Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[phoenixtropicals]

I have had a little lychee in the ground for over 5 years now, and I will emphasize little because it has barely grown more than the size it was at when I received it in the mail. It generally looks chlorotic. I have had a handleful of fruit on it some years but it really seems to struggle with the soil here.

I have tried giving it iron soil ammendments like greenlight soil acidifier and ironite. I also have tried gypsum. They seem to help a small amount but the positive affects end fairly quickly.

So, this spring I decided to try foliar feeding my lychee with a product I found at Home Depot called Liquinox iron and zinc. The important thing with foliar feeding a plant is that you want to make sure the product doesn't have sulfur in it. Sulfur is not good to pour on a plants leaves.

Also, I was told not to apply it when it was hot out. So, I applied it a couple of times in May in the evening after sunset. I haven't applied anymore since because its been so hot out lately.

The result, was actually better than I hoped for. My lychee has just about doubled in size, and the color looks much better! As soon as things cool off I'll give it some more.