Author Topic: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?  (Read 1483 times)

shafak

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Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« on: June 19, 2018, 05:53:44 AM »
A couple of years ago, I successfully germinated some dragon fruit seeds within 3-4 days of sowing.  It was the common white fleshed ones - Hylocereus undatus .  About 2 weeks ago, I got some fruit of Hylocereus megalanthus yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador.  I used the same method as in the common ones.  It is almost 10 days now, but not a single seed germinated. 

For the first 7-8 days, the seeds were in a room with only diffused light and no direct bright light.  Could the intensity of the light be the problem?

OR

Another thing is that I removed the transparent jelly-like sead-coat (testa?) before sowing.  Does this affect germination?

baccarat0809

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2018, 11:19:40 AM »
I germinated a bunch of the large yellow df a few months ago - not sure if they were hylocereus megalanthus or not, but they all sprouted within 2 or 3 days of planting.  I thoroughly washed all of the seeds before i planted them.  They were not planted deep - only a trace of soil on top.  It was a bit chilly outside when i planted them so i just left the cup sitting on the kitchen counter while they were germinating.  That area has almost no natural sunlight and very diffused light from the bulbs i use.

I also sprouted "regular" white dragon fruit seeds before and they also came up in a few days - so my experience has been that the seedlings show quickly.

So_Cal_Mike

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2018, 12:18:13 PM »
I grew those same yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador...

What I did is to sow the seeds directly on the surface and cover the pot with plastic wrap so the humidity would remain high. I kept the pot on a window sill so the seeds were getting diffused light.
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shafak

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2018, 01:42:41 PM »
I use the method described by Mike below.  But, it took me anywhere between a week and 10 days during my last attempt a couple of years ago.

I germinated a bunch of the large yellow df a few months ago - not sure if they were hylocereus megalanthus or not, but they all sprouted within 2 or 3 days of planting.  I thoroughly washed all of the seeds before i planted them.  They were not planted deep - only a trace of soil on top.  It was a bit chilly outside when i planted them so i just left the cup sitting on the kitchen counter while they were germinating.  That area has almost no natural sunlight and very diffused light from the bulbs i use.

I also sprouted "regular" white dragon fruit seeds before and they also came up in a few days - so my experience has been that the seedlings show quickly.

shafak

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2018, 01:43:27 PM »
I grew those same yellow dragon fruit from Ecuador...

What I did is to sow the seeds directly on the surface and cover the pot with plastic wrap so the humidity would remain high. I kept the pot on a window sill so the seeds were getting diffused light.


How many days did it take you, Mike?  I did the exact same thing as you describe.  Only thing I did extra was I overzealously removed the transparent jelly coating to "help" speed up the germination.

Siyu98

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2018, 03:23:00 AM »
I was able to germinate only Selenicerus megalanthus seeds and not red ones last year. I dried the seeds and planted a month later, the room had no direct sunlight. Maybe 10 days is not enough, mine took about 3 weeks to issue the root. I also was worried cause every new day nothing happened, when finally a day...
Today I still have the plants and they're growing fast
« Last Edit: June 20, 2018, 03:26:21 AM by Siyu98 »

shafak

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Re: Dragon fruit germination - amount of light?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2018, 07:21:27 AM »
The only reason I am worried is when I read about others germinating DF, most of the time they mention germination within 3-4 days.  You give me some hope now.