Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 940703 times)

FV Fruit Freak

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3275 on: August 09, 2021, 06:21:29 PM »
Thanks K-Dogg! Also, your recommendation of the KoolBloom fertilizer was spot on, my vines are going off right now. I couldn’t find any with nitrogen in it so I’ve been giving it 0-10-10 and they’re loving it. Bunch of fruit set, flowers opening, and new buds popping everyday, looking like it’s gonna be a nice long season.

Nate

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3276 on: August 10, 2021, 02:00:56 PM »
Nice one! I'm glad you have so many flowers and your plant looks really happy. The sun has been punishing up here and mine are looking worse for wear, and battling massive ant infestations in the pots. I think they removed a lot of soil and killed roots or something cause my paddles are super deflated on a lot of them. I'll dose them with a teensy bit of chicken manure once the flower season is over to hopefully plump them up for winter... We shall see. I've had easily over 60 flowers already, maybe close to 100.

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3277 on: August 10, 2021, 04:56:50 PM »
if you guys want to use water soluables try jacks 20-20-20
Brad Spaugh

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3278 on: August 10, 2021, 06:45:10 PM »
if you guys want to use water soluables try jacks 20-20-20

I switched to bone meal and they're flowering like crazy now. Low effort. Not sure what's up with the dried out lookin paddles though

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3279 on: August 10, 2021, 06:59:04 PM »
Not enough water or roots for how much is above ground.  If its in a pot, put a tray under the pot and let it sit in an inch of water when its super hot. 
Brad Spaugh

swincher

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3280 on: August 11, 2021, 04:06:52 PM »
Is it ok to use painted wood for dragonfruit to climb, or is it best to use unpainted/untreated wood for the health of the plant? Basically, I'm curious whether it will absorb anything bad if I plant my seedlings next to the 2x4 framing of my greenhouse to let them climb up the inside of the north wall, but the wood is painted white. It wouldn't be too much effort to scrape/sand off the paint before planting, if that's advisable.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3281 on: August 11, 2021, 06:50:27 PM »
Not enough water or roots for how much is above ground.  If its in a pot, put a tray under the pot and let it sit in an inch of water when its super hot.

Yeah, I think that's the issue. They're in 25 gallon pots but just can't keep up with water anymore. I will probably have a ton of die-back with cold cause they're not plump at all and have zero protection of the main vein. Not sure if these yellowed paper thin paddles will ever come back to life. I'll just cut em all back next season if they don't. At least all this stress is making them flower and set like crazy. Have probably 40 fruit sets right now.

Gonna get some trays as well to hopefully avoid this next season.

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3282 on: August 11, 2021, 06:54:22 PM »
You could get them on a drip system that runs everyday.  Even a lot of my in ground stuff gets dried out, its just the dry heat we have in CA.  I try and water 2 or 3 times a week but if I had it automated it would be every 2 days for a quick squirt. 
Brad Spaugh

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3283 on: August 11, 2021, 06:59:05 PM »
You could get them on a drip system that runs everyday.  Even a lot of my in ground stuff gets dried out, its just the dry heat we have in CA.  I try and water 2 or 3 times a week but if I had it automated it would be every 2 days for a quick squirt.

I have been watering them daily. I did hold off for 2-3 days sometimes for fruit sets and just a day or two was enough to make them go all yellow and shrivel up. I think you're right - there's just too much plant above ground to sustain no matter how much water is in there. I think the roots actually died, and ants were definitely an issue too. I think they shifted soil around to make a next and killed roots. They weren't on the plant itself much, just some aphids here and there, but monster colonies would come out of the pots if I soaked them.

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3284 on: August 11, 2021, 07:15:20 PM »
Another problem is the organic matter in the potting mix eventually turns to dust and the rootsystem of a dragonfruit plant is like a fine sponge that just tuens into a dense mat that chokes itself out. 

Inorganics like sand, dg, volcanic rocks or expanded clays that dont break down and also have water holding capacity and breathability can help in the long run. 
Brad Spaugh

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3285 on: August 11, 2021, 08:01:58 PM »
Another problem is the organic matter in the potting mix eventually turns to dust and the rootsystem of a dragonfruit plant is like a fine sponge that just tuens into a dense mat that chokes itself out. 

Inorganics like sand, dg, volcanic rocks or expanded clays that dont break down and also have water holding capacity and breathability can help in the long run.

Will have to decide what to do. They are probably nearly 600lb now so it's a bitch to do anything with them. I could put them all in 45 gallon pots but then it's truly game over for ever moving them again other than with a pallet jack and flat deck with lift gate. Really wish I had ground to put them in...

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3286 on: August 14, 2021, 05:46:34 PM »
picked a big isis gold today


Brad Spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3287 on: August 14, 2021, 06:51:25 PM »
Pretty
Big seeds?

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3288 on: August 14, 2021, 08:53:29 PM »
Nice one Brad. I had my first good one of the year off that cosmic charlie you gave me a few years back. My Is-is is charging pretty hard but probably won't fruit this year.

Rannman

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3289 on: August 15, 2021, 04:02:37 AM »





Sugar Dragon keeping its early flowering reputation intact. Two weeks of winter left and out comes the first bud of the season👍

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3290 on: August 15, 2021, 04:38:12 PM »
the isis yellow tastes pretty decent for a white flesh.  it doesnt have a whole lot of flavor but also not real earthy, just clean and refreshing.  Its not as good as purples but for a white its good.


