Learning to grow longan at home

Indoor garden owners are increasingly trying their hand at growing exotic trees. What you can not find on their windowsills - feijoa, avocado, passion fruit, papaya, dates, kiwi, tangerines, grapefruits, grenades, kumquats... Those who like to solve non-trivial problems should pay attention to longan, a plant from the Sapindov family, whose representatives have not yet gained great popularity among flower growers. For many of them, breeding them is simply not available, since the fruits of these crops, from which seeds can be removed for planting, are difficult to get.

Botanical reference

The Chinese name for longan fruit sounds poetic but intimidating. However, tourists do not take courage, and they are happy to feast on the "eyes of the dragon" (longyan). For the population of Southeast Asia - China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand - this fruit is a familiar and necessary part of the diet, as well as its closest relatives: lychee, pompba, rambutan.

It ripens on evergreen trees with a spreading crown. Uncultivated longan varieties grow very tall. But in the wild, they are rarely seen. In nurseries and private gardens, shorter varieties are cultivated, representatives of which reach a height of 10-20 m. There are also those that are intended for cultivation in a particular region. Chinese breeders are most actively working on the development of new varieties of culture. Thanks to their efforts, the seedlings of this fruit tree are exported to other countries.

Fruits on longan grow small, they have a rounded shape and are collected in bunches. Outwardly, the fruit resembles a nut. It is covered with a thin but dense rind, colored dark yellow or reddish brown. It is unsuitable for food, but it is not difficult to free the fruit from it: the shell quickly bursts, exposing the edible glassy pulp - arillus. It is also called roofing and seeding. It is white, juicy and has a special aroma. Under the sweet pulp, there is a large and shiny dark bone.

Store the fruit in the refrigerator, where it can stay fresh for a week, but only if not overripe. Buying longan fruit should be approached carefully. If they are immature, and at the beginning of summer just such berries are most often sold, you should not eat them. To fully enjoy their unusual taste, the fruit is allowed to lie down for a couple of days at room temperature. With the arrival of autumn, the risk of acquiring overripe fruits increases. It is better to eat them immediately, since they are not stored for a long time, almost immediately turning sour.

Seed preparation

When a fruit bought in a store or brought from a vacation is eaten, its seed is planted in a pot. It will not be difficult to grow a stately tree out of it, attracting admiring, and somewhere envious glances of guests at home. Experienced growers advise placing the seed in a nutritious soil immediately after it is peeled from the pulp. The germination rate of fresh crop seeds is much higher. When the seeds lie down a little, they shrink and dry out, and growing a tree from them becomes more difficult or even impossible.

If you can't put fresh seed in the pot, you should try to save it for planting.

• First, the seed is slightly dried.
• Wipe the shell with a soft cloth to prevent mold.
• Wrap in foil or paper napkin.
• They are placed in a small box, where they are kept until disembarkation for a maximum of 2 weeks.

The seeds prepared in this way germinate well. There is a little secret, following which will allow fresh seeds to sprout faster.The bone is kept in water for 3 days, and then placed in the refrigerator. It is planted after 5 days. Even if the fruit in which it was was not the first freshness and was stored for a long time before purchasing, such processing will help the sprout to hatch. They also practice soaking the seeds before planting. After adding a growth stimulant to warm water, bones are placed in it. After 6-8 hours, they are removed from the solution and placed in the ground.

Some growers prefer to plant already germinated tree seeds. After being removed from the fruit and peeled, they are dried for 1-2 days by placing them on a paper towel. Then the bone is wrapped with a piece of wet cotton cloth. The package with planting material is placed on a pallet, which is placed in a plastic bag. It remains only to wait for the appearance of the root. It needs warmth and constant humidity to germinate. Therefore, the fabric is periodically moistened by spraying from a spray bottle. After 1-2 weeks, a root will appear from the bone, then it can be planted in a pot.

In order for an attempt to get an exotic tree at home to end successfully, it is important to choose the right fruit from which the seed is taken. If it was bought in early summer, the chances of sprouting is low, because the fruit did not have time to fully ripen. It has been noticed that seeds obtained from fruits that are sold far from their homeland sometimes germinate slowly. The explanation is simple. To prevent the fruit from spoiling during long transportation, they are picked unripe.

Landing features

There is a small speck of white on the longan bone. When landing, it should look sideways. If the seed is positioned correctly, then 4-10 days after being placed in the ground, its powerful root will unhindered downward. The sprout will appear from the ground after 6-12 days. Sometimes you have to wait a month. He will be naked and completely straight. Many growers get scared when it appears, thinking that they put the seed in the soil incorrectly and instead of escaping from it the root appeared. But soon leaves will form on the sprout, and all doubts will dispel.

