Need help with Lychee (Litchi chinensis)

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artcons Fort Lauderdale, FL(Zone 10b) Jul 04, 2005

Two years ago I received a Lychee (litchi chinensis) tree from Broward County as part of the "replant Broward" tree giveaway. The lychee has taken nicely, but the way it's growing is causing me concern. The main trunk seems to be growing less then the branches growing off it. The tree is very wide and not very tall. It just doesn't look or seem to be acting right. In the picture the main trunk is slightly to the left of center growing at an angle to center. It's the one with just bark on the right. As you can see, the branches are doing much better than the trunk.
My questions are, first is there any hope to correct this and make it a normal tree? Second question is how to correct this problem?
The next post will have another shot from a different angle.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Art

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artcons Fort Lauderdale, FL(Zone 10b) Jul 04, 2005

Second message with a different shot of my Lychee tree. In this shot the main trunk is in the center leaning slightly to the right and with a couple of curves in the main trunk.
Notice how good the branches look vs the main trunk, which has hardly any growth at all.
Thanks for any help.
Art

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Larke Very small town in S, Canada Jul 07, 2005

Hi, this is the way lychees grow most of the time, which is why when you buy them in Asian (e.g. Vietnamese) stores in late summer, they're sold in long branches with lots of fruit on them... they're not trees in the sense of maples and oaks, but spreading shrubby things that can be trained to some extent, or bonsai'd, but aren't going to look like poplars any time soon :-).

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artcons Fort Lauderdale, FL(Zone 10b) Jul 08, 2005

Thanks! But what do I do now? Should I be trimming off branches, as though they had borne fruit? Or do I just leave it alone to do what it wishes?
The look of it doesn't bother me, although had I known in advance I wouldn't given it so much room. I would have probably put it more near a corner.
Thanks again,
Art

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Larke Very small town in S, Canada Jul 10, 2005

If you trim the branches, there won't be any fruit. If you don't want any, then I guess you can do whatever you want, but if you want some, wait til it grows and ripens later in the summer and then later in the fall, you could either relocate the plant, or cut it back... but it will grow again, of course.

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