Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 940699 times)

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #425 on: January 27, 2014, 10:55:34 PM »
Anyone have info on the Lisa #4 dragon fruit?  The vine seems to be a lot thicker than the rest of the varieties.  I suspect this is more heat and cold tolerant?

Check out and download the 2011 Pitahaya Festival Results:
http://www.edvaldivia.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=765

At the 2011 festival tasting, Lisa was one of the favorites.



I got a Lisa cutting.

But...  I did not have luck with my first Lisa cutting.



It was the only DF cutting I have had die.

I got another Lisa cutting (#4) in 2012 and have found that, compared to others, it is a slow grower for me.



I use the same numbering system as the UC Irvine Research Center for labeling cuttings.


2012



Today



Lisa is from Nicaragua and my guess is H. polyrhizus.






xshen

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #426 on: January 28, 2014, 10:54:56 AM »
It's good to know that it has high brix and its also heat and cold tolerant.  It's a keeper.

What does the number represent?  Is it a number that represents a seedling from a fruit that was hand pollinated?

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #427 on: January 28, 2014, 01:36:10 PM »
What does the number represent?  Is it a number that represents a seedling from a fruit that was hand pollinated?

The numbering system is just what the UC Irvine Research Center uses for labeling cuttings.

All the Dragon Fruit varieties grown at the Research Center are cuttings (clones), seedlings are not reliable.

Some of the varieties are hybrids created by CRFG members, the others were imported from the country of origin.

The varieties on the 2011 Pitahaya Festival Results table with "(FL)" after the name were obtained from Pine Island Nursery which many are renamed varieties from Southern California CRFG members. See Sven's post http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=228.225.

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #428 on: January 28, 2014, 01:56:35 PM »
It's good to know that it has high brix and its also heat and cold tolerant.  It's a keeper.

Glendora is not that far from Ventura.  If interested (or anybody else living near Ventura County), I have a Delight, Physical Graffiti, and Valdivia Roja DF potted plant you can have.

PM if interested.

fyliu

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #429 on: January 28, 2014, 04:28:00 PM »
Valdivia roja is one I really like. Small fruits but very flavorful. One year I went to Irvine and there were no fruits on the plants. So I think it's not self pollinating and probably needs cross pollination. I'm still waiting for mine to shoot out of the pot.

xshen

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #430 on: January 28, 2014, 04:50:17 PM »
Valdivia roja is one I really like. Small fruits but very flavorful. One year I went to Irvine and there were no fruits on the plants. So I think it's not self pollinating and probably needs cross pollination. I'm still waiting for mine to shoot out of the pot.


I really want it now! 

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #431 on: January 30, 2014, 03:02:05 PM »
Here is an update on my yellow DF. This is the first year it fruited for me and these first two fruit are not that large. I'm hoping they will get larger next year. I wonder if they would be larger if the two didn't grow right next to each other? There is another green fruit on another branch that appears to be larger than these and there are another three flowers about to open. These two fruit still have some green on them but are mostly yellow, do you think they are ready to harvest or will they taste better if I leave them until they are completely yellow?
Simon


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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #432 on: January 30, 2014, 03:22:18 PM »
Here is an update on my yellow DF. This is the first year it fruited for me and these first two fruit are not that large. I'm hoping they will get larger next year. I wonder if they would be larger if the two didn't grow right next to each other? There is another green fruit on another branch that appears to be larger than these and there are another three flowers about to open. These two fruit still have some green on them but are mostly yellow, do you think they are ready to harvest or will they taste better if I leave them until they are completely yellow?
Simon


Hope....but don't start holding your breath on any increase in size, next year or any year.

On picking, I wait until the spines can be removed by just brushing against them.
Harry
Fort Lauderdale, FL 
USA

fyliu

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #433 on: January 30, 2014, 04:19:42 PM »
Valdivia roja is one I really like. Small fruits but very flavorful. One year I went to Irvine and there were no fruits on the plants. So I think it's not self pollinating and probably needs cross pollination. I'm still waiting for mine to shoot out of the pot.


I really want it now!
You can take one of my potted ones. It will need staking and maybe pruning.

Mike T

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #434 on: January 30, 2014, 04:47:10 PM »
Those yellows probably won't swell any more and look ready to pick.Some lines produce much larger fruit that are thicker through the middle but taste the same.Perfectly riped ones from the best lines have a nice lemonade overtone and a cheery sweet taste.

xshen

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #435 on: January 30, 2014, 07:10:22 PM »
Valdivia roja is one I really like. Small fruits but very flavorful. One year I went to Irvine and there were no fruits on the plants. So I think it's not self pollinating and probably needs cross pollination. I'm still waiting for mine to shoot out of the pot.


