Rambutan Tree

About the Rambutan Tree

Rambutan is the hairy cousin of the lychee: bright-red or yellow fruit covered in soft, flexible spines, held in showy clusters. Inside, the translucent white flesh is juicy and sweet with a mild tang, much like a lychee. In Mexico it is grown commercially in the Soconusco region of Chiapas, where hot temperatures, high humidity and abundant rain suit it perfectly. It needs true lowland tropical conditions and does poorly with cold or long dry spells, but where it is happy it is a spectacular and productive tree. Grown on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped via DHL.

How to Care for It

Grow in full sun in deep, fertile, slightly acidic soil with excellent drainage. Keep it consistently moist and mulch thickly; irrigate through any dry season. Feed every two to three months with a balanced fertiliser and compost. Rambutan is damaged below about 10 °C, so plant only in warm, frost-free sites. Prune after harvest to keep the tree low and open for easy picking.

Grow fruit most people have never tasted. Our exotic fruit trees, from Monthong durian and Emperor lychee to jaboticaba, achachairú and red finger lime, are raised on our farms in Yucatán and Chiapas and shipped by DHL across Mexico. Most love heat and humidity; several do beautifully in large pots.

Growing Profile

Botanical name

Nephelium lappaceum

Family

Sapindaceae

Native to

Malay Archipelago (Southeast Asia)

Mature height

6–12 m

Plant spacing

8 m

Years to first fruit

4–6 years

Light

Full sun

Water

High, keep moist

Cold tolerance

down to 10 °C

Best climates

Humid tropics

Grows in a pot

Best in the ground

Ships from

Our farms in Yucatán & Chiapas