Lychee Trees Made Simple: Size, Fruit and Care Guide

Picking a lychee tree shouldn’t feel complicated. Most people just want to know two things: will it fit in my yard and will the fruit be worth it?

Lychee trees do vary in size and habit, but once you know which varieties stay smaller and which grow taller, choosing the right one becomes much easier. Below is a straightforward, no-fuss guide to the lychee varieties we commonly stock and how they perform in a home garden or small orchard.

Lychee Varieties at a Glance

Lychee Variety	Fruit Notes	Typical Height	Pruning / Maintenance
Red Ball	Round, visually striking fruit with a sweet, mild flavour	2–5 m	Can be pruned to keep smaller due to dense, compact growth habit
Wai Chi	Small, sweet fruit with excellent flavour and home-garden friendly size	2–4 m	Prune lightly to maintain compact shape and encourage fruiting
Kiamana	Sweet, clean flavour with a good flesh-to-seed balance	2–3 m	Responds well to light pruning because of its open branching habit
Erdon Lee	Extra-large, sweet fruit; reliable and productive	2–5 m	Requires moderate pruning to support heavy fruiting branches
Lin San Sue	Very small seed with juicy, aromatic flesh	2–6 m	Can be pruned to stay compact as it grows upright and dense
Sue Lin San	Fully seedless or near-seedless; very sweet and juicy	2–6 m	Responds well to pruning and can be kept smaller due to slower growth
Baitaying	Medium to large sweet fruit with good texture	2–5 m	Occasional pruning helps maintain shape and airflow
Jean Hang	Sweet, juicy flavour with aromatic flesh	2–5 m	Light pruning helps control naturally bushy branching
Kwai Mai Pink	Very sweet fruit with pink-tinged skin	2–5 m	Can be kept smaller with pruning due to moderately spreading habit
Sah Keng	Balanced sweet flavour with consistent crops	2–4 m	Easily maintained at smaller sizes because of naturally compact growth
Tai So	Early-fruiting with juicy, bright red skin fruit	2–4 m	Responds well to pruning to manage vigorous fruiting shoots
Bengal	Large, succulent fruit with classic lychee flavour	2–5 m	Requires more pruning to manage dense growth and heavy fruit load
Fay Zee Siu	Sweet fruit with a good flesh-to-seed ratio	2–5 m	Moderate pruning improves structure and airflow
Salathiel	Sweet, aromatic fruit with an attractive growth habit	2–4 m	Easily kept compact due to slow, upright growth habit

 

 

General Care for Lychee Trees

Watering: Keep soil consistently moist, especially during flowering and fruiting, but avoid waterlogging.

Soil: Well-drained, slightly acidic soils are ideal. Mulching helps retain moisture and control weeds.

Sunlight: Plant in full sun for the best fruit production.

Fertilising: Use a balanced, slow-release fertiliser suitable for fruit trees, applied several times a year. Avoid fertilising at the time of planting or immediately after repotting; wait 2–4 weeks for roots to establish before applying a mild fertiliser.

Pruning: Light pruning after harvest helps maintain shape, airflow, and encourages flowering the following season.

Pests & Disease: For Australian gardens, watch for pests such as lychee erinose mite, fruit-spotting bug, and scale insects. Maintain good hygiene, remove fallen fruit, and monitor for fungal diseases like sooty mould or anthracnose to keep your tree healthy.

Climate: Lychee trees thrive in subtropical to tropical climates with warm, humid summers and mild winters. Frost can damage young trees and reduce fruit production.

Extra tips for cooler or marginal climates:

• Consider planting against a sunny wall or in a sheltered courtyard to maximise warmth.
• Use frost cloths or protective covers during unexpected cold snaps.
• Grow lychees in large pots so they can be moved indoors or into a greenhouse in winter.
• Mulch heavily around the base to protect roots from cold.

 

Final thoughts

There’s no single “best” lychee. The right variety is simply the one that fits your available space and produces fruit you enjoy. When selecting trees for a home garden, choose varieties that suit your yard size to ensure they stay manageable and productive.

 

If a product is out of stock, please join the waitlist with your email and/or mobile number, and we will let you know as soon as it’s back in stock.

Disclaimer: Typical heights listed are approximate and heights on tags may sometimes vary. Actual tree height can fluctuate based on growing conditions, soil quality, climate, and pruning practices. Due to their slower growth habits, lychee trees are generally easy to maintain at a smaller shape with regular pruning.