Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 940087 times)

DFfarmer

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3375 on: September 21, 2022, 01:40:00 PM »
Wondering if Delight and Delight 3-S are the same? It looks like they're hybrid plants crossed from the same parent plant. I've come across several websites saying they're likely the same (pic attached), however the site I bought my 3-S from says it's self sterile and every other Delight I've found is self fertile. I'm trying to only keep self fertile varieties, so I'm very curious if this one will need cross pollination or not. It's from Wallace Ranch farm.
From what I have read the original "Delight" was self sterile. I would trust Wallace Ranch, Neva and Julio work hard to know what they are doing. Julio has many years of experience to back that up. The "Delight" plants that I have all seem to be self sterile but I have so many so close together that it would be difficult to be sure. I pollinate everything. There is another called "Maria Rosa" that is similar, but I don't believe that one is self fertile either.

bryan

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3376 on: September 23, 2022, 09:04:19 PM »
Great topic nullzero!  I'm currently growing Halley's Comet, American Beauty, Vietnamese White, Yellow DF, Frankies Red and something I call Simon's Red.  The Vietnamese White is the easiest to grow and fruit for me. I have the most difficult time growing the Yellow DF outdoors but the easiest time growing it indoors under T5 lighting.  My yellow DF grew 3 branches, each that grew about 2 feet in about a month and a half in the winter indoors. 

I just took cuttings from each plant and I'm going to start new with a planned out set up.  Previously, I just stuck them in a pot and let them climb everywhere.  They grew and fruited well this way but it was sloppy looking.  This time, I'm going to try growing them in smart pots and grow them as a DF tree like they do in Vietnam. 

I grow my DF in full sun but they do get burned in the summertime.  This summer, I may throw some shade cloth over them during the hottest part of the summer. 
Simon

Simon,
What do you suppose is the reason that the yellow DF is more difficult to grow? I have a yellow DF branch, I stuck it into the ground next to the others, it just withered and died, while the others grew normally. Why does it grow better indoor? Humidity?

I start all of my cuttings on the porch, indirect light only. Once they start to grow, I slowly introduce them to full sun. I also let them grow a few feet before putting them in their permanent spot. This way the 1 vertical branch does not get shaded at all and is strong and healthy so when I tip it, it branches better.

bryan

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3377 on: September 23, 2022, 09:09:59 PM »
i grow few yellow dragon fruit from seeds ,,, will they bear true to type ,,

Very much doubt it, from my experience, yellow dragon fruit seedlings produce decent quality fruit.
Mine were sweet but a little smaller than a selected variety.
That is a bit strange as Physical Graffiti and Purple haze are two that I don't put in my greenhouse and they do pretty well with just a sheet during the freezes. Yes American Beauty should also be more resistant to cold stress, but still needs some protection.
Here a chart with some info. https://ucanr.edu/sites/VCMG/files/243725.pdf

Darby

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3378 on: October 31, 2022, 09:08:21 PM »
Thought I would throw in my DFW Texas dragon fruit experiences. Been growing them for 6 years in pots. People ask about taste and I will share what I have experienced but keep in mind your weather may be different and may not ripen like mine. My weather is HOT. 95 at least all summer, this summer reaching  110 on a day or two. More on weather below. I grow mine in pots and have more than one in a given pot. This affects fruiting, more on that below.

Purple Haze: Very sweet, tastes almost exactly like grape soda. Not grapes, grape soda. Flowers and fruits well.
Physical Grafitti: Less sweet than Purple Haze but also grape soda. Flowers and fruits less well.
S8/Sugar Dragon/Voodoo Child (all the same): Very sweet tastes like raspberries. Flowers and fruits the most of any I have, but fruits are smaller in size. Given how much it fruits, worth it.
Yellow dragon (Selenocereus): Very sweet but otherwise bit bland flavor wise, also takes many months for fruit to ripen compared to about 30 days for the others listed here.
Valdivia Rojas: Lightly sweet cherry like taste. Doesn't grow fast, but flowers early, but those flowers are reluctant to set.
Sin Espinas: Lightly sweet cherry like taste. Newer one for me, so far not flowering and setting well.
Lisa: Very sweet, tastes like a combination of raspberries and strawberries. Best way to describe the taste is think of a tarter flavored strawberry, mix raspberry in and that is the flavor. Fantastic. Seems to flower well, can't comment on setting as it is too new.
Viet Giant: White fleshed, so not nearly so sweet, but better than grocery store dragon fruit which are not sweet at all. So very lightly sweet otherwise bland white flavor. Flowers well.
Dark Star: Getting my first fruit in the next day or so. But flowers a lot, but does not want to set fruit. This is my first in 6 years.

