Longans in Melbourne

Markmelb says...
you should be fine - they are cold tolerant and ive seen one in springvale with smallish fruit but tasty a couple years ago - you wont get any frost where you live give it semi full sun with some wind and west setting sun protection - my 2 year Kohala seedling is going quite fine and is about 4ft tall and is in part shade on a nth facing wall - Im expecting fruit in a couple years.

Markmelb says...
Even tho a seedling may take longer to fruit - Daleys says could be more cold tolerant than grafted plants - it will survive in your locale whatever you choose - what did your coldest night get to last year??? I had minus 5c out front and 0 - minus 0.75c around my Avos and mangos - so you really need to know your minimums (get a Max-Min thermoeter or weather station) - that was a rare winter minimum i think - not as bad as what they may get in California sometimes - minus 5 to 8c -
Im doing grafted Jak and Sapodilla I planted in December this year (in Ground) - may resort to rockwool bats etc as they do for figs and bananas in UK and Canada wrapped around graft and maybe xmas led lights for warmth if need be as cheap to run.

Thithi says...
Mark, that is super fast growing longan. I got my Kohala seedling in early November 2014 and after about 1 month of doing nothing, it started to grow in dec. now it is about 20 cm higher. But it is surely faster growing than other plants in my garden eg lychee, sapodilla, soursop.

magnificuss says...
Thanks everyone and Thank you Mark for your advice! I am very envious of your plants! I am from Borneo so I miss all these fruits like the Jak and Longans...hence why I am doing this. My min temps are similar to yours so if it worked for you then I am hoping it will too for myself. I have bought 2, the Chompoo and Kohala to try. I will be planting one on the west facing side and one in the east. Do you have any tips on the planting and soil? And is it true that Longans actually dont like too much sun?

magnificuss says...
Thanks so much mate! I am going to try ground but will raise it up. The led light idea is fantastic! I will do that too!I will use the azalea mix to plant it and I will add some more sand to help with drainage. That is all I can do. I cant plant any more plants in pots as I have too many already.

magnificuss says...
Once it is all done, I will take some pics and show you / everyone.

Linton says...
Hi Magnificuss

I tried to grow Longans in the ground two times down here where it is quite mild in Winter but both times they died. I think they are fairly cold tolerant but they don't like dry conditions.

And for the first couple of years it's probably best to keep them in pots until they get big enough to plant out. Cheers!

Linton says...
It seems a good idea in principle and one that I might be able to use with a few other plants as well.

Just a few queries though. Firstly I never get frosts where I live but it gets down to about 5 deg C. on a few of the coldest mornings in Winter.

The other thing is, I rely on the rain to water my plants so if I have a mini greenhouse over them they won't get watered and the ground will become very dry. Prefer not to water by hand so might have to look at having a removable roof on it I can take off on rainy days. What do you think?

magnificuss says...
Cheers everyone! Yes thanks to all I will be taking onboard all advice to prevent damage during cold winters. I can have them in pots next to my ducted heating and hot water systems as that could help. Also I will be putting fairy lights around them during to prevent frost. As for my greenhouse, how I wish I had more room to put more plants...so I cant go there. As for watering new plants, they need heaps of water especially first thing in the morning so that they dont have wet feet overnight with reduced watering in the winter. Clay soil is tough, I will just have to dig a big hole when the plants are ready to go in and fill with sand as suggested. But nothing is impossible and it is great to see so many giving it a go here in Melbourne!

magnificuss says...
Mate, you're right too! I do know it and miss it heaps! I dont go back much as this is my home but there are some things I miss. Longans are my favourite and hence why I am doing this. Where did you get the mata kuching from? Im interested to know as that was the species I was looking for. Glad to hear someone else knows about it!

magnificuss says...
Hi Mark, yes thats it! I am from Sibu and there you get so many more fruits of the Jungle just like this. It is a wonderful place just for the so called "Bush Tucker". Everything from Sibu is highly regarded by the locals and exporters because it is unique. I am happy to settle for longans though if it grows. I am about to receive my plants either today or tomorrow. Cheers!

magnificuss says...
I reckon it is worth a shot! What a great Idea...the kohala seedling is cheap enough here at Daley's and you have the plant so give it a shot. Nothing to lose really. This will be a neat project, and this kohala rootstock will be much more cold tolerant than mata Kuching.

Thithi says...
Here is another link.
http://www.darwin.nt.gov.au/sites/default/files/Mata%20Kucing.pdf

The pic Kuching looks identical to longan to me.

Thithi says...
Magnificuss, good to hear u confident that the graft will work. I think It would be a lot more difficult than other trees eg citrus and avos. I wonder how did you come to that conclusion from the planting guide?