I really want it now!
You can take one of my potted ones. It will need staking and maybe pruning.


Cool. Thank you. I'll come by your parents house Sunday morning to pick up.  Also, can I pick up the El bumpo scion too?

You want any salacca palm or inga seedlings?  Let me know, I can bring some seedlings over if interested.

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #436 on: January 31, 2014, 12:58:48 AM »
Thanks Harry and Mike T,

I'll probably just harvest them tomorrow do the insides don't get mushy. I believe there Mark may have the larger fruited variety as his fruit were quite wide in the middle and the stems also look slightly different than mine. I wish I kept the seeds of the Giant Yellow DF I ate in Hong Kong. The ones I ate in Hong Kong were almost too sweet, it was like eating spoonfulls of Agave nectar. From my memory, I actually prefer varieties like Halley's Comet, American Beauty and Simons purple. I like having the yellow because they ripen in a different season compared to the other DF varieties.
Simon

Ryan

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #437 on: February 13, 2014, 04:01:50 AM »


Question, is it advisable to plant out multiple varieties of pitaya/dragon fruit within close proximity? I'm new to dragon fruit and preparing to plant multiple vines of the smaller orange and yellow pitaya. In addition, I anticipate planting many of the larger fruited varieties in the near future.

In general, is close enough proximity for cross pollination between varieties a good thing or not? Thanks.

fyliu

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #438 on: February 13, 2014, 06:52:41 PM »
Ryan, do you have the natural bat pollinator where you live? If not then you'll have to do it yourself. I heard the yellow doesn't require it. The drawback of high density is can you get to the fruits once they're ripe and will they get enough sunlight to induce flowering. For Hawaii I think sunlight is not a problem. I'd say your main concern might be keeping it from growing too fast and keeping the roots from rotting by planting it in fast draining soil.

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #439 on: February 13, 2014, 07:44:57 PM »
Question, is it advisable to plant out multiple varieties of pitaya/dragon fruit within close proximity? I'm new to dragon fruit and preparing to plant multiple vines of the smaller orange and yellow pitaya. In addition, I anticipate planting many of the larger fruited varieties in the near future.
In general, is close enough proximity for cross pollination between varieties a good thing or not? Thanks.

IMO it is a good idea to plant more than one variety of Dragon Fruit within close proximity.  Last year I had red flesh Nicaraguan Dragon Fruit that produced dozens of flowers, BUT... I did not have other flowering Dragon Fruit plants to pollinate it.  When I did, I got good tasting fruit. Cross pollination between varieties is a good thing.

marklee

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #440 on: February 13, 2014, 08:14:54 PM »
Thanks Harry and Mike T,

I'll probably just harvest them tomorrow do the insides don't get mushy. I believe there Mark may have the larger fruited variety as his fruit were quite wide in the middle and the stems also look slightly different than mine. I wish I kept the seeds of the Giant Yellow DF I ate in Hong Kong. The ones I ate in Hong Kong were almost too sweet, it was like eating spoonfulls of Agave nectar. From my memory, I actually prefer varieties like Halley's Comet, American Beauty and Simons purple. I like having the yellow because they ripen in a different season compared to the other DF varieties.
Simon
Simon, I picked my last one over a month ago, since we have the same weather, and my do get a bit larger I wonder if there are slight variations in Colombia also.
Bye the way I still have Voodoo Child and Houghton ripening. Also, all of the cuttings I got from you are rooted nice already.
I also noticed that the Lisa I received in 2011 at the Irvine Festival is a real slow grower.

tanguy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #441 on: February 14, 2014, 02:58:12 PM »
Why do you have 12 different Dragon Fruit varieties?
Well i didn't have none, but start to buy or trade, and in few time i have all this diferent ones... but there are any problem?  ;)

No problem, just curious.

Do you plan to grow 12 different varieties of Dragon Fruit to maturity?

I am fairly new to growing Dragon Fruit. When I started, I collected every type of cutting I could get my hands on.
Eventually, it was time to repot some plants with trellis and start thinking about getting some fruit.
That is when I decided on which Dragon Fruit varieties I wanted to grow. Which is only 4 - 5 (two varieties with multiple plants, the others are pollinators).

I understand all about collecting. I have a collection of a dozen tropical clumping bamboo planted in my garden.
Yes i plan to select the best fruit varieties, but it's too early... only when they fruitify i can decide... my plan is to turn on a producer here... there are no dragonfruit production here in Portugal.

Hi ricshaw,
We need different varieties of DF for cross pollination.  Most of the colored dragon fruit plants (red, pink, and purple flesh) here in the U.S. are not self-fertile ( not self-fertile means that the plant will not set fruit with it's own pollen). So we need pollen from other varieties.

tanguy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #442 on: February 14, 2014, 03:19:02 PM »
I read it is 10 pounds of plant weight, have no idea how to get them to flower earlier.

