Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 940616 times)

BohicaBob

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1975 on: February 24, 2017, 02:48:08 PM »
I made this dragon fruit trellis last October for my Yellow Dragon, American Beauty, and Halley's Comet cacti.



Kaiw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1976 on: March 24, 2017, 12:57:01 AM »
Hi,
I need a little help to identify variety. I think it is Sin espinas but I cant find information from it, is it self fertile or not. It produces fruit by it self, stem is thin, spikes small and taste parfumic.

I just started with dragon dragon fruit and here is mine try out dragon fruit trellis. Concrete self watering container and first PVC-pipe with holes and organic matter inside for roots. Later pole will be from concrete that it will suck water from water appartment and keep it moist. Let see now it do. So far growth has been rapid, very rapid.






RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1977 on: March 25, 2017, 11:01:04 AM »
Is it a white variety of fruit? It looks like the branches have the characteristic 'corking' or brown edge along the fins of the branches, which is usually found in the more traditional 'heirloom' white species. As for the taste, if by 'perfumic' you mean its tastes a bit like perfume or flowers, that also might be an indication that it one of the original types of dragonfruit, as these fruit had very low sugar content and not much in the way of crossbreeding to modify the flavor.

RobPatterson

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S-8 starter plants
« Reply #1978 on: March 25, 2017, 11:05:29 AM »
If there is anyone in the Southern California area who would be interested in a potted and growing Thompson S-8 "Sugar Dragon" start, I have a few to give away. These are potted plants, rooted and growing, about 2ft tall. I don't have any raw cuttings at this time and I will not ship plants (got in trouble before with CA regulations). But if you would like a plant or two, please contact me via Personal Message on this board and maybe we can work out a time. I'm usually available on weekends.

Kaiw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1979 on: March 25, 2017, 02:02:28 PM »
Is it a white variety of fruit? It looks like the branches have the characteristic 'corking' or brown edge along the fins of the branches, which is usually found in the more traditional 'heirloom' white species. As for the taste, if by 'perfumic' you mean its tastes a bit like perfume or flowers, that also might be an indication that it one of the original types of dragonfruit, as these fruit had very low sugar content and not much in the way of crossbreeding to modify the flavor.

Middle of the fruit taste is parfumic and flesh is deep red. For me it taste sweet but it is only variety I have tested so far so hard compare. Brix meter is on the way.
Here few more pictures.

Sin Espinas I can then rule out?







AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1980 on: April 11, 2017, 03:07:31 AM »
80 pages. Man that is a long thread, but oh so good. Tons of great info and I've read all of it. I've been mucho impressed with all the plantings, Ricshaw and RobPatterson and others, kudos to you guys for acting as defacto moderators with your sheer amount of experience. Ric-have really appreciated your videos and links too.  Simon your insight and updates too.

Where did Sven go? Miss that guy's posts, especially his insight into Paul Thompson and the origins/stories behind several of the varities.

Also, it's seems Ed Valdivia doesn't have a website anymore?

Anyway, I have 7 different dragonfruit cuttings I'm currently rooting and hoping to establish into plants:
Makisupa
Delight
Bien Hoa Red
Valdivia Roja
Orejona
Physical graffiti
And an unknown red I got from Hawkins Corner nursery (AMAZING guy that Mr Skinner) which is thus far very vigorous.

Cheers and God bless!
-Casey

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1981 on: April 11, 2017, 01:12:58 PM »

Also, it's seems Ed Valdivia doesn't have a website anymore?


True...  but Edgar has posted some interesting YouTube videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfLC3Flpipo

funlul

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1982 on: April 12, 2017, 08:47:52 PM »
2 of my productive plants got damaged by frost last winter. After HEAVY pruning one of them is coming back slowly, the other one I'm afraid is lost.

Just spotted flower buds on S8 and G2.
Looking for scionwoods: loquat, cherimoya, jujube, chocolate perssimon

pineislander

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1983 on: April 13, 2017, 12:50:52 PM »
Also, it's seems Ed Valdivia doesn't have a website anymore?

If you know the old URL for the site it is possibly available at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/web/

If so, please share!

AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1984 on: April 13, 2017, 04:34:07 PM »
Also, it's seems Ed Valdivia doesn't have a website anymore?