Longan needs a loose and fertile soil with a pH in the range of 5-6. It is better to purchase it ready-made. A nutritious substrate for exotic plants is suitable for the future tree. The bottom of the pot is covered with a thick drainage layer of small stones and coarse sand. Longan does not need a deep landing. At home, the bones are sprinkled with a thin layer of soil, immersed in it two-thirds of the length. They need warmth to germinate. The air in the room should be warmed up to 24-25˚C. It would be even better to provide the seeds with additional heating of the soil from below. The pot can be placed on a stand, and it itself can be placed on a warm radiator. From above it is tightened with plastic wrap, which is briefly removed daily to ventilate the mini-greenhouse. The soil in the pot must be moist.

Advice

The germination process can be facilitated and accelerated for the seeds. To do this, before planting, their shell must be lightly rubbed with sandpaper or carefully scratched with a sharp knife. But even without such preparation, the fruit gives quick and friendly shoots.

Young plants are large, with thick roots. Longan loves the soil rich in nutrients, so you will have to feed the seedlings often. For planting seeds, it is better to take separate containers - deep and wide cups or pots. They will develop well in them, and they will not need a pick, as a result of which not all plants are accepted. At first, young longans are very vulnerable, so at home, it is better to place the seedlings immediately under a transparent jar or in a mini-greenhouse. When the seedlings grow up and get stronger, they are transplanted into a wider and deeper pot, carefully rolling over, while trying not to damage the root system.

Their development has its own characteristics. At first, it is characterized by intense growth. But after 2 weeks, when the height of the seedlings is about 15 cm, it will almost stop.After that, they will grow slowly, but this is normal. For development, seedlings need a long daylight hours (12 hours). If it gets dark early, the lack of light is compensated for the plants artificially using a lamp. The soil in the pots must be kept moist at all times, and the foliage of the seedlings is regularly sprayed.

Tree care

Longan is unpretentious. Breeding it does not require specific knowledge and skills from the owner of the indoor garden. But growing it on the windowsill will be successful only if the tree is provided with 4 conditions:

• good lighting;
• constant warmth;
• high soil moisture;
• deep pot.

Water it regularly, preventing even the slightest drying out of the soil. At best, it will end with the tree remaining naked, throwing off all the leaves, at worst it will die. Do not be afraid to overflow the plant. Excess moisture will definitely not harm him. The window sill on which the longan pot stands should be light. With a lack of sunlight, not a single fruit will ripen on its branches. Longan also needs regular feeding. Organo-mineral compositions are suitable for him.

Winter for a tree is a period of dormancy when it falls asleep, accumulating strength for fruiting. It lasts 3 months. Therefore, at the end of autumn, the tree begins to be watered less often. During this period, the temperature is most comfortable for him in the range of 14-16˚C. The lighting level remains the same. Longan needs warmth throughout its life cycle. Even mature trees are afraid of cold winds and drafts. In the wild, these seemingly invulnerable giants die if the temperature drops to -2˚C. This greatly complicates the cultivation of the culture at home, excluding any ventilation in the autumn-winter period.

In the indoor garden, longan can suffer from pests:

• mealybug;
• scabbards;
• spider mite.

So that they do not destroy the tree, you need to periodically carefully examine its leaves. Having found pests, they are fought with the help of special preparations. For preventive purposes, the crown of trees is sprayed with warm water. If repeated frequently, this simple procedure will protect longans from spider mite infestations. Formative pruning gives the tree a beautiful and well-groomed look. It transfers it well. The first ovaries on a Longan are formed at 4-7 years of his life. But not every owner succeeds in picking ripe fruit from its branches.

The exotic beauty of Longan, together with its relative unpretentiousness, captivate many gardeners. But its fruits are also incredibly beneficial. They are rich in vitamins and carbohydrates, contain potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, and riboflavin, which provides the body with energy and helps to cope with stress and intense physical activity. These nondescript balls have high antioxidant properties, helping to maintain youth and health.

Fruits ripened on homemade longan will relieve fatigue, eliminate dizziness, invigorate, and increase vitality. It is the best natural remedy for general weakness and pallor. And the absence of fats in them allows you to safely include the fruits of the tree in the diet, even for those who are on a low-calorie diet. For the sake of all this, it is worth trying to grow a longan in an indoor garden.