Brad Spaugh

Ivy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3291 on: August 17, 2021, 12:00:56 PM »
Hi all. I am a newbie to DF. I got a cutting 3 years ago of unknown variety and finally I got a first flower last night. I have to say  it is just gorgeous !  I think that unfortunately it is self-sterile. What do you think?
 


K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3292 on: August 17, 2021, 12:37:41 PM »
Hi all. I am a newbie to DF. I got a cutting 3 years ago of unknown variety and finally I got a first flower last night. I have to say  it is just gorgeous !  I think that unfortunately it is self-sterile. What do you think?
 


It's pretty much impossible to tell what it is without seeing a fruit set / fruit interior. Give a shot to pollinating it, you won't know till you try.

Ivy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3293 on: August 17, 2021, 03:40:06 PM »
Yes I hand pollinated it. I read somewhere that the self-fertile varieties have  male part of the flower  very close to the female part so the pollen will brush up against and dust the female part  however the flower I got has a stigma high up while the anthers are so much lower down. Is it possible to have it pollinated despite of it ? or the pollen is just sterile and hand pollination is not going to work?

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3294 on: August 18, 2021, 11:16:17 AM »
Yes I hand pollinated it. I read somewhere that the self-fertile varieties have  male part of the flower  very close to the female part so the pollen will brush up against and dust the female part  however the flower I got has a stigma high up while the anthers are so much lower down. Is it possible to have it pollinated despite of it ? or the pollen is just sterile and hand pollination is not going to work?

There is "self-pollinating" in that the stigma is very close to the anthers and it will probably brush up against enough anthers to set fruit with no human or animal interaction. I have had this with my S8 plant where I didn't touch the flower and it set fruit anyways.

There is "self-fertile" that, regardless of the structure of anther/stigma being close or far to each other, if you get pollen into the stigma, it will set fruit. If that happens by bees, bats, or by hand, it will set.

Then finally there is "self-infertile" where, regardless of if pollen enters the tube by hand or otherwise, it will not set a fruit and you need a different cultivar. If you have two self-infertile varieties and use one pollen on the other, it will set fruit, but I personally find I get way better fruit set using self fertile varieties of pollen. This may just be luck.

You won't know till you try, like I said.

K-Rimes

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3295 on: August 18, 2021, 11:24:22 AM »
Also one thing I've been doing this year (and seeing fantastic fruit set I think because of it) is that after I pollinate the stigma with my #2 paintbrush, I squish the stigma between my thumb and index finger lightly - this I think helps set the pollen where it needs to go and also it locks it in so that bees can't steal it in the morning. Saw an older fella in the Philippines do this on his farm, he actually collected pollen by hand and didn't even use a paintbrush and he was surrounded by fruit sets so figured there had to be something to it.

Brad, have you ever tried this?

pinkturtle

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3296 on: August 18, 2021, 01:40:58 PM »
Hi All,

I have issue getting Asunta 3 to set fruit.  I planted some Asunta 3 cuttings last summer, and they were flowering a lot and I hand pollinated them with unknown white variety, but none of them set any fruit.  They turned in yellow and dropped.  Any help or tips will be appreciate.



They look like yellow dragon fruit.  😄😄😄

Thanks,
Al
« Last Edit: August 18, 2021, 01:43:36 PM by pinkturtle »

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3297 on: August 18, 2021, 02:35:42 PM »
Also one thing I've been doing this year (and seeing fantastic fruit set I think because of it) is that after I pollinate the stigma with my #2 paintbrush, I squish the stigma between my thumb and index finger lightly - this I think helps set the pollen where it needs to go and also it locks it in so that bees can't steal it in the morning. Saw an older fella in the Philippines do this on his farm, he actually collected pollen by hand and didn't even use a paintbrush and he was surrounded by fruit sets so figured there had to be something to it.

Brad, have you ever tried this?

I just use a brush and try to get it right in the middle into the tube.  Seems to work, my plants are fully loaded.

The asunta 3 doesnt seem to set that well because the flower itself seems to have some issues with opening up.  But it will set fruit if you keep pollinating them.  You may need to help open the flower alsomor wait and do them in the morning.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2021, 03:07:38 PM by spaugh »
Brad Spaugh

pinkturtle

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3298 on: August 18, 2021, 03:28:59 PM »
Thanks Brad, I will keep on trying.  There are couple more flowers are not open yet, maybe next week.  I am collecting pollens and store them in Fridge now.

Ivy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #3299 on: August 19, 2021, 02:34:07 AM »
Yes I hand pollinated it. I read somewhere that the self-fertile varieties have  male part of the flower  very close to the female part so the pollen will brush up against and dust the female part  however the flower I got has a stigma high up while the anthers are so much lower down. Is it possible to have it pollinated despite of it ? or the pollen is just sterile and hand pollination is not going to work?

There is "self-pollinating" in that the stigma is very close to the anthers and it will probably brush up against enough anthers to set fruit with no human or animal interaction. I have had this with my S8 plant where I didn't touch the flower and it set fruit anyways.

There is "self-fertile" that, regardless of the structure of anther/stigma being close or far to each other, if you get pollen into the stigma, it will set fruit. If that happens by bees, bats, or by hand, it will set.

Then finally there is "self-infertile" where, regardless of if pollen enters the tube by hand or otherwise, it will not set a fruit and you need a different cultivar. If you have two self-infertile varieties and use one pollen on the other, it will set fruit, but I personally find I get way better fruit set using self fertile varieties of pollen. This may just be luck.

You won't know till you try, like I said.


Thank you K-Rimes for clarifying.  That is a good news. I will keep checking if that flower sets a fruit. There are more flowers to open on that DF. I will try your method to squish the stigma.