Longan
A relative of the lychee, longan fruit is sweet and juicy and grows in clusters.
Native to Asia, longan (Dimocarpus longan) was introduced here in the early 1900s and is grown in Hawaii, California and South Florida. There are numerous cultivars of longan; ‘Kohala’ is the variety most planted in Florida.
Longans are evergreen trees with dense, shiny green foliage and corky bark. They make attractive shade trees, and can grow quite tall, up to 30-40 feet.
The fruit are round, with a smooth, light brown peel and translucent pulp. There’s a single brown seed in the center. Often compared to lychee, longan fruit is milder and less sweet.
Another relative of the lychee and longan is mamoncillo (Melicoccus bijugatus). There are a number of mamoncillo varieties available in Florida including ‘Large’, ‘Jose Pabon’, and ‘Montgomery’.
The flowers are small, pale yellow and clustered on long panicles. Longan blooms in South Florida from February or March through early May, and harvest season is from the middle of July to early September, peaking in August.
Planting and Care
Longans are subtropical trees and adapted to tropical climates. They thrive in sandy, well-drained soil. In general, longan trees should be planted in full sun for best growth and fruit production. Select a part of the landscape away from other trees, buildings and powerlines; remember, longan trees can become very large.
After planting, irrigate regularly to establish. Once trees begin to bear (three to four years after planting), only water regularly in spring and summer, when they’re flowering and bearing fruit. Longan is not tolerant of excessively wet or flooded soil conditions.
Prune your longan tree by selectively thinning out a few moderate and small sized limbs each year. Trees kept 10 to 15 feet high and 15 to 30 feet wide will be easier to maintain, and the fruit will stay in reach to pick.
The trees experience few disease problems, but common pests include the lychee webworm and several scale insects. Please contact your local Extension office for current control recommendations.
Fruit is ready to harvest around August. The peel will be a deep tan, but the best ripeness indicator is pulp sweetness. Once removed from the tree, the fruit will not ripen further. Harvested fruit should be cooled as soon as possible. Longan fruit have a relatively short shelf life; place your harvest in a plastic bag and it should keep in the refrigerator for five to seven days.