Here are the ones I have not been able to get to fruit although they all flowered. I strongly suspect have more than one dragon in the pot is the cause but can't be sure.
Halley's Comet: Flowers enough, never set fruit in 6 years.
American Beauty: Flowers some, never set fruit in 6 years.

Weather, watering, flowering and fruiting: I keep my DF in my garage over winter due to freezing, I minimally water leaving them dry. In the spring I water a fair amount keeping the soil constantly moist (but not soaked!). This induces a lot of flowering. If I keep them dryer through the summer they will not flower, flower less, or flower and not set fruit. They need moist soil to flower

Sun: We have brutally hot sun here and I thought it was causing yellowing in S8, Dark Star, Yellow, Viet Giant. So I used shade cloth this summer. It was not the sun, it was the heat. We were 100 degrees all summer reaching as high as 110 for a day or two. This caused the yellowing, the shade cloth did not help. Once it cooled they greened back up. I find that 100 degrees is not great for optimum flowering and fruit set. I got fruit in the spring and fall as temps lowered, nothing set in the summer heat. 90's they will set fruit in, gets to 100 and they stop setting but may flower. You let them dry out they won't fruit for sure but will survive happily.

Mentioned the potting issue above. I believe crowding is keeping the Hally's Comet and American Beauty from flowering. Pollination is not an issue, I have pollen frozen and know the genetics, do it by hand for all of them. These two would not fruit. The others seem to fruit less in a crowded pot, but will still fruit. So I can have 3 dragons in one pot and get say 3 fruit, maybe one from each. Quite likely if I had each in their own pot I would get 3 fruit from one vine each. I know, re-pot. That hasn't been my strategy, I wanted to taste them first, then cull. Halley's Comet and American Beauty have been culled. Waiting on Dark Star taste to decide on that one, though that one is less crowded, but has been hard to get to set. If it tastes meh I will cull it, really good, keep it. Physical Grafitti I am going to cull since it is just a less sweet Purple Haze (they came from the same cross). Purple Haze flowers more, tastes better. Valdivia Roja flowers well but does not set well BUT it is very good in 100 degrees, but a slow slow grower. Keeping for now, see if I can get a sweeter fruit, it is good, not great. Sin Espinas, keeping for now, see if I can get sweeter, if not, going to cull it. Some do better in 100 degrees than others. Some that can take the heat: Valdivia Rojas, Sin Espinas, Lisa, and a little less is purple haze. Things that yellow in 100 degree heat (but do not die, they green back up in the fall): Yellow, Physical Graffiti, Viet Giant, Dark Star, Halley's Comet. These plant grow ideally at 85 degrees, can handle 95 degrees, doesn't like 100+. But note there are differences as noted. But even ones that don't yellow in 100 degrees don't seem to want to set fruit for me. Here in Texas they do best in the spring and late sumer/fall when the temps are more like....85 degrees.

I strongly recommend any new Dragon Fruiters look up the genetics and growing properties done by I think U. of Cal. Genetics indicate a lot of what people are selling are the same thing under different names, or very closely related. If starting get stuff that has good ratings and is more distantly related. A lot of things they used to think were self fertile were not, like Purple Haze, Physical Grafitti and others. Recent research as proven otherwise. And genetics again folks, if you are buying the same self infertile plant that has just been given different names, you are not going to get fruit, because it is the same plant. Closely related plants like Purple Haze, Physical Grafitti, Delight, and Halley's Comet are very closely related and may not cross pollinate (don't in my experience).  American Beauty and Bien Hoa Red, same plant different names. S8/Sugar Dragon/ Voodoo Child likely the same plant, although some claim slight differences in SD/VC, but probably not based on their history. Lisa, Rosa, Oregona, and Cebra are closely related, unclear if they will cross. Bien Hoa White, Viet Giant, Seoul Kitichen and Mexicana, all closely related. Yellow (Selenocereus) and Columbiana, same plant. Valivia Rojas and El Grullo, closely related. Given the genetic grouping if you want to maximize your chances of cross pollination, keep in mind these groupings. These closely related ones may cross pollinate, but then again may not.

