Like longan andlychee trees, rambutans are members of the soapberry family.
The fruits have a hairy-looking outer shell containing sweet, floral-tasting flesh that surrounds a large, inedible seed.
Here’s everything you oughta know to grow rambutan plant.
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Selecting a Planting Site
Choose a site with full sun conditions and loamy, well-drained soil.
If possible, select a site that is protected from harsh, drying winds.
Remove the plant from its pot and place it in the hole.
Fill in the hole so that the soil level hits the same spot as it did in the container.
Additional support usually isn’t necessary.
A site with partial sun for at least 12 hours per day could also work.
Avoid planting in areas with heavy clay soils that will retain excess moisture.
Water
Water rambutan plants regularly so that the soil remains consistently moist but not soggy.
However, two to four weeks of water stress can help induce flowering.
Leave 3 to 5 inches of space between the mulch and the stem or trunk of the tree.
Avoid letting rambutan plants in containers dry out.
Check soil moisture and water when the soil begins to feel dry to the touch.
Temperatures below 50F can damage young growth, and conditions below 40F can cause leaf drop.
High humidity of around 75 percent is ideal.
Feed plants with a balanced liquid plant fertilizer year-round.
Rambutan’s fertilizer needs will vary as the plant blooms and produces fruit.
After harvesting, return to balanced fertilizer.
However, many cultivars are self-pollinating and don’t require a second tree to fruit.
Expect fruits to ripen between 12 and 16 weeks after flowers bloom.
When they’re ready to harvest, fruits will be completely red or yellow and at peak sweetness.
Mature trees can bear several thousand fruits in each harvest.
Pruning after fruiting can help encourage new growth and keep the tree a manageable size.
The best time to propagate rambutan is in spring or summer.
Here’s how to propagate rambutan.
The fresher the seeds are, the better your chance of germination.
In tropical regions, birds may also eat green or ripe fruits.
A rambutan tree grown from seed will take five to six years to fruit.
Rambutan propagated by budding or grafting will take two to three years to bear fruit.
Rambutan isn’t particularly difficult to grow outdoors with the proper conditions and climate.
However, growing rambutan indoors or in cooler-than-ideal climates is more difficult and may not result in fruit.
