Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 940700 times)

Rannman

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2575 on: April 20, 2018, 05:19:48 AM »
I did try it. Was slightly underwhelming but given the plant is quite small and it has been struggling due to the very dry weather, it was ok. Hopefully next season will be more productive. The fruit was only the size of a chickens egg but I was just pleased that it was a pink fleshed Megalanthus variety!


SandyL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2576 on: April 22, 2018, 07:02:45 PM »
I did try it. Was slightly underwhelming but given the plant is quite small and it has been struggling due to the very dry weather, it was ok. Hopefully next season will be more productive. The fruit was only the size of a chickens egg but I was just pleased that it was a pink fleshed Megalanthus variety!



Yeah, hopefully next year plant will be healthier thus hopefully produces better tasting fruit.   😁

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2577 on: May 01, 2018, 02:32:37 PM »
Hi

I am new to the forums and have been reading this thread, wow! Some of the plants on here looks amazing. I live in southern Spain and hope to get some success with these in smaller pots. I grabbed some seeds this December from a red with white flesh (name?) dragon fruit, they germinated and was up out of the ground around 20th of December. 

I have been growing them under artificial light for about 4 months now and they are about 4 - 6 inches in size. I recently transplanted them in a 3 gal pots (4ish, in 4 pots) around a wooden pole; secured from beneath the pot. 3 of those are now sitting outside receiving about 7 hours of sunlight, it will be around 10hs by June.  It is really cool to see them develop so rapidly.

Has anyone else had experiences growing dragon fruit from seed and how long it took for them to flower? :)

Picture of the progress (1 pot with the best looking ones are still kept inside):

« Last Edit: May 01, 2018, 05:15:58 PM by DragonCrush »

FamilyJ

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2578 on: May 02, 2018, 07:02:42 AM »
Hi

I am new to the forums and have been reading this thread, wow! Some of the plants on here looks amazing. I live in southern Spain and hope to get some success with these in smaller pots. I grabbed some seeds this December from a red with white flesh (name?) dragon fruit, they germinated and was up out of the ground around 20th of December. 

I have been growing them under artificial light for about 4 months now and they are about 4 - 6 inches in size. I recently transplanted them in a 3 gal pots (4ish, in 4 pots) around a wooden pole; secured from beneath the pot. 3 of those are now sitting outside receiving about 7 hours of sunlight, it will be around 10hs by June.  It is really cool to see them develop so rapidly.

Has anyone else had experiences growing dragon fruit from seed and how long it took for them to flower? :)

Picture of the progress (1 pot with the best looking ones are still kept inside):



Seed can be 4+years to give fruit

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2579 on: May 02, 2018, 11:47:47 AM »
Hi

I am new to the forums and have been reading this thread, wow! Some of the plants on here looks amazing. I live in southern Spain and hope to get some success with these in smaller pots. I grabbed some seeds this December from a red with white flesh (name?) dragon fruit, they germinated and was up out of the ground around 20th of December. 

I have been growing them under artificial light for about 4 months now and they are about 4 - 6 inches in size. I recently transplanted them in a 3 gal pots (4ish, in 4 pots) around a wooden pole; secured from beneath the pot. 3 of those are now sitting outside receiving about 7 hours of sunlight, it will be around 10hs by June.  It is really cool to see them develop so rapidly.

Has anyone else had experiences growing dragon fruit from seed and how long it took for them to flower? :)

Picture of the progress (1 pot with the best looking ones are still kept inside):



Seed can be 4+years to give fruit

Thanks for the info! I'm hoping it will be faster as I will be growing them inside during the winter under powerful LED lights in a controlled environment. We will see, with your comment in-mind I then take it I should consider myself lucky if I manage to get anything sooner than that?  :)

Do you know if they would flower well in smaller pots, like the 3gal I got them in now?

Thanks for you comment!