MIke T1 says...
There are 3 genera proposed for this group and Dimocarpus currently has the ascendancy.There are distinctive tropical subspecies and varieties in Indonesia (including hairy and spiny types)that are quite different but alupag is a different species.The common koala, blew kiew etc are chinese subtropical types and the only ones worth a shot in Melbourne.

MIke T1 says...
Don't know why that happened.

Markmelb says...
They dont look like longans?? - heres a pic of some seeds i put in a year ago

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

Thithi says...
Magnificuss, some of my plants arrived and lost some leaves, eg lychee, star Apple, mango... If it did not lose more than half of the leaves then I am ok with it. Don't take the plant to the sun yet, leave it in shade for a couple days or so, young longan tree doesn't like harsh sun.
This is my first year growing longan so I am not sure how it will do in winter. Hope your longan will be ok. Happy gardening

sternus1 says...
50% shade until established Thi. You should prune those leaves off, don't worry it will sprout more pretty much straight away.

magnificuss says...
Hi again, just an update...I still have these Longans in the original pots as I am preparing the ground hole for them. I wanted to ask you guys if you recommend any fertilisers for now? Does anything help strengthen these young plants? Many thanks in advance!
Also Linton, I hope your plants do survive! Hopefully one day when the plant is large enough you could spare a cutting? I think if you do have the Mata kuching, it is truly a special variety to have. Well done!

magnificuss says...
Thank you waterfall...will do just that. Do you have Longans growing too?

Linton says...
Hi magnificuss

Yes, I am finding the mixture is very important for Longans. The Daw Longan I got from Sternus was slowly going downhill after sitting waterlogged in the pot for some months. It seems to have picked up a fair bit after I changed the mix and added more sand for drainage. Also put in a deeper pot as the wetness had caused the main root to grow deep down and curl up in the pot.

About the Mata kucings, I have 2 plants of which one which is outside and exposed, but still in the pot, and has dropped all it's leaves. The other one with more shelter is performing better so I am still trying different conditions and potting mixes to see what works the best for them as all Longans seem to be tricky to grow and Mata kucing is even more fussy than most, but I won't be deterred.

This variety has to come from an interstate nursery and it is not worth the postage cost to send just one plant. But if you are really interested in trying to grow Mata kucing in Melbourne (maybe you will do better at it than me)then you could combine one with my next order with this nursery which I will be placing soon for other plants and we can save on the freight. The cost of a small Mata kucing plant is $26.

If interested just send me email to work out the details. Thanks.

Linton says...
To let me know your requirements and discuss further you can contact me at lintonius at hotmail.com. Cheers!

Linton says...
Yes, that's the one - Daleys also classify it as Euphoria malaiensis, so it's definitely the same species as the ones I have.

However they don't have it, they have only listed it as "Seeking Propagating Material" so they may or may not grow it sometime in the future. I suspect they listed it when they saw there was some interest in this species, but if you click on the link for "Seeking propagating material" it will explain further. Cheers!

Tommoz says...
Tried some canned longan from Thailand today. Honestly I can't detect much difference between longan, rambutan and lychee so far as taste is concerned.

Waterfall says...
I was considering growing longans so I went to the Asian fruit markets and grabbed a bag of longans and a bag of lychees. Eating them side by side there is no contest, lychee is just so much better.

Brain says...
Longans are hardier though. So its a balance of probability between taste, speed and survivability.

Brain says...
Hey sternus, thanks for your kind offer. Like you i am also playing plant roulette, too many things to grow, so little space. I will ask around and see if any of my cohorts would be interested. But really appreciative of the gesture.

Brain says...
Hey sternus, i asked around but so far no takers. But surely there are a few other qlders here who might want a peach. If i had the space, i would love to take one.

magnificuss1 says...
My Longan are doing well, watered with heaps of seaweed solution to help it through winter. It definitely worked and fertilised it with chook poo. May take years but hoping it will be worth it.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

denise1 says...
I had the Kohala longan and it grew reasonably well here in Auckland NZ. in a frost free garden. The fruit never plumped up and the tree later died. Interesting to grow outside warmer climates but may fail to bear nicely.

Chris S says...
I bought a Kohala longan from Daley in 2000 (8 years) and the plant took off nicely and is now over 3 meters tall. Had about 5 fruits 2 years ago and nothing since. I am not sure why it is not fruiting. Any advice on fruiting would be appreciated.

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brad16 says...
Here's a link from the University of Florida with good information on growing Longans, called 'Longan Growing in the Florida Home Landscape'.

http://www.edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg049

Since the tree looks reasonably healthy, but you say it's shy in setting fruit, my first impression is to look at what is going on at flowering/pollination time.

