Natural Mystic Dragonfruit

[HMHausman]

I bought one of these from Pine Island Nursery last year.  It is in a pot with the small wooden support piece they sell their dragonfruit with. I really didn't pay any attention to it until the other day when I noticed a nice developing fruit. I kept an eagle on it as the area where this plant was sitting is in prime raccoon foraging locale. The fruit's exterior got nice and pink.  I wasn't sure if it was supposed to get darker than the nice pink color that it had developed.  I checked the PIN viewer and saw that pink is what it is supposed to be, so I picked it.  The fruit was about one pound. Got to taste it tonight.  Very appealing and had a mild sweetness and pleasant flavor to it.  It was much better than the whites that I have had, but it was not quite as good as American Beauty.  The good news, it set fruit totally on its own without any cross or hand pollination. Might have gone another day before being picked and perhaps that would have brought the BRIX up to a higher level.  Tough to really say with only one fruit to try.  Here it is:





Harry

[bradflorida]

What an appealing deep red flesh to the fruit.  Looks delicious. 

The second photo is excellent - professional quality.

Brad

[cbss_daviefl]

Harry, I was taking pictures of my first Natural Mystic, getting ready to post, when you posted this.  Mine was splitting at the top so picked it a little early.  Like yours, I think more time on the vine would have helped.  I enjoyed it, however, of the five types I have eaten so far it is tied with Purple haze for second place.  Tops still goes to Hailey's Comet.  Fourth Viet Red, fifth yellow (Selenicereus megalanthus).

It was still greenish pink on the outside when I picked it but I let it sit on the counter for a few days. 



Natural Mystic on the Left, Hailey's Comet on the right:

[DRFixembones]

I had no idea they were naming fruit after Bob Marley songs LOL

[fyliu]

I had no idea they were naming fruit after Bob Marley songs LOL

Many of PIN dragonfruits came from CA and used to be called S-1, S-2, S-3, S-4, S-5(Purple Haze) and so forth. It's much easier to have actual names for them although correlation with the original source is somewhat lost.

Brandon, I guess you don't like the sweeter fruits. Yellow and Viet Red(Am Beauty) are some of the sweetest. I too like Halley's Comet.

[Tim]

Why is American Beauty called Viet Red?  Or is it he other way around?

[fyliu]

oops. They may not actually be the same. I guess Viet Red could be any number of reds from Vietnam. From growth observations, the research station at Irvine thinks that Bien Hoa Red and American Beauty are the same.

[cbss_daviefl]

Harry, which varieties have you tasted this year and which was your favorite?  I just ate the only fruit growing on my Davie Bowie 3 gal potted.  It was beautiful from the top but when I turned it over it was split and a quarter was overrun by fire ants.  Parts were ripe and others not.  The ripe parts I would classify as good and semi-ripe OK.  It will be my new four place.

[HMHausman]

Harry, which varieties have you tasted this year and which was your favorite?  I just ate the only fruit growing on my Davie Bowie 3 gal potted.  It was beautiful from the top but when I turned it over it was split and a quarter was overrun by fire ants.  Parts were ripe and others not.  The ripe parts I would classify as good and semi-ripe OK.  It will be my new four place.

I have only had Physical Graffiti, Purple Haze, and Yellow this year so far.  I have David Bowie ( cutting that I received from OhioJay....thanks Jay) but it has not flowered yet....still kind of small. I put Purple Haze and Physical graffiti more or less on a par.  Yellow is just as sweet or even more sweet but it is so small fruited that its hard to really say that I got to taste it at all (literally two teaspoons of flesh in each fruit). I have many others that are interplanted in trees and I think may lack enough sunlight to flower and fruit.  They are certainly large enough to fruit. I have tried Dark Star in previous years and put it on the same par as the others mentioned above.  I have yet to try Hailey's Comet, Cosmic Charley, Voodoo Child, Zamorano, Thai Red, Giant Vietnamese, ones that I have received from Ethan here in the group (thanks Ethan) which he has labeled Roger M (Meyer), and Joan M, . I also have a selenicereus that supposedly has orange skin and pink flesh which I received from Eggo from the Garden Web Forum.  I have tasted and do grow the Vietnamese Jaina which is currently beginning a flowering cycle. The fruits are very large and white fleshed.  They produce more regualrly than any other variety I have (actually tied with the Yellow) but the fruits are less sweet than the non-whites.

