Dragon Fruit - How to grow

DRAGON FRUIT (PITAYA)

Hylocereus undatus

DESCRIPTION:

Dragon fruit is a tropical cactus originally from the rainforests of Central and South America and also from Mexico. It is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (same as the cactus).

It is easily recognised by its triangular cross section of stem and it's minimal spines and is grown for ornamental purposes as well as for fruiting crops.

The plant has large flowers that are white and around 30cm or more long, they have sweet fragrance when in bloom. The flowers bloom for one night only and require cross pollination during this time from moths, bats or by hand. By morning, the flowers begin to wither and die with the rising heat. When the flowers die by the mid morning the fruit begins to grow. They can have between 4 – 6 fruit cycles in a year.

The Fruit is either bright pink or yellow skinned with green spines, it is oval shaped and the flesh of the fruit is either with or red with small black seeds dotted through it.

The fruit comes in three types:

Hylocereus Undatus - (Red Pitaya) Has red skinned fruit with white flesh.

Hylocereus costaricensis - (Costa Rica Pitaya, often called H. Polurhizus) Has red skinned fruit with red flesh.

Hylocereus Megalanthus – (Yellow Pitaya) Has yellow skinned fruit with a white flesh.

HOW TO GROW:

Dragon Fruit can be grown from seeds or by a cutting from a mature plant.

By seeds:

Look online for seeds. If you can't find them go to your local farmers market and buy a Dragon Fruit. Cut the fruit in half and scoop out some of the pulp making sure you have some of the black seeds. Mash the pulp in a small amount of water to separated the seeds. Wash the pulp from the seeds. You won't need many seeds as the germination rate is high. Fill a shallow container made from equal parts of organic seed raising mixture and sand.(Dragon fruit seeds like a loose soil and generally straight seed raising mix is too dense). Moisten the soil and sprinkle the seeds on top, cover lightly with a thin layer of the soil mixture. Place container in a plastic bag or cover with glad wrap to retain moisture. Put in a warm well lit spot. Check the seeds daily, seeds start to germinate anywhere from 1 to 14 days after planting. The seedlings will first appear with 2 germination leaves, much like a bean seedling. These are the first and last leaves to develop. As the seedlings develop the angular spiny stem grows in the central growing point between the two leaves. The stem thickens and elongates and eventually the two initial leaves will fall off. After several months of growth the seedlings can be potted into into individual pots and will hopefully grow big and produce lots of fruit!

By cuttings:

Find a friend with an established plant. Carefully slice of a section of the Dragon Fruits new growth using a sharp knife. Make the cut at a 45 degree angle through the stem connecting the two sections together. It is suggested that you coat the cut end of the stem with a fungicidal powder after cutting, I have found however that this is not always necessary. After removing the cutting from the plant and coating or not coating in fungicidal powder leave the cutting in a well-ventilated, shady area for one to two weeks to 'cure' the cutting. When 'cured' plant the cutting into an organic potting mixture, it should be only be planted about one inch deep. The cutting will require shade and minimal water until the roots have developed. Once the roots are established new vines will start sprouting from the cutting.

Harvesting of the fruit is around 28-30 days after flowering.