trouble-free

Trouble-Free Fruit Tree with a Sweet Floral Flavor and Tropical Twist

Dan Fruits, Specialty Crops, This Land of Ours

The trouble-free fruit tree with a tropical twist. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

trouble-free
A broad, squat Longan tree at Pine Island Nursery laden with fruit.
By Pouletic – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0/Wikipedia image

Tree farmers in the warmer regions of the United States may want to consider switching things up and growing a crop a little less common.

Dimocarpus longan fruits
Public Domain/Wikipedia image

The Longan tree produces tropical fruits with a sweet, floral flavor with a juicy flesh. Longans are related to lychees but the fruits are smaller and slightly less sweet. The fresh fruits are enjoyed best on yogurt or desserts, or made into chutney. It’s also possible to dehydrate the fruits to save for later.

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Longans can only survive in tropical or semi-tropical regions. They thrive in warm weather and anything less than 24°F will likely kill this tree.  Longans do well when grown in California and Florida. Once they’re established, Longans require minimal care.  Just the typical water, feeding, and pruning.

Longans need several years before they’ll start producing a harvest. Once they’re ready, you should start to see fruits in early to late spring and the harvest should be ready by mid to late summer.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.

Trouble-Free Fruit Tree with a Sweet Floral Flavor and Tropical Twist