Harry

[fyliu]

I have many others that are interplanted in trees and I think may lack enough sunlight to flower and fruit.  They are certainly large enough to fruit.

High Nitrogen vs Phoshorus could cause non-flowering too. If the vines are thinner than normal or too green, then there's not enough light.

Mine are still relatively small so I made sure all the vines have a little bit of yellow color so I know they have enough light.

[cbss_daviefl]

Two years ago, I went to Disney's Epcot and took the Behind the Seeds tour in the Land.  I was told by the guide that Dragonfruit may not flower until it has climbed as far up as it can go and has enough hanging branches pointing down.  I had a cast off piece of Hailey's Comet growing up the side of my house, about 20 feet, for two years and it never flowered. Does anyone know if this truely is a factor?

[HMHausman]

While it is true that dragonfruit will flower much more frequently from downward growing or hanging portions, it is not always the case.  I have had blooms form on relatively small stands of these and while still in the upright growing mode. To get any fruit of any decent size though, you do need some size to the stand of dragonfruit. This usually is when the plant grows as far up as it can and then starts to descend.  So its a plant maturity and size issue as much as it is a directional issue.....maybe even more of an issue than direction it is growing.

Harry

[fyliu]

Yeah, size determines maturity more than age does. A 1.5 year old seedling will fruit if it's big enough. But a 3 year old plant grown from mature cutting that's still 2 ft tall will not flower.

[cbss_daviefl]

Harry, I should have some Hailey's Comet in about two weeks, if you would like to try it.  I did a rough count today and I have about sixty on the way.

[fyliu]

Harry, I should have some Hailey's Comet in about two weeks, if you would like to try it.  I did a rough count today and I have about sixty on the way.

60, that's a heavy producer!

[cbss_daviefl]

I let this vine have it's way with a medium sized pandanus tree so it is pretty large.  Plenty of the flowers are too high for me to hand pollinate.  Based on some pictures of Harry's vines, Hailey's comet may produce less that others.

60, that's a heavy producer!

[HMHausman]

Harry, I should have some Hailey's Comet in about two weeks, if you would like to try it.  I did a rough count today and I have about sixty on the way.

Would very much appreciate a try on Haley's Comet.  Do let me know if any are available.  Thanks.

Harry

[fyliu]

Based on some pictures of Harry's vines, Hailey's comet may produce less that others.

I also like the one from Mexico called Valdivia Roja. It produces small fruits in abundance. I imagine the same weight of fruit of larger varieties divided into many smaller fruits. Very nice sweet flavor. Vines have a rough surface that develops a pale bluish covering kind of like a winter gourd. My plants of it are still only a couple ft tall at the moment:(

[WhitH]

My first home-grown dragon-fruit to produce is Natural Mystic. I only had one flower, and it pollinated itself with no help from me. I have not seen any other dragonfruit plants in the neighborhood.

I planted my Natural Mystic 3 years ago at the base of this cabbage palm, not realizing it wouldn't produce as well in semi-shade. Got it as a Pine Island Nursery 3-gallon trellised plant, purchased locally in Vero Beach. I paid half price ($15) because the local nursery (Everything Outdoors) was having a moving sale.



I picked the fruit today. It weighs 8 ounces and is roughly the size of a tennis ball. I stuck it in the fridge for a few hours to chill.

[WhitH]

Nice, mild sweet taste. I would have to say a definite improvement over the white fleshed ones I have purchased from stores. Reminiscent of kiwi, although softer and more watery, without much of a sour component. Goes down real easy. I want more! I recently put up two dragonfruit poles where they will be getting a fair bit more sun. I have Natural Mystic planted on one, and Physical Graffiti on the other. I also have some Halley's Comet cuttings to plant somewhere. Maybe I will throw up another 4x4 for the Halley's Comet.

[HMHausman]

Nice, Whit.  The flavor on these is certainly considerably less than over powering, but the color is so amazing that it provides a visual zing to the eating experience.  Eating something salty first helps enhance the eating experience.  Defnitely don't eat a mango before eating a dragonfruit.

Harry

[WhitH]

Good call on eating something salty first. However, even by itself I think I would enjoy eating 2 or 3 of these at a sitting. It's got that watery refreshing thing going for it, sort of like watermelon in that respect.  The color is outstanding. If thinly sliced, the pink flesh looks truly electric.

[Tim]

That would make a beautiful Dragontini