Dragon fruit in upside down planter

[vnomonee]

Has anyone tried growing DF in one of these types of planters?

I have a 3 year old plant from mature cutting in a container but it never flowers. It just grows branches and they eventually break or get knocked over so it hasnt grown up the stake and over to hang which is what I've read induces flowering? I live in zone 7a so I have to bring the plant inside anyway so having it grow up and over a trellis is not ideal.

Could I in theory have a branch pointing down to encourage hormones down to the tip and induce flowering?

I will be experimenting with these and report results

[RodneyS]

Dragonfruit vines are very heavy.  I don't think that would work

[vnomonee]

Oh that's very true I didn't consider the weight... perhaps training it as a single long vine versus letting it branch out in multiples to keep the weight down would help

The bags will be hanging on two posts which are anchored to my deck so I could always tie down the vine along the post for added support. I have nothing to lose really other than time and some effort haha 

[vnomonee]

I would be happy with a flower or two, and perhaps a single fruit not really attempting this for production

I could propagate the vines for next season if it ends up getting too big to bring inside along with the potted plant I am taking vines from.

[vnomonee]

This gentleman in Australia grows his in a pot anchored to a stump, the vines don't seem too long but they are definitely flowering and holding fruit where they are hanging down

[Seanny]

All the first flowers on my vines are on tips of the uprights.

[W.]

This gentleman in Australia grows his in a pot anchored to a stump, the vines don't seem too long but they are definitely flowering and holding fruit where they are hanging down

I like Mark Valencia's channel Self Sufficient Me. After seeing how he grows his dragon fruit, I started training a few of mine to hang down as well. I believe it is a technique that would only work for someone with plenty of space or who is willing to prune it vigorously into a (rather) compact size. Dragon fruits get big; there is just no getting around that fact. They will climb up whole trees or sprawl over an entire fence line if given the opportunity.

[vnomonee]

I like watching his channel, also inspired me to grow passion fruit. I have to also pot those up because of my climate but I do have maypops in my yard which taste good when absolutely ripe.

You're in 7b? Have you had success with getting your dragon fruit vines to flower, is your season long enough? This spring has been pretty warm so my vines are already outside. I only bring them in if its raining while temps are in the 40s as I've learned from other succulent type of plants cold + water = rot   

[W.]

I am growing yellow dragon fruits from seed. They are not old enough yet to produce fruit, though they are probably only a year or two away. I have noticed that their growth rate has increased substantially over the past year or so. I have little doubt that I will be able to get some fruit from them when they reach maturity. My mother has had success over the years getting her cacti to flower by putting them outside during the summer. I will do some experimenting on different growing conditions to optimize blooming and fruiting for my dragon fruits when they get old enough.

[Tommyng]

I’ve grown them in pots, it’s no different than growing in a pot with a trellis. Just line the rim with something soft so it vines don’t get damaged. They do fruit faster. You can grow them like stag horns and suspend them if you want, just like the tomato plant, except right side up with chains and a strong base.

[vnomonee]

Everything is potted up, so the experiment is more or less in progress

Two upside down pots on posts: Should I prune the side branches and train as a single long vine?






and one pot with vine growing up a newly installed tomato cage: Should I just leave the one plant, the pot is around 5 gallons? 




I also have a 4th pot where the branches are just hanging over the rim like Tommyng mentioned.