Note this is my growing experience in Texas DFW area. That is why I am posting this. If you live in N. Cal or Fl. your growing experience may differ due to lower temps etc. The ones that are sweet for me here are not guaranteed to be sweet in N. Cal with milder temps (but chances are they will be similar). Also note this is all in pots, too cold for in the ground here, so in ground growth quite likely results in more fruit setting due to root space. Hope all this helps.

Timbogrow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3379 on: November 01, 2022, 07:50:51 AM »
Wow what an awesome report! Thanks for that! I really hope my halleys comment in the ground will give some fruit. It's the most vigorous cultivar I have planted among the 6 in ground posts. Turns out my Vietnamese white was a deep red inside lol.
I just got a few pink panther cuttings and they have rooted. Will be making my new style post in a plastic whiskey barrel from a Big box store for those as well..




Pneuma

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3380 on: February 24, 2023, 01:02:54 PM »
Love the post in this thread thanks for sharing your experiences.
I am on year 2 with my dragons I got my 1st 2 from a plant friend she older and just calls them Red and White variety they were a gift these 2 stay outside and so far have been getting though 2 winters with little damage.  I put these in a 25 gal pot with cedar for support and started learning some more.
I took a trip down to SoCal to see some family and friends one of my buddies who is really into plants had a Physically graffiti going in his back yard for 6-7 years in the ground  I was in awe was perfect timing he had fruit in the fridge ready to eat and some flowers in bloom even before I tasted it I knew I had to try and grow these.  I then tried it and its hard to put into words how inspired I was after trying( I had dreams about it haha) once I got home I ordered from CalPoly Condor, AX, physically graffiti and San Ignacio.  I put 4 small plants of each in 25gal pots with cedar supports.  I would have made the support shorter 4ft are under just for ease of working on and moving next time.  I keep mine on pallets so I can move in and out of my garage during winter months.  I used a organic Peat/coco blend with lots of lava rock for drainage so far so good.  Ill be feeding compost teas and Organics Alive supplements for nutrient's come spring.   

Red and White no names outside year around so far.


Condor, AX, Phy Graffiti, San Ignacio


much love and respect to you all
"Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.'
-Luther Burbank

John B

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3381 on: May 30, 2023, 01:09:33 PM »
I was excited to see a lot of blooms early this year....then May gray hit hard here in San Diego. Very cool weather for the past couple of weeks. About 30% of the blooms are dying because the lack of heat/sun. For anyone that is within 10 miles of the coast in Socal, are you experiencing the same?






Timbogrow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3382 on: May 30, 2023, 03:13:06 PM »
Just seeing this post bumped to the top and figured I would update on the growth of the new containerized D.F. trellis I had made 6 or so months ago. It's easy to say they will fill out faster than the ones in ground, much much faster. The blue pot I wanted to make look like arc of the covenant, Indiana Jones style 😆.
Also, the in-ground posta, I finally have 2 fruit set and swelling on the haleys comet without hand pollinating. Now 4/6 in ground trellises are flowering! 🎆 🎇 good luck out there and happy growing.




SDPirate

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3383 on: May 30, 2023, 07:31:59 PM »
I was excited to see a lot of blooms early this year....then May gray hit hard here in San Diego. Very cool weather for the past couple of weeks. About 30% of the blooms are dying because the lack of heat/sun. For anyone that is within 10 miles of the coast in Socal, are you experiencing the same?






Yes I'm up on the coast, same area.  My largest set out a 1st bud ever but aborted probably because of the cool grey weather all month.  I see a couple more buds popping up so I am hoping the sun gets out enough to make those hold.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3384 on: May 30, 2023, 08:56:45 PM »
I dosed all my plants with chicken manure and then a bunch of vigoro slow release and they are blasting off like crazy and have just one lone flower bud. It's ok, I really need to rebuild my canopy after losing around 30% of it to snow this winter. I will hit them hard with strong flowering nutrient after they put on some weight again.

