Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 939958 times)

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #250 on: October 31, 2013, 01:11:36 AM »
They absolutely need more light.  When they don’t get enough light the stems get really thin and they grow extra long trying to reach the light (etiolated).  When they get that much shade they rarely bloom.  Those thin stems can’t hold much weight so either tie them really well to your trellis, which looks great by the way, or cut them back so they can re-grow some stout stems.  Look at the pictures below, that’s how thick they should be.  Those were grown under 30% shade cloth.




« Last Edit: October 31, 2013, 01:14:59 AM by Sven »

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #251 on: October 31, 2013, 06:21:50 AM »

bangkok

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #252 on: October 31, 2013, 06:34:45 AM »
Here in Thailand they are in full sun and huge. Also i read that they have to be at least 5 kg (10 lbs) to be able to fruit.

I also read some variety's don't need full sun but partially shade.

Yesterday i bought a red fleshed one and they taste better then a white fleshed one grown in Thailand.

Fruitguy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #253 on: October 31, 2013, 08:25:29 AM »
I also read some variety's don't need full sun but partially shade.

Location, location, location!  Just like in real estate, location is an important factor.  In the deserts of Israel (high light intensity, low humidity) dragonfruit must be grown under shadecloth.  If my memory hasn't totally failed me, most species did best under 30% shade with the exception of Selenicereus megalanthus which fruited best under 60% shade.  Here in South Florida, all of the Hylocereus species/varieties I have growing can handle full-sun in the summer (high light intensity, high humidity).  The only time of the year that I have problems is in October when the dry season starts to kick in and the nearly daily rain dries up to once a week or less, and I can start to get a little burn on some of them.  A little supplemental watering usually takes care of that.  My S. megalanthus is currently growing in a black sapote (think fairly heavy shade) and only the parts that find sun set fruit, albeit relatively small fruit (about 100 g.)


Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #254 on: October 31, 2013, 10:46:50 AM »

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #255 on: October 31, 2013, 10:50:40 AM »

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #256 on: October 31, 2013, 11:01:19 AM »

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #257 on: October 31, 2013, 11:37:56 AM »

Rtreid

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #258 on: October 31, 2013, 02:08:41 PM »
They absolutely need more light.  When they don’t get enough light the stems get really thin and they grow extra long trying to reach the light (etiolated).  When they get that much shade they rarely bloom.  Those thin stems can’t hold much weight so either tie them really well to your trellis, which looks great by the way, or cut them back so they can re-grow some stout stems.  Look at the pictures below, that’s how thick they should be.  Those were grown under 30% shade cloth.





Sven

Nice photos, are those plants being grown out to be planted someplace or will they be fruited in those containers?  I have a bunch of dragon fruit in 5 gallon pots and I was hoping to be able to get at least a few fruit from them next year (they are about the size of the plants in the photo

Richard

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #259 on: October 31, 2013, 02:12:43 PM »
At first, my Yellow Dragon didn't like intense sunlight while it was getting established, it grew much faster under artificial light but once it got established, it was growing really well in full sunlight. Under artificial light and growing in 50% shade, the YD was growing really long and the growth rate was pretty fast but the stems were very thin and round or cylindrical, the stems were not wide and flattened out.

Now that it is established and gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight, the stems are wide and strong. The Yellow Dragon and Frankie's Red are my two Dragonfruit that does not get sunburned at 95F+ heat in full sun. Here is a picture of the first fruits from my YD. It has Two larger fruit, one smaller fruit and four flower buds on it so far.
Simon




simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #260 on: October 31, 2013, 02:26:54 PM »
For getting my Dragonfruit to actually fruit, I do not give my plants much if any Nitrogen fertilizer once they are the size I want them to be at. I give them something like organic 0-10-10 about a month or two Before I expect them to initiate flowering. I also give them very little water several months before I expect them to flower. DF as with all my plants seem to respond extremely well to Seaweed/kelp extract.

How your DF plants are grown can also be a factor, I read somewhere and have definitely experienced that I get most my fruit from branches that are hanging down. I'm not sure if anyone else has experienced this also but I noticed that I got out of season blooms when I severely pruned my DF. I harvested most my DF 2-3 months ago and trimmed my plants back and shortly after that, the plants that I pruned flowered again. One of the vegetative stems actually turned into a flower, very odd.
Simon




Tim

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #261 on: October 31, 2013, 03:15:50 PM »
Simon - Jacob posted the odd behavior of his dragon fruit here as well

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=6705.0
Tim

thao

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #262 on: October 31, 2013, 03:38:29 PM »
Not DF , but my peach did the same thing too, after heavy pruning. Strange how nature works.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=7503.0

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #263 on: October 31, 2013, 03:50:02 PM »


Sven

Nice photos, are those plants being grown out to be planted someplace or will they be fruited in those containers?  I have a bunch of dragon fruit in 5 gallon pots and I was hoping to be able to get at least a few fruit from them next year (they are about the size of the plants in the photo

Richard
[/quote]

Thanks Richard,

Those are actually old pictures, maybe from 2002.  They were to be fruited in place there.  If yours are a similar size you should get some fruit next year.  I did the year after that photo.  Unfortunately I used those tall 5 gal pots with the bottoms cut out.  They made it hard to get the plants enough water and organic matter once they got larger and they did not root out the bottom as easily as I thought they would.  I would plant them directly in the ground and compost the hell out of them if I had to do it again.  Most of those plants are dead now, but I am heading up to show that property this afternoon and I will be digging up anything that is still alive.

