dragon fruit

Discussion in 'Planting, growing, nurturing Plants' started by sindhooram, May 6, 2011.

  1. sindhooram

    sindhooram Junior Member

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    Hello, has any one tried growing dragon fruit? If so in what climate and was it easy or hard? can they survive a rainy season? did it produce well etc..... I am thinking of ordering some seeds but would like to hear experiences of growing it first....
     
  2. purplepear

    purplepear Junior Member

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    Occupation:
    Farm manager/ educator
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    Hunter Valley New South Wales
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    Climate:
    warm temperate - some frost - changing every year
    We have some at Purple Pear (warm temperate) and they grow well though we have not got fruit yet. I suspect they need good drainage and some had a spot on them during the recent humid weather that looked like a rust/fungal thing but it went after some better weather. I have not grown from seed but they propagate easily from a piece of the plant - nearly too easy as it seems they could be a pest in the wrong place.
    Good luck.
     
  3. permup

    permup Junior Member

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    Dragon Fruit

    Personally guys, I woudn't bother. They look fantastic but taste of nothing in my experience.
     
  4. juhill

    juhill Junior Member

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    I love dragon fruit they have a taste all of their own.
    purplepear is right they grow really easy from a piece of the plant I think you'd be waiting a long time if you grew from seed.
    I looked at some cuttings today at the country markets here and they were just $1 a piece.... but it gets too cold on our place to grow them.
     
  5. sindhooram

    sindhooram Junior Member

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    I ate them only in Thailand as I've never yet seen them for sale in India where I live. - the women in the market advised me which of two different colour varieties to buy for good taste and she was right as they were sweet and tasty....but unfortunately I cant remember well the colour. Does anyone know which colour is more tasty? I guess it may also depend if they are harvested at the right time...
    I think I'm going to give them a try so I'll post here if I have success although I suppose that'll take a bit of time...
     
  6. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    we've got one grew it from a potted cutting, the fruit like any cactus fruit is nothing to rave about very juicy as water content is high, ours flowers well and growing in not well drained soil when the season is wet, but as yet in 3 years has not fruited. apparently they only fruit on the ends of the vine that hangs downwards, ours all stick upward. they are susseptable to fruit fly. do a google for what growers do that may help, should imagine they would grow in the india area. if drainage is a huge problem gow hem on a raised situation like a raised bed but a mound. they gow a lot of them in thailand i think?

    best if you get a cutting to grow from, we have ours growing up a wooden fence.

    len
     
  7. sindhooram

    sindhooram Junior Member

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    hi gardenlen - I have read a bit about dragon fruit growing and it seems like some varities of them are not self fertile - so that may be why you are not getting fruit from just one plant?? If that is so I guess the only solution would be to get cuttings from a different plant and plant a couple more?
    Here I dont have any cuttings to take them from so would have to grow from seed.
     
  8. Grasshopper

    Grasshopper Senior Member

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    I had mine propped up against a tree.
    Found out today it will run up the tree and flower way out of reach.So next step is to build a frame for them to climb and spill over.
    Re cold climate; dad had a few in Melbourne that flowered but didnt fruit and an uncle had some that fruited in Melbourne.
     
  9. juhill

    juhill Junior Member

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    There are a few Dragon fruit farms in the area and I know a few people that have them growing I tried a few and they just went to mush..... -15°C is too cold for them.
     
  10. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    I have two that are about 6 months old - one yellow and one read. They are under the eaves on the southern side out the house in a protected , but dry spot. They seem happy enough here and are starting to climb the wall of the house. I don't know how long it'll be before I should expect fruit.
     
  11. juhill

    juhill Junior Member

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    I have friends that grow them on the fence it is a post and rail type fence I was told they will fruit on the horizontal branches, and another person has one growing up a gum tree and it has grown up about 20ft which makes picking the fruit difficult.
     
  12. gardenlen

    gardenlen Group for banned users

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    with the one i have i have no idea what sort it is so if nothing else it gets nice flower.

    len
     
  13. void_genesis

    void_genesis Junior Member

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    We have grown pink, white and yellow dragon fruit in the coastal mountains of SE Qld for a few years now. They need a sturdy frame that allows them to grow up and over to trap the sap in the branches and encourage fruiting. We had the pink/white centre type first and it fruited very well on its own.....dozens of large sweet fruit after about three years. They taste wonderful straight off the plant, but let them sit a few hours and the taste becomes very blerg to my tastes. If you have only tasted one from a market or shop then it is hard to judge them. They very rarely get fruit fly under our conditions (where all stone fruit are a mess of maggots without spraying). The pink centre variety has started fruiting- smaller fruit but more intense flavor for me. The yellow has even smaller and spiny fruit (different species) with a more lemony flavor, that I don't think is worth bothering with.

    There are lots of wild/unselected strains of this plant in circulation (its a minor weed) so be careful where you buy your original material from. I suspect unscrupulous/ill informed individuals sell these poorly fruiting strains as "dragon fruit" to unsuspecting people. Three years later and you are blaming yourself for a lack of fruit......

    The white centred variety has been one of our best fruits- relatively pest free, drought tolerant, fast growing, productive and tasty. The main downside is the need to build the frame to support it. The other downside is you can't really preserve the harvest, so no point planting more than you can eat fresh.
     
  14. eco4560

    eco4560 New Member

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    Thanks for reinvigorating this thread. I remember Sindoorham (the OP) fondly. I still tell the story of how some people have to face different 'pests' in their gardens to the rest of us. It was elephants for him....
     

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