John B

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3385 on: May 31, 2023, 01:23:35 AM »
Yes I'm up on the coast, same area.  My largest set out a 1st bud ever but aborted probably because of the cool grey weather all month.  I see a couple more buds popping up so I am hoping the sun gets out enough to make those hold.
Thanks. Yeah, we usually get afternoon sun this time of year but it was still 65 and cloudy all day today! I'll need to add some more fertilizer once it heats up again.
I dosed all my plants with chicken manure and then a bunch of vigoro slow release and they are blasting off like crazy and have just one lone flower bud. It's ok, I really need to rebuild my canopy after losing around 30% of it to snow this winter. I will hit them hard with strong flowering nutrient after they put on some weight again.

I really should have added more manure this year after the large hack they took last year, essentially killing about 40% of the vines. Instead, I doubled up on Dr. Earth Bud and bloom since it contains a bit of nitrogen.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3386 on: May 31, 2023, 09:36:24 AM »
Quote
Instead, I doubled up on Dr. Earth Bud and bloom since it contains a bit of nitrogen.

I kind of go wacko with fertilizer for DF as they're pretty much impossible to burn. Last year there was so much slow release in some pots you couldn't see soil anymore. The chicken manure seems to do really positive things overall so I start the season with that and then move onto synthetics. Once it's warm, I'll switch to KoolBloom which is 2-45-28 and I'll use about 1tbsp per gallon and water that in from watering cans. There's not much point in throwing P at them till it's consistently hot, but they seem to grow vegetatively nicely when cooler and have lots of food.

Quote
essentially killing about 40% of the vines


Was this due to our cold and rainy winter? Or you just hacked them back for space / weight concerns?

I have a Cosmic Charlie that must be nearing 1000lb on the trellis and I know it's going to break it one day.

John B

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3387 on: May 31, 2023, 01:59:36 PM »
Quote
Instead, I doubled up on Dr. Earth Bud and bloom since it contains a bit of nitrogen.

I kind of go wacko with fertilizer for DF as they're pretty much impossible to burn. Last year there was so much slow release in some pots you couldn't see soil anymore. The chicken manure seems to do really positive things overall so I start the season with that and then move onto synthetics. Once it's warm, I'll switch to KoolBloom which is 2-45-28 and I'll use about 1tbsp per gallon and water that in from watering cans. There's not much point in throwing P at them till it's consistently hot, but they seem to grow vegetatively nicely when cooler and have lots of food.

Quote
essentially killing about 40% of the vines


Was this due to our cold and rainy winter? Or you just hacked them back for space / weight concerns?

I have a Cosmic Charlie that must be nearing 1000lb on the trellis and I know it's going to break it one day.
Yes, my pattern is similar. I still have a bunch of hydro nutes I use starting around July.

Plants were destroyed last year after my neighbor used a tree trimming company to tidy up his palm trees. Bunch of massive seed pods fell all over them. Funny thing is, he had to cut them down a few months later because the palm trees were infested with beetles. Of course, the tree company told him after they trimmed the trees.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3388 on: June 10, 2023, 12:36:21 PM »



Had to reinforce this stand. It was about to collapse!

Timbogrow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3389 on: June 11, 2023, 10:03:56 AM »



Had to reinforce this stand. It was about to collapse!
That's a beast of a pitaya k-rimes! Hope you get rewarded heavily this season.

kDub2020

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3390 on: June 13, 2023, 03:52:37 PM »
I am new to growing dragon fruit and the forum.  I grew a plant from seed last year - so this is year two.  Three or four months ago I went from a one gallon pot to a long term home and my plant seemed to love the change and grew faster than expected.  He is 6” from the top so I need to build the trellis so he can hang down.  The challenge is the base of the plant is still very small and the top of the plant is thicker but not like ones I have seen on-line.  Once it drops upside down will it keep grown this fast?

Also, should I cut off the second growth to give the main plant more energy?





« Last Edit: June 13, 2023, 04:00:08 PM by kDub2020 »

RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3391 on: June 14, 2023, 02:00:23 PM »
I am new to growing dragon fruit and the forum.  I grew a plant from seed last year - so this is year two.  Three or four months ago I went from a one gallon pot to a long term home and my plant seemed to love the change and grew faster than expected.  He is 6” from the top so I need to build the trellis so he can hang down.  The challenge is the base of the plant is still very small and the top of the plant is thicker but not like ones I have seen on-line.  Once it drops upside down will it keep grown this fast?

Also, should I cut off the second growth to give the main plant more energy?





