Sugar Dragon Fruit variety

[MangCau]

 http://youtu.be/_aC8nfnfXGU

[simon_grow]

Thanks Richard and Mangcau!

The fruit I picked up from WFs sure looks a lot like the fruit in the video. I did read the whole debate on the Yahoo forum regarding the confusion caused by the difference between the two variants out there. It appears the name Sugar Dragon was used to differentiate between the two variants.
Simon

[eNorm]

Rtreid is correct.  I couldn't really get the correct color off of my camera phone yesterday, even with outdoor sunlight.  It is more of a dark magenta in color.  Small but tasty.

[simon_grow]

I just wanted to update everyone that I ate another one of the WF's dragon fruit, the variety I believe to be S8 or the Sugar Dragon(totally guessing). It was extremely sweet and tasty and this time the Brix came out at 19%  This is a very good brix for a commercially available DF from the local supermarket.  Anyways, whatever this variety from WF's is, it is very good.  We need more fruit of this quality if we want more people to fall in love with DF. 

Simon

[Mark in Texas]

Just got these Sugar Pitaya cuttings in, will pot up soon.  Any comments on taste or culture is welcome.

Also, should I use a 7 or a 15 gal. PERMANENT bottomless RootBuilder pot?  They're going in the greenhouse.  Is the root system pretty extensive on pitaya?  I've had 2 plants in 5 gal. pots and they've done well.   Flowered but never fruited.

[ricshaw]

Just got these Sugar Pitaya cuttings in, will pot up soon.  Any comments on taste or culture is welcome.

Also, should I use a 7 or a 15 gal. PERMANENT bottomless RootBuilder pot?  They're going in the greenhouse.  Is the root system pretty extensive on pitaya?  I've had 2 plants in 5 gal. pots and they've done well.   Flowered but never fruited.

I think 7 gal. is okay, 15 gal. would be better. 

I would root the cuttings first before planting.

See How to Plant Pitahaya Cuttings  https://youtu.be/7GmuSTx7IHo

[beicadad]

How tall does the pot need to be? I heard they have shallow roots so wonder if it’s better to have wider but shorter pots

[ricshaw]

How tall does the pot need to be? I heard they have shallow roots so wonder if it’s better to have wider but shorter pots

I purchased some shorty pots for that reason.

Pictures compare them to standard 15 gal. nursery pot.

[FamilyJ]

When i Dug up a very established Dragonfruit, the roots where no deeper then 6 inchs but went as far as 6ft out

[Mark in Texas]

Short and wide it is.

[simon_grow]

I have mine in short and wide ~45 gallon fabric pots. I water 1-2 times a week when the vines are holding fruit. The short and wide pots also help prevent the plants from blowing over although you still need support.

Simon

[beicadad]

Thanks guys. Ric, your shorty one seems like the 10 gallon stout one at Walter Anderson. They are currently out of them.

[Mark in Texas]

Posted this in the Dragon Fruit thread.  Thoughts?

OK, now realize pitaya has very shallow roots that spread wide and far.  Here's my plan.  Thoughts are welcome.   Gonna take a long strip of 16" RootBuilder, cut it in half making it 8" tall.  Wrap and tie it into a large rectangle about 8' long X 18" wide squaring off the corners and place it against a greenhouse wall.  Backfill with a very sandy/vermiculite soil with some humus and LAY the cuttings down so that 1 side is just below the surface for rooting.  Done this with cacti, why not pitaya?   Should give me a lot of output along the cutting.  I can plant 3 different available varieties in this one long pot.

[ricshaw]

Posted this in the Dragon Fruit thread.  Thoughts?

Dragon Fruit are more like epiphyllums, not like desert cacti. I would use the same rooting techniques epiphyllum and Dragon Fruit grower use.

[spaugh]

I would take the shallow root thing with a grain of salt mark.  FamilyJ may have hard pack soil.  I have standard tall 15gal pots with DF in them and roots coming out the bottom.

[simon_grow]

Here’s a picture of my fabric DF pots that I’ve had for about 5 years or so. They are about 16 inches tall and about 30 inches across. The pot is completely filled with roots from top to bottom. I like the wide pots for stability but I also like them deep enough so that they can maintain a constant water level.

I’ve been growing DF for a long time now and one problem many people eventually encounter is the cracking of fruit from inconsistent watering, especially in high heat. The more volume of soil you have, the more consistent the water level. True you can simply have a very fast draining soil and water on a timer to keep water levels consistent but if you want ultra high Japanese quality fruit, you have to withhold watering a bit prior to fruit harvest in order to not water down your fruit.









Simon