Longans are known to have male, female and 'bisexual' flowers. For pollination to occur, pollinating vectors (like bees) need to be active while there are both male and female flowers present. The next time it flowers pay close attention to what happens.

The info, linked to above, indicates that:

'Warm and rainy winters are conducive to vegetative growth and reduce flowering and fruit production. Excessive rains during flowering cause flower drop and may reduce pollination and fruit set'.

Considering Longans are Tropical/Subtropical, I think you can ignore the 'Warm winter' part, but Melbourne has a reputation as 'always raining'.

Next time it flowers, watch the number of flowers it produces and then watch the number that fall to the ground. It may just be that Melbourne's constant annual rainfall is more conducive to vegetative growth, than blossom and fruit production.

I checked the annual rainfall at Hawthorn (Scotch College) and the average annual amount is a little under 700 mm. That's about half the usual rainfall that Longans like, but it is distributed evenly over all months. This may indicate that the tree may be getting more water over the ideal 'drier winter' months and is putting it all towards vegetative growth. Looking at the picture, I'd dare say this is far from the truth.

From this preliminary assumption, I'd recommend using the hose on the pool, and not the tree, until Spring/Summer.

Anyway the provided link has lots of info and I believe a link at the top to download it in PDF.

Good luck.

ps. Forgot to add: This is in response to Chris S

Markmelb says...
Ive seen a longan of no known type maybe a seedling in Springvale that is in a hole with concrete paving all around as a heat bank in winter that has small fruit - also a friend sent me his friends photo of a Chompoo longan fruiting well not far from me in Mt Waverley - on the right with flowers / fruit forming - says is really good fruit too of normal size.

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

davewastech says...
That KCLO3 application sounds interesting. Will try when my Kohala gets a bit bigger.
Where do you buy it? (I would have thought buying it may be restricted due to its possible use in explosive mixtures.)

brad16 says...
Hey Markmelb,

I read in one your previous posts about that tree in the pavement. Along with your friends Chompoo, it's really interesting.

I'm kind of assuming that the pavement helps that tree out a little more than with just radiating heat. Being in a small hole would also restrict the amount of water soak into the soil. Being in Melbourne's climate where rainfall is pretty even throughout the year, it is possible that the water restriction may be just as big a help as the heating effect. Since it is also in the same hole during flowering and fruiting season, the same water restrictions during fruiting may account for the smaller fruit. It would be interesting if someone were to give it extra water when it was fruiting to see if the fruit size increased. That would be a good opportunity to get to know Longan's needs better in the Melbourne environment.

I'm believing more and more that Chris's problem is water. Looking at your friends Chompoo, it is in a slightly raised bed and the ground around it is open and well grassed. Sunlight and air flow would mean that winter moisture would dissipate more readily from the soil around your friends Chompoo. Chris's seedling is between a pool and fence. Rainfall would more easily collect at the base of Chris's tree (runoff from the deck, and the yard if the yard slopes downwards towards the back fence). Sunlight and air flow is far more restricted there also, so evaporation would be greatly hindered. The extra amount of moisture around Chris's tree, compared to your friends Chompoo and the one in the concrete hole, may not mean it's unhealthy for the tree (quite the opposite by the look), but it may mean that it is a vigorous grower, rather than a good fruiter.

Chris, the year you said it produced 5 fruit, was autumn/winter for that year drier than the last few years?

David01 says...
Hi brad16,
Very good analysis. Longan and Lychee need an ideal climate to grow successful. The weather has to be cool/dry in winter and wet/humid in summer in order to promote flowers and set fruits. In Chis case his tree gets water in the opposite way as our Melbourne weather is very wet in winter and quite dry in Summer. However, situation can be improved by cover the ground with black plastic poly pond to stop the coming rain water, keeping ground dry and warm during the winter time. Cheers.
Add note: for the Longan in Springvale. The mass concrete will help to keep it warmer and moisture at night in summer but it also doing the opposite manner in winter as concrete will make the surrounding environment much colder during the day by slowly releases the cold stored at night plus water restriction at all time from the rain of course.

Markmelb says...
Heres another pic of Balwyn Longan tree in fruit

Pictures - Click to enlarge
Picture: 1

David01 says...
Hi Markmelb,

Impressive photos. These pictures will inspire more people to grow Longan and perhaps Lychee in Melbourne. Cheers

davewastech says...
Thanks Fruitylicious.
I planted mine Nov 2016, growing slowly, so I'll keep this in mind for later when I figure it should start flowering - still a few years away I suppose.
I just read the Wikipedia article on longan. It says "e;Potassium chlorate has been found to cause the longan tree to blossom. However, this causes stress on the tree if it is used excessively, and eventually kills it"e;

Moderation in all things perhaps?


Dave