Lychee is a tree, a long-term addition to the landscape. It's hardy across USDA zones 10 through 11. Its flowers are a real draw for honeybees, even though the fruit is the prize. It roots deep, which helps it reach moisture in a dry spell and open up tight soil as it establishes.
Lychee — the short answer
Lychee: grown in zones 10–11, full sun, pH 5–8.5.
- USDA zones
- 10–11
- Not verified
- Soil pH
- 5–8.5
- FAO ECOCROP
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Converted from FAO ECOCROP
- Frost-kill temp (growing season)
- 30.2°F
- FAO ECOCROP
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
Score Lychee on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether lychee actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score lychee against your land's real conditions.
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What Lychee is
Lychee grows as a perennial and reaches around 40 feet at maturity. It blooms green from winter through mid spring.
How to grow Lychee
Lychee grows in USDA zones 10 through 11. Lychee does best in full sun — at least 6 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5 to 8.5, on well-drained ground. It needs around 4,500 growing degree days to mature, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
10-11
Not verified
Soil pH
5 - 8.5
FAO ECOCROP
Sun
Full Sun
Converted from FAO ECOCROP
Drainage
well (dry spells)
FAO ECOCROP
Frost Kill Temperature
30.2°F
Where cold starts killing growing tissue. Not a winter-survival floor — a dormant perennial takes far colder, which its hardiness zone answers.
FAO ECOCROP
Minimum Growing Temperature
59°F
Below this it stops growing rather than dies — a pace limit, not a survival limit.
FAO ECOCROP
GDD Required
4500+
Growing degree-days of accumulated warmth it needs to mature — humid summers reach this faster than cool coastal ones.
We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Mature Height
40 ft
UF/IFAS EDIS HS6
Plant it right
Set lychee in full sun with well-drained soil. Many fruit trees need a second variety nearby to pollinate — check before you plant just one.
Match the soil
Lychee prefers pH 5 to 8.5 (FAO ECOCROP). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Be patient, then harvest
Prune annually while the tree establishes; fruit trees reward patience with years of harvest. Local Extension guides publish per-cultivar bearing-age tables.
Where Lychee thrives
Lychee is hardy across USDA zones 10 through 11. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 10–11 spans average winter lows from 30°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers none outright but splits 8 down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 10–11·Where Lychee growsOpen map →
This map is derived from the USDA ARS / PRISM Plant Hardiness Zone Map (2023) and is not the official USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
Where Lychee stands, state by state
Lychee is rated for zones 10–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 30 to 40°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 0 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 8 more, and 43 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
8 states
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
- Arizona · zones 5b-10b
3 of 8 shown
Lychee’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Lychee
Growing guides for lychee
Good to know
Lychee is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.
Before you harvest lychee, know your soil
Anything you grow to eat takes up what's in the ground it grows in, so it's worth knowing what's documented near you before you plant lychee for food. Our free screen reads 8 federal source types across roughly 950K indexed sites and shows which sit near your address and which way they drain. It's a screening estimate from public records and proximity — not a soil test — so a nearby record means a soil test is worth it, not that your soil is unsafe.
Your land is one point inside Lychee's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Lychee will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether lychee actually takes. We score it against the mapped and modelled conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources analyzed in seconds
How we know this about Lychee
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Lychee in my zone?
Lychee grows in USDA hardiness zones 10 through 11. Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant Lychee?
Set lychee out in early spring or fall while it's dormant, so the roots establish before the heat of summer. Your local last-frost date — which a Growable Ground report pulls for your exact address — sets the precise window.
How much sun does Lychee need?
Lychee needs full sun — a spot that catches at least 6 hours of direct summer sun a day. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet. In more shade it still grows, but usually gives a smaller, later crop. The catch is that a yard rarely gets even light everywhere — a fence, the house, or one tall tree can quietly take those hours. A Growable Ground report reads the real sun-hours across your land, canopy and buildings included, so you can pick the brightest bed before you plant.
What soil does Lychee need?
Lychee prefers soil pH 5 to 8.5, on well-drained ground (FAO ECOCROP). Your report scores your parcel's mapped soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Lychee attract pollinators?
Yes — lychee's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees. We haven't confirmed this against a published source yet.