While air temps are between 60-80, I usually fertilize at 4 tsp in a 2-1/2 gallon watering can, which is about 1-1/2 tsp per gallon, and I see no evidence of plants having trouble keeping leaf margins & tips hydrated (no sign of fertilizer burn), or any sort of sense that the plants are being pushed too hard, so I think 1 tsp/gallon on a weekly basis is well within reason ..... if you are watering copiously so the soil is being flushed at each watering. Al

Wish you weren't so far away. I'm way down in Sarasota County. If my longan doesn't bloom this year, I'm cutting it down. Would be happy for you to come take it. It's 7 years old, and I think it's too warm here in the winter to induce blooming.

Longan is a little bit more cold-hardy and drought tolerant than lychee. There are several nurseries in the Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego area that specialize in tropical fruit trees. Many of them are run by Vietnamese people and are small and difficult to find because they don't advertise. One place I would definitely recommend is Emily Garden Nursery. They carry a great selection of exotic tropical fruit plants, and other ornamentals as well, and excellent customer service. There's also Mimosa Nursery in Anaheim that is staffed by a very kind old Vietnamese man. They can be a bit pricey but the size of the plants are larger, and they have bigger variety. Also a lot of pomegranates. It's amazing to see everything they have growing. Another one is California Tropical Fruit Trees in Vista. While the aroma of lychee is wonderful and highly perfumed, I find longan to be kind of bland. It's mostly just sweet (and kind of watery) with the flavor of honeydew melon. The fruit size is also smaller and the shell being hard makes it more difficult to open than lychee, at least without puncturing the inner fruit membrane and getting juice all over the place. I sometimes question whether longan (or rambutan too) is worth eating when you can grow lychee. I understand though that longan can be easier to grow than lychee and the harvest is less seasonal. Also, eating too many lychee fruits (as delicious as they are) can make the back of my throat feel a little irritated and "hoarse". I have never noticed this with longan. I have read reports that, while lychee can be grown in the Bay area, because of all the coastal fog the summers are not warm enough for the fruit to fully ripen. not sure if the temperature requirements for longan to ripen are any different

Bananafan2... Actually, my husband is the one with the green finger, for some reason, anything he touches or plants always does REALLY well... anything I plant either dies really quickly or dies slow and painfully.... LOL! Also, I have 2 dogs that poops all over the back yard... people used to tell me that dog poop isn't so good and actually kills the plant and the grass but that theory has also proven to be UNTRUE as well... I'm asian and a really common asian belief is that it also depends on the temperament of the person planting makes a huge difference... that might be a little true in a way because I certainly don't have the patience that my husband does FOR SURE... maybe it's the "mojo" of the person planting? I guess? My husband says that ANY fruit tree left to grow in a container will either fruit very little or won't fruit at all and also takes a VERY VERY long time to grow (if they remain in the pots, like how you have them in your picture) he says that he knows the plant is ready to go into the ground once the stem is no longer green and has grown bark on them, even as small as they are (but that theory may only apply to tropical fruit trees that are grown in tropical climate... like Florida), it might be different if you are growing them in a state that snows during winter... here are a few pictures of my Longan tree as of this week, my mango tree as of last month and some pictures of my Guava trees from last year Close up of my Longan tree with fruit only a few days ago Lychee tree from my balcony view just last week Lychee Tree... only starting to fruit for this year's harvest... you can see a piece of lake in the back on this pic Mango tree, you can see my 2nd story balcony to give you an idea of how fast it grows (1 year in the ground) More Mangos Mango tree last month Some of Last year's Guava and Longans harvest Guava tree Logan Tree... I caught a corner pic of the roof of my house in this picture (2 story home) so this should give you an idea of how tall this tree actually is