal Folino - Lychees Online
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