First thing i would do is rotate/turn the pot 90 degrees clockwise so your stem is fully facing the window. Skinny stems on my plants tend to be caused by a lack of sunlight, which your plant seems to be finally compensating for in the thickening new growth. I know it makes it less fun to look at, but think of it as any other young life; until its ready to be out in the world, you have to give it what it needs, not what you want it to have. As for that second stem, I'd personally leave it for now. Its not taking up enough energy to really bother the main stem, and if something goes wrong, until its size becomes a real issue, you have a backup. Also, if it matures enough, you can use that as a cutting to create a second plant in the future.
Btw, the skinny part of the plant will probably always remain "skinny", meaning that the fleshy green pulp around the interior branch will probably not plump out to size to match the rest of the stalk. But, thats not really important. The core inside the stem is the important part, and it grows and expands independent of the flesh surrounding it. I have some older plants that have trunk stems as big around as soda cans, with no flesh left at all, just woody core, and some that started as normal looking plant material and still look the same 6 years later. As long as its disease free and green, you have little to worry about.

Timbogrow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3392 on: June 15, 2023, 07:18:22 AM »




Our first fruits from Haleys comet! I didn't know what to expect but it was a real nice flavored fruit. I think it tasted like a sweet sweet strawberry but better texture and flavor. That definitely made it harder to have a favorite fruit.

Fygee

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3393 on: June 15, 2023, 05:10:52 PM »
Any folks here with experience growing these in a desert climate?

I know that it can be done here in Vegas and AZ as there are some growers that have had proven success, but I personally haven't put much in the way of effort to try yet.
Continuing my journey to disprove those who say "You can't grow that in the desert" since 2013.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3394 on: July 20, 2023, 01:43:21 PM »
My season is just getting started here, and it's off with a bang. Never seen any of my DF perform like that Asunta is with a bud on every node, a shame the fruit is not that great... But it'll be pretty with the purple flowers.

Cosmic charlie, Purple Haze, and Dark Star are also all firing up.

This year is my first year with bees on the property and I don't really know how I will manage to pollinate with them "robbing" the pollen. My concern is that they'll be fully loaded off one flower and not cross-pollinate the self sterile varieties.








« Last Edit: July 20, 2023, 01:45:24 PM by K-Rimes »

sc4001992

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3395 on: July 20, 2023, 02:19:00 PM »
Kevin don't say that about Atsuna, my plant has lots of flower starting now as well. I have never tasted a fruit yet, but I was hoping it tasted good. I have the Atsuna 3, is that what you tasted?

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3396 on: July 20, 2023, 02:25:16 PM »
Kevin don't say that about Atsuna, my plant has lots of flower starting now as well. I have never tasted a fruit yet, but I was hoping it tasted good. I have the Atsuna 3, is that what you tasted?

I am not sure which Asunta # I have, it's either 2 or 3 though. The purple flower varieties I have are not that great. I have tried fruit from AX (ass), and Asunta so far.

John B

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3397 on: July 20, 2023, 04:12:13 PM »
My season is just getting started here, and it's off with a bang. Never seen any of my DF perform like that Asunta is with a bud on every node, a shame the fruit is not that great... But it'll be pretty with the purple flowers.

Cosmic charlie, Purple Haze, and Dark Star are also all firing up.

This year is my first year with bees on the property and I don't really know how I will manage to pollinate with them "robbing" the pollen. My concern is that they'll be fully loaded off one flower and not cross-pollinate the self sterile varieties.









Looking great. In regards to the cross pollination, you could lightly tie the tip of a few flowers with a rubber band so the bees can't get to the pollen. I used to use my daughter's hair bands to do this. At night, I would take it off and save some pollen...usually from the S8. Now I let nature take its course. Black star and purple Haze have taken a hit with fruit set. I'll likely just graft everything over to S8 since fruit set is so consistent and I'm lazy.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3398 on: July 20, 2023, 04:19:23 PM »
Quote
I'll likely just graft everything over to S8 since fruit set is so consistent and I'm lazy

The more I work with dragonfruit, the more I think this is the only way to go about it. I'm several years in to DF and S8 is just way too easy. I love all the types, but despise staying up late and hand pollinating.

Timbogrow

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3399 on: July 20, 2023, 04:59:01 PM »
When I got this cutting the guy said it was Susan red. I didn't do research on the cultivar for some time and now can not find any info about it. It's got 16 fruits on there and about to flower again. It set a fruit last year on its own but I go ahead and hand cross pollinate them. It only takes 5 minutes to go do the deed.