Sven

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #264 on: November 01, 2013, 10:30:48 AM »
Yep, only two Joyce Greenlund plants still alive and I think I found one cutting of Punch (Paul's 3.5S) that still has some green on it, hoping it will root.

marklee

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #265 on: November 01, 2013, 01:35:33 PM »
At first, my Yellow Dragon didn't like intense sunlight while it was getting established, it grew much faster under artificial light but once it got established, it was growing really well in full sunlight. Under artificial light and growing in 50% shade, the YD was growing really long and the growth rate was pretty fast but the stems were very thin and round or cylindrical, the stems were not wide and flattened out.

Now that it is established and gets at least 8 hours of direct sunlight, the stems are wide and strong. The Yellow Dragon and Frankie's Red are my two Dragonfruit that does not get sunburned at 95F+ heat in full sun. Here is a picture of the first fruits from my YD. It has Two larger fruit, one smaller fruit and four flower buds on it so far.
Simon




Simon,

My YD is done,  had it's last flower over a month ago, I have some nice fruit, and they usually size up good. Where did you get your cuttings from? I got mine from seeds of a plant from England that made it's way to a friend in Vista and they get some large yellows. Trying to figure out if there are some different types of S. Megalanthus. I also just got a plant from Steve at Exotica that he says came from Trinidad, it looks like a Megalanthus, just need to wait for it to fruit in a few years.

marklee

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #266 on: November 01, 2013, 01:38:16 PM »
Does anyone have any knowledge of PI having what they labeled as "red megalanthus" and "Yellow Undatus"?. While visiting there in 2011 they had these. I don't know if they released them or where they got them. I'm wondering if the "Red Megalanthus" is "Frankie's Red".

simon_grow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #267 on: November 01, 2013, 02:05:39 PM »
Hey Mark, your reply got cut off. I tried the Yellow Undatus at the dragonfruit festival several years ago and from my recollection, it was nothing special and not very sweet. I'm not sure if the Red Megalanthus is Frankie's red but I have cuttings if you are interested.
Simon

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #268 on: November 03, 2013, 04:19:24 PM »

MarinFla

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #269 on: November 05, 2013, 12:54:06 PM »
I just harvested the last of the 24 Dragon Fruits my trellis produced over the last few months. I was very impressed how sweet they were with highest brix reading at 18.4 The largest one shown on the scale in the photo below weighed 1.21 lbs!!.  I'm going to measure the brix of that one when I cut into it and add a picture of the inside of it. Considering I started this Dragon fruit trellis on Jan 1st 2012 from small cuttings I am very happy with its shape and productivity!!



« Last Edit: November 05, 2013, 01:14:59 PM by MarinFla »

nullzero

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #270 on: November 05, 2013, 12:55:32 PM »
I just harvested the last of 24 Dragon Fruits my trellis produced over the last few months. I was very impressed how sweet they were with highest brix reading at 18.4 The largest one shown on the scale in the photo below.  I'm going to measure the brix of that one when I cut into it. And add a picture of the inside of it.


Congrats on the great harvest. What variety was it again? American Beauty?
Grow mainly fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #271 on: November 05, 2013, 12:58:23 PM »
I just harvested the last of 24 Dragon Fruits my trellis produced over the last few months. I was very impressed how sweet they were with highest brix reading at 18.4 The largest one shown on the scale in the photo below.  I'm going to measure the brix of that one when I cut into it. And add a picture of the inside of it.

Congratulations!!! They seams great... enjoy! By the way you eat them like that or you make any recipe?

MarinFla

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #272 on: November 05, 2013, 01:02:39 PM »
Nullzero I have Physical Graffiti and Haley's Comet

Luisport... I just eat them fresh like that. I like them a bit better when chilled but I will eat them fresh off the plant.

Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #273 on: November 05, 2013, 01:11:15 PM »
Nullzero I have Physical Graffiti and Haley's Comet

Luisport... I just eat them fresh like that. I like them a bit better when chilled but I will eat them fresh off the plant.
Thank's Marin, i never try one but i'm shure i will in near time!  :P

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #274 on: November 05, 2013, 01:49:35 PM »
Good job, your plant and fruits look great!