Hi Luisport,

You need about 3 years if you grow from a 2 ft- cutting, and about 5 years from a shorter cutting (like 10 inches).


NYC_FruitKing

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #443 on: February 14, 2014, 03:46:49 PM »
I've been following this post for quite a while now and I've decided to try my luck with growing DF in my area. I made a post in the yahoo pitaya forum and didn't receive much of any pointers for finding out the quote-on-quote "best" DF varieties in terms of taste and flavor, so I'll just grow 3 in a 15-gal pot with a 4"x4", 5' tall PVC pipe with burlap attached to it. The varieties I've decided on are American Beauty, Delight, and Zamorano. Once I get more space I'll grow more varieties, or end up grafting yellow dragon and others to see if they're worth extra space once I can afford some more space to grow things with.. And as much as I'd like to order these varieties online from mattslandscape, the online reviews complaining about orders taking a while to process and poor customer service in general makes me want to resort to asking avid DF growers for cuttings, so I don't waste my time and money :D Anyone on this thread have fairly big (around 12") cuttings of these 3 varieties they'd be willing to donate to a good cause? I'll happily pay for postage and all that jazz  :)

fyliu

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #444 on: February 14, 2014, 05:09:55 PM »
Zamorano. Can someone describe the taste?

I gave away several cuttings of it last weekend but I don't think I'be tasted the fruit. The FL ebayer I got it from told me that's his favorite out of the 5 types he sold me.

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #445 on: February 14, 2014, 08:42:28 PM »
Hi ricshaw,
We need different varieties of DF for cross pollination.  Most of the colored dragon fruit plants (red, pink, and purple flesh) here in the U.S. are not self-fertile ( not self-fertile means that the plant will not set fruit with it's own pollen). So we need pollen from other varieties.

I think that is what I said.  I agree.  Blame Pine Island for some of the confusion.


tanguy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #446 on: February 15, 2014, 01:07:11 AM »
Anyone have info on the Lisa #4 dragon fruit?  The vine seems to be a lot thicker than the rest of the varieties.  I suspect this is more heat and cold tolerant?

Hi Xshen,
Lisa is a good cold hardiness and heat tolerance but not the best.  The best one is Valdivia Roja, next to it are Physical Graffiti and Halley's Comet. 
Please check this link:
http://edvaldivia.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=828

MarinFla

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #447 on: February 15, 2014, 01:55:43 PM »
I read it is 10 pounds of plant weight, have no idea how to get them to flower earlier.

Hi Luisport,

You need about 3 years if you grow from a 2 ft- cutting, and about 5 years from a shorter cutting (like 10 inches).

Not true in my sub tropical climate. Mine fruited in just under 1-1/2 yrs from a few 6 -8 inch cuttings planted/started in December

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #448 on: February 15, 2014, 02:02:04 PM »
I read it is 10 pounds of plant weight, have no idea how to get them to flower earlier.

Hi Luisport,

You need about 3 years if you grow from a 2 ft- cutting, and about 5 years from a shorter cutting (like 10 inches).

Not true in my sub tropical climate. Mine fruited in just under 1-1/2 yrs from a few 6 -8 inch cuttings planted/started in December
Well we will see what i will get this year... i'm hoping to have  some fruit next year, but i will wait with all patience! ;D

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #449 on: February 15, 2014, 02:03:02 PM »
Thanks Harry and Mike T,

I'll probably just harvest them tomorrow do the insides don't get mushy. I believe there Mark may have the larger fruited variety as his fruit were quite wide in the middle and the stems also look slightly different than mine. I wish I kept the seeds of the Giant Yellow DF I ate in Hong Kong. The ones I ate in Hong Kong were almost too sweet, it was like eating spoonfulls of Agave nectar. From my memory, I actually prefer varieties like Halley's Comet, American Beauty and Simons purple. I like having the yellow because they ripen in a different season compared to the other DF varieties.
Simon
Simon, I picked my last one over a month ago, since we have the same weather, and my do get a bit larger I wonder if there are slight variations in Colombia also.
Bye the way I still have Voodoo Child and Houghton ripening. Also, all of the cuttings I got from you are rooted nice already.
I also noticed that the Lisa I received in 2011 at the Irvine Festival is a real slow grower.
Hey Mark, I'm glad the cuttings are rooting nicely for you. I just harvested my first two yellow dragons yesterday and they are really small. The larger one was only 7.75 Oz. These first two fruit are going to relatives that have never tasted the yellow before so I won't be able to provide a taste report until I harvest the next one. I would love a cutting of your Yellow Dragon and Lisa if you have any available.
Simon