The fruit known as a rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) has a sweet-sour taste and resembles lychee in appearance. Despite being uncommon in your neck of the woods, it is highly valued in Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, India, eastward via Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. It is rich in iron, vitamin C, copper, and antioxidants.
This fruit is appropriately described as "hairy" by the Malay word rambut, from which the name "rambutan" is derived. The fruit that rambutan fruit trees produce is, in fact, hairy. The berry has a solitary seed and is oval. The outer peel has soft, pliable spines and is crimson, occasionally orange, or yellow. The flesh inside has a grape-like flavour and ranges from white to pale pink.
You can cook the seed and eat it or eat the whole fruit and seed. There are three types of rambutan fruit trees: hermaphrodite, male, and female. They are evergreens with dense, spreading crowns that grow to a height of 50 to 80 feet (15–24 meters). When young, the alternating foliage has one to four pairs of leaflets and a hairy red rachis that ranges in length from 2 to 12 inches (5 to 31 cm). These elliptic to oblong leaves have dull surfaces with yellow or bluish-green veins underneath, and they are slightly leathery, yellow/green to dark green. Read more.
Rambutan Plant Care
Light
Rambutan should be planted in an area receiving six to eight hours of direct sunlight daily. A location that receives at least 12 hours of partial sunlight each day might also be suitable.
Seedlings or saplings grown indoors should be acclimated over a few weeks before being planted outdoors in full or partial sun.
Rich, loamy, well-drained soil with a slightly acidic pH (5.5 to 6.5) is ideal for rambutan plants. Do not plant in regions with heavy clay soils, as they will retain too much moisture. If you're growing a rambutan plant in a container, use a premium potting mix modified with perlite or coarse sand for drainage.
Water
Water rambutan plants regularly to keep the soil constantly moist but not soggy. Because of their thin roots, rambutans can lose their leaves after just a few days of drought, unlike certain fruit trees.
However, water stress for two or four weeks can aid in flowering. To maintain soil moisture, spread a few inches of organic mulch, like wood chips, around the tree's base to the drip line. The mulch and the tree's stem or trunk should be separated by 3 to 5 inches.
To prevent containerised rambutan plants from drying out, check the soil's moisture content and water it when it starts to feel dry to the touch.
Humidity And Temperature
Although they can tolerate temperatures ten degrees lower and hotter than that range, rambutan plants prefer daytime temperatures between 70°F and 95°F.
Temperatures below 25°C can harm young growth, and leaf drop can result from temperatures below 27°C. It is desirable to have a high humidity of about 75%.
The fertiliser
Because they are strong feeders, rambutans need to be fertilised frequently throughout the year to blossom and produce fruit. Give plants a balanced liquid fertiliser all year round.
The fertiliser requirements of rambutan will change as the plant blossoms and bears fruit. To encourage blooming in the winter:
Switch to a 15-30-15 fertiliser.
Once the plant has flowered, use a 20-10-30 fertiliser to aid the fruit set.
Return to balanced fertiliser after harvest.
Pollination
Because rambutans are naturally dioecious, a male tree must pollinate a female tree for it to produce fruit. However, a second tree is not necessary for many cultivars to bear fruit, as they are self-pollinating.
Harvesting
While grafted or budded trees can produce fruit in as little as two years, rambutan plants grown from seed can do so in five or six years. Trees in tropical regions may produce fruit twice: once in late spring or early summer and again in late autumn or early winter.
After flowers bloom, fruits should ripen 12–16 weeks later. When they are ready to be harvested, fruits will be at their sweetest and fully red or yellow. It's preferable to wait until the fruits are completely ripe before picking them because they won't ripen off the tree.
Each harvest from mature trees can yield thousands of fruits.
The rambutan is a tropical fruit tree known for its unusual, hairy fruit. It is said to be challenging to care for because of its particular climatic requirements and sensitivity, particularly outside of tropical settings.