If you know the old URL for the site it is possibly available at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/web/

If so, please share!

Great idea! Forgot about the Wayback machine. It's on there!

Edvaldivia.com
-Casey

AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1985 on: April 14, 2017, 11:02:56 AM »
I'm curious pineislander, you associated with Pine Island Nursery at all? Even if not any stories/fun facts/hints etc about getting pitahaya or other tropical fruits from there?
-Casey

Viking Guy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1986 on: April 14, 2017, 12:15:57 PM »
I'm curious pineislander, you associated with Pine Island Nursery at all? Even if not any stories/fun facts/hints etc about getting pitahaya or other tropical fruits from there?

I know I wanted varieties from PIN, but never could get them in Stock.  I ended up finding the cultivars elsewhere and obtaining cuttings and rooted my own.

I have the following 5 varieties:

American Beauty
Physical Graffiti
Halleys Comet
Purple Haze
Yellow Dragon

My advice is just find someone who has them already, and take a disease free cutting from it.  There are probably lower branches which will get pruned and discarded anyways, and you'll get the cuttings for $5-$10 each.

They'll root themselves within a couple weeks when it's hot.  Very simple.

RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1987 on: April 14, 2017, 10:38:49 PM »
Anyone in Southern California starting to see flower buds on their plants yet? Mine aren't planted in what I would call ideal locations for sun exposure but I found my first buds on my G-2 plant this week. First to the finish I guess, which is mostly bad, because I believe its not self-fertile. However, it will give me a chance to see if I can get the pollen I have left over from last year to work. Would be a solid test into longer term pollen storage if nothing else I have here is secretly pushing buds that I cant see. I'd rather not waste a chance at fruit but if none of my other varieties show flower, at least its not a total loss.

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1988 on: April 14, 2017, 11:53:14 PM »
My Sugar Dragon has nice flower buds forming and American Beauty as well. I haven't checked the others but I'm guessing my Simons Purple and Halleys Comet probably has some buds as well, I just haven't looked carefully.

Simon

funlul

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1989 on: April 15, 2017, 11:41:59 PM »
I found my first buds on my G-2 plant this week. First to the finish I guess, which is mostly bad, because I believe its not self-fertile.

Do you plant S8 too? I spotted flower buds on my G2 and S8 at the same time. Come get some if needed.
Looking for scionwoods: loquat, cherimoya, jujube, chocolate perssimon

AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1990 on: April 16, 2017, 05:21:07 AM »
Anyone in Southern California starting to see flower buds on their plants yet? Mine aren't planted in what I would call ideal locations for sun exposure but I found my first buds on my G-2 plant this week. First to the finish I guess, which is mostly bad, because I believe its not self-fertile. However, it will give me a chance to see if I can get the pollen I have left over from last year to work. Would be a solid test into longer term pollen storage if nothing else I have here is secretly pushing buds that I cant see. I'd rather not waste a chance at fruit but if none of my other varieties show flower, at least its not a total loss.

Will be interested to see the results of the long term pollen storage. Hopefully you can get some fruit from it!
-Casey

pineislander

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1991 on: April 16, 2017, 08:44:11 PM »
I'm curious pineislander, you associated with Pine Island Nursery at all? Even if not any stories/fun facts/hints etc about getting pitahaya or other tropical fruits from there?
No, I just live on Pine Island in SW Florida, never been to that nursery yet. It is a little confusing that they have that name since they are south of Miami, and there are actually two physical islands called "Pine Island" in Florida, both on the west coast, one in Lee county, the largest island in Florida(32 sq. miles), and one in Hernando County, a tiny 65 acres.

RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1992 on: April 16, 2017, 09:46:11 PM »
I found my first buds on my G-2 plant this week. First to the finish I guess, which is mostly bad, because I believe its not self-fertile.

Do you plant S8 too? I spotted flower buds on my G2 and S8 at the same time. Come get some if needed.



