Longan Trees

The Longan tree (also known as Dragon’s eye), is considered a close relative to the Lychee tree and is part of the soapberry family. It is native to China and bears sweet, musky fruit. It requires warm to mild temperatures, is considered semi-hardy tree and is used for both fruit production and in landscaping. The Dragon’s eye name comes from its shelled fruit, which resembles an eyeball. The fruit, which is high in potassium, is considered less sweet than the Lychee. It is an important crop in Florida.

For planting, it is best to position these trees in a full sun location away from other large plants and buildings where soil drains freely and no flooding occurs. The trees grow quickly and thrive in a variety of soil types. They can tolerate sandy soils, sandy loam, and even calcareous, rocky soils but do prefer an acidic environment.

The Longan tree is considered less fussy than the Lychee tree and requires less water. Young trees need consistent irrigation as they establish and mature trees should get regular water from flowering to harvest. Some drought stress during fall and winter may promote flowering in spring. Feed young trees every 6 to 8 weeks with a 6-6-6. In Florida these trees can be attacked by scale and lychee webworms.