Quote from: SandyL on August 17, 2017, 10:45:02 PM

Quote from: SandyL on August 17, 2017, 01:30:47 PM

Quote from: Rannman on August 17, 2017, 05:50:51 AM

Quote from: SandyL on August 16, 2017, 02:11:57 PM

Does it take 30 days from bud to bloom and then another 30-35 days from bloom to ripened fruit ?

Approximately 14 days from bud to bloom, and then 30-35 days to fruit picking! A few varieties take longer to ripen but only a few.

Thanks! I was curious cause I finally have a bud that doesn't seem like t would turn back to a stem like my first flush of buds did. And it's been 6 days since I first noticed the bud and the growth seem to have slowed down these past few days so I was getting worried. I hope the growth is not stunted. Glad to know it take at least 14 days from bud to bloom. Thank you.

...hmmm... my bud grew a bit today. I guess I worried way too early. Probably the gloomy weather during the last few days may have slowed the growth a bit. Now that the sun is back out, it seems much happier now.

From my experience it takes about 30 days from first sighting of bud to full bloomed flower.  If the bud doesnt stick for whatever reason it usually turn yellow in the first couple of weeks. 

They also grow at snail pace if you stare at it often 

Quote from: Rannman on August 17, 2017, 05:50:51 AM

Quote from: SandyL on August 16, 2017, 02:11:57 PM

Does it take 30 days from bud to bloom and then another 30-35 days from bloom to ripened fruit ?

Approximately 14 days from bud to bloom, and then 30-35 days to fruit picking! A few varieties take longer to ripen but only a few.

Thanks! I was curious cause I finally have a bud that doesn't seem like t would turn back to a stem like my first flush of buds did. And it's been 6 days since I first noticed the bud and the growth seem to have slowed down these past few days so I was getting worried. I hope the growth is not stunted. Glad to know it take at least 14 days from bud to bloom. Thank you.

Quote from: SandyL on August 16, 2017, 02:11:57 PM

Does it take 30 days from bud to bloom and then another 30-35 days from bloom to ripened fruit ?

From what I know 35 days to 6 month to ripen the fruits.  I harvested my white varieties and S8 around 40 days.  Connie Mayer and Bruni fully ripe in 60 days but best harvest in 45.  Megalanthus take about six months to ripe.

Quote from: SandyL on August 10, 2017, 06:36:17 PM

Quote from: ricshaw on August 10, 2017, 05:25:32 PM

Quote from: SandyL on August 10, 2017, 03:45:28 PM

Anyone has tasted or grown Maria Rosa vareity? I can't find much info on it besides it being a somewhat pink flesh variety with slight lemon flavor and refreshing taste.

Never heard of it until I Googled it.

Was Spicy Exotics your source?
http://www.spicyexotics.com/product/maria-rosa/

They say; "This plant is also self-sterile making it a great choice for beginner gardeners or commercial growing." 

Yup, that's the source. I'm just wondering if it's worth growing compared to s8 when one is limited in space.
Hmmm... I think I'll have to sleep on this one.

If you are limited in space...  I bet most people would recommend S-8.

Quote from: SandyL on August 10, 2017, 03:45:28 PM

Anyone has tasted or grown Maria Rosa vareity? I can't find much info on it besides it being a somewhat pink flesh variety with slight lemon flavor and refreshing taste.

Never heard of it until I Googled it.

Was Spicy Exotics your source?
http://www.spicyexotics.com/product/maria-rosa/

They say; "This plant is also self-sterile making it a great choice for beginner gardeners or commercial growing." 

Quiet as it is kept, most annuals perform better in dappled sunlight (not shade) vs. full sun.  They were designed to grow as understory plants.  Hydroponics has detailed the photosaturation points of many plants and they vary and many are well below full sun light levels.  Photosaturation is when a plant stops photosynthesis due to too much light. 

Often people think plants wilt due to lacking water.  Often this isn't true.  It is photosaturation.  I have a pumpkin vine in part shade, part fun sun and at midday the shaded leaves are taut, the full sun ones wilted.  Water supply must be the same on a single vine.

Most annuals grown in full sun do not grow between 10am and 4pm because of this.  Permaculture design such as stacking, is one way to address this issue. 

Watermelon is at the range's high, growing well between 800-1500 micromoles and thus least susceptible to this issue.  But they will stop growing over 1500.  Full sun is 2000 micromoles.  Of course cloudy days drop light substantially and leaves below other leaves are partly shaded.

Your observation supports photosynthesis science.  Very few are aware of this.

If you think your 2 plants are an issue, consider an entire continent's mass farming designed this way.  Labour efficient (enables mechanical watering, spraying, picking etc.), natural resource inefficient. 

By the way, others observed annuals as among the least efficient and least ecosystem mature stage.  Mass farming annuals in isolation is ironically effort that keeps production low.  A tree will out produce an annual big time.  Annuals around the tree is even better...

Quote from: SandyL on August 02, 2017, 05:35:07 PM

When you say reduce watering, so you mean once a week near late spring even though the soil feels dry? I'm currently watering every other day and I've had 2 buds for the very first time but it has reverted back to stems. And I'm trying to improve flowering for next year.

I live in Southern California and do not water every other day!

Sure, and welcome!

In my experience, small fruit like that is a lack of water issue, but that could of course depend on a lot of variables so I couldn't say for sure in your case. Healthy leaves improve fruit, but only up to a point. Sometimes when a plant gets a lot of the nutrients it needs to grow leaves, like when people fertilize with nitrogen or the soil is naturally really rich in certain minerals but not others, the plant might focus all its energy on leaf production and make less, or smaller, fruit. Overall though, if the plant is healthy and getting its basic needs met and you're not adding anything supplementary, I wouldn't worry about that. The main issue is to be sure it gets enough sun to flower, that's it. After that it's often an issue of finding the sweet spot between too little water and too much, and being sure there is good drainage for the roots. For me, especially because I live in an area of terrible almost non-existent soil (and frequent saltwater flooding), container growing can make all that easier.

Leaves in part shade tend to get larger than non shaded ones too.  Even on the same plant.  The lower leaves on many of my trees are MUCH larger than the ones in full sun at the top of the tree.

If they get the same amount of water and the soil is the same in both locations, the one in full sun probably is drier due to more evaporation/heat. It's also possible that one has more open wind, and if so that would further contribute to drying.

In my experience of growing watermelons, they didn't need full sun all day to fruit. Mine were happy enough growing in containers, even indoors (it was an experiment), with maybe 4 hours of intense direct sun a day, and lots of bright light the rest of the day. They need a lot of water. I ultimately realized they were not practical for my area, which gets too hot, and is the driest county in FL. Since you live in CA, you might find that heavy mulching and growing in partial shade will give the results you want, without the extra water needed by growing in full sun.

It's just a guess - maybe there's another cause. But it's a guess that makes perfect sense to me as a possibility. They don't have enough time to grow deep roots like trees do to keep their water intake more even.

Quote from: SandyL on July 13, 2017, 02:40:59 PM

Quote from: fyliu on July 13, 2017, 02:21:51 PM

looks like a stem from the base of it.

Only thing you can do is don't apply any nitrogen fertilizer if you fertilize.

I did apply chicken manure and some bone meal at the end of June. I wonder if that was the cause. What is a good fertilizer you would recommend ?

When it comes to fertilizer and Dragon Fruit...  IMO less is more.