My selection of plants is about 25% S8 Sugar Dragon. I both cook with it and find its my favorite for eating on the go, being a nice portable size. As I said, I think with my plants its a lighting issue, as neighbor's house and patio both shade most of my plants for a few extra months a year. But my G2 is flanked by S8 on both sides and neither have buds yet. I'm getting a lot of new branch starts, but theres either not enough sunlight or chemistry to force that new growth to show up as flowers yet. I go through this every year, so I like to keep a running record of when everyone else sees their first buds pop, so I can keep logging data and compare it to mine.
*- note these pics are about 3 years old. Been a while since I took new pics of the jungle that is my dragonfruit patch. Maybe this year...
« Last Edit: April 16, 2017, 09:48:23 PM by RobPatterson »

AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1993 on: April 21, 2017, 12:59:19 PM »
So I've read a couple different things on this forum and elsewhere, but figured I'd broach the subject again:

I'm thinking of burying some 5 gallon pots, 1 cutting a pot, surrounding a PT 4x4 in the ground for my trellis. This would give me control of my soil medium and protection from nematodes in FL and the in ground leaching of chemicals in PT wood, as well as better regulation of water intake during our VERY rainy season.

Anyway, what is the best, easy mix to use for these pots for DF? Some people have some very complicated 9 part recipes, I'm looking to stay simple. It seems the most common are compost, perlite, sand and/or peat. What do you like and why?

Also, is 5 gallon a good size for 1 cutting a piece?

Muchas gracias
-Casey

funlul

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1994 on: April 21, 2017, 03:13:48 PM »
For long term, I believe ppl say 15 gallon per plant.
I have maybe 2-3 plants per each 15 gallon pot.
Looking for scionwoods: loquat, cherimoya, jujube, chocolate perssimon

RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1995 on: April 22, 2017, 05:40:39 PM »
If you have the room you should use the 15 gallon pot option. It will give you enough room for the expected lifespan of the plant. Just remember, whatever soil mixture you decide to use, make sure you don't fill the pot over 75% on the initial planting. This will give you room to both add solid soil type fertilizer in the future and to add water (and water based fertilizers) without waste, so you can just dump water ion by the gallon without having to slowly pour it in while trying to prevent overflow and spillage. If you bury your pot, again, leave about 25% above the surface for convenience and, if possible, throw in a couple inches of gravel under the pot to help with drainage in wet times. You can also have (traditionally) up to 3 cuttings in a 15 gallon pot, so if you want to have some variety or need cross pollination, you should have at least two varieties per pot. It helps to take some of the workload off the bees and other pollinators having mixed flowers so close together.

Keiser

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1996 on: April 27, 2017, 06:17:43 AM »
So after overwintering my DF, I saw that my DF seedling cutting had produced a thin stem, but as I can see, the branch (inner stem) is pretty thick. I forgot to ask about it, and even with limited sun due to prolonged frost it has started to get thicker. Should I just leave it as it is, or should I cut it down?  :-\
« Last Edit: April 27, 2017, 06:20:33 AM by Keiser »

Keiser

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1997 on: April 27, 2017, 06:19:46 AM »
Forgot to add the picture.

It's a 2 year old white-fleshed seedling




AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1998 on: April 27, 2017, 06:58:11 AM »
Forgot to add the picture.

It's a 2 year old white-fleshed seedling




While I'm by no means an expert, it looks very healthy despite being thin-keep.
-Casey

AlwaysHotinFL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #1999 on: April 27, 2017, 07:02:49 AM »
If you have the room you should use the 15 gallon pot option. It will give you enough room for the expected lifespan of the plant. Just remember, whatever soil mixture you decide to use, make sure you don't fill the pot over 75% on the initial planting. This will give you room to both add solid soil type fertilizer in the future and to add water (and water based fertilizers) without waste, so you can just dump water ion by the gallon without having to slowly pour it in while trying to prevent overflow and spillage. If you bury your pot, again, leave about 25% above the surface for convenience and, if possible, throw in a couple inches of gravel under the pot to help with drainage in wet times. You can also have (traditionally) up to 3 cuttings in a 15 gallon pot, so if you want to have some variety or need cross pollination, you should have at least two varieties per pot. It helps to take some of the workload off the bees and other pollinators having mixed flowers so close together.


Rob, thanks for the advice. I remember you posting something similar previously, and because of that I was already considering gravel for drainage, and all my varieties will be bunched together. I had forgot about the "don't fill it all the way full" rule- that's good advice.

What is the particular soil mix you use in your containers?
-Casey