Litchi chinensis 'Calcutia'

This well-known cultivar from India is late bearing and produces a rather large fruit, of about 22 g, with a deep red colour. It is a very good producer but it is (thankfully) not vigorous, so it stays rather low and wide.

Litchi chinensis thrives and fruits regularly in the warmer coastal Mediterranean. It does not grow well in the tropics, because it needs cool winters, with temperatures below 12 C in order to induce flowering. It only takes short, light frost.

Lychee is a subtropical evergreen tree native to eastern China where it has been cultivated for thousands of years. The tree has a medium size reaching up to 2-3 m (6-8 ft). Its fruit is smooth, aromatic and juicy inside the thin, rough, slightly spiky and leathery pink to red shell. Litchi chinensis has a small inedible brown seed. Rich in vitamin C it is available mainly in mid-summer. Eaten fresh, used in fruit salads, also bottled, canned, frozen and dried (lychee nuts).

Visit this LINK and see pictures of our fruit trees on the packing desk and learn more about what we ship.