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2580 on: May 02, 2018, 12:07:57 PM »

Thanks for the info! I'm hoping it will be faster as I will be growing them inside during the winter under powerful LED lights in a controlled environment. We will see, with your comment in-mind I then take it I should consider myself lucky if I manage to get anything sooner than that?  :)

Do you know if they would flower well in smaller pots, like the 3gal I got them in now?

Thanks for you comment!

In that case... I would estimate it will take 5+ years to get fruit.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2018, 12:10:16 PM by ricshaw »

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2581 on: May 02, 2018, 01:12:23 PM »

Thanks for the info! I'm hoping it will be faster as I will be growing them inside during the winter under powerful LED lights in a controlled environment. We will see, with your comment in-mind I then take it I should consider myself lucky if I manage to get anything sooner than that?  :)

Do you know if they would flower well in smaller pots, like the 3gal I got them in now?

Thanks for you comment!

In that case... I would estimate it will take 5+ years to get fruit.

Ok! Worst case I could always replant them when they get bigger. :)

Thanks for your input.

Regards,
« Last Edit: May 02, 2018, 02:57:08 PM by DragonCrush »

Jct

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2582 on: May 02, 2018, 03:05:36 PM »

Ok! Worst case I could always replant them when they get bigger. :)

Thanks for your input.

Regards,
They can be somewhat fragile when they get bigger, it's easy to break them up on accident.  I would repot before they get more than 2' (~.6m) long.  I had one about 3-4 feet high and snapped it off at the middle, but at least I then had two dragon fruits...
Also, your central pole looks a little weak, the plants can get heavy when they get big enough to fruit prolifically.  When you up-pot them, I'd get a sturdier pole and something for them to hang over. This megathread has a lot of good examples in it.
LaVerne Manila Mango; Pixie Crunch, Honeycrisp & Gala Apple Trees; Violette De Bordeaux & Black Mission Fig; Santa Rosa Plum & Snow Queen Nectarine; Nagami Kumquat, Pixie Tangerine, Lemon, Australian Finger Lime & Washington Navel Citrus; White & Red Dragon Fruit; Miracle Berry Plant

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2583 on: May 04, 2018, 03:33:11 AM »

Ok! Worst case I could always replant them when they get bigger. :)

Thanks for your input.

Regards,
They can be somewhat fragile when they get bigger, it's easy to break them up on accident.  I would repot before they get more than 2' (~.6m) long.  I had one about 3-4 feet high and snapped it off at the middle, but at least I then had two dragon fruits...
Also, your central pole looks a little weak, the plants can get heavy when they get big enough to fruit prolifically.  When you up-pot them, I'd get a sturdier pole and something for them to hang over. This megathread has a lot of good examples in it.

Thanks for your input, I will probably use this current setup as a nursing station. Thinking of feeding my dragon babies up the poles and once they reach the top, replant. :)

RobPatterson

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2584 on: May 07, 2018, 12:49:12 PM »
Just as a side note, if you have the ability at all, you might want to consider trying to acquire some cuttings of established plants. I know growing from seed seems fun, and I I'm not saying you should give up on the ones you have, but the two reasons most people grow from cuttings are, first, that you usually know the type of fruit you are getting from a piece of an established plant. With seed there is a slight chance that, through cross-pollinization and random 'birth' genetic variations, you could end up with fruit that's not the same as the plant it came from. Remember, the fruit part you eat is the 'womb' for the seeds, not the crossed offspring of the flower and pollen. The seeds are what get the genetic material of host mother and pollen father. The second reason is that cuttings give you fruit bearing plants MUCH sooner. A mature cutting can give you enough growth and flower set to bear fruit in 2 years sometimes, compared to the typical 4-5 for seedlings. I know, as I did some experimental crossbreeding early on, but got frustrated with it and just wanted to enjoy my plants.
Either way, though, welcome aboard. I hope you have fun with your new plant project and look forward to seeing how things progress.

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2585 on: May 09, 2018, 02:08:09 PM »
Wow that is awesome information, thanks! I have considered the idea, but not in a hurry to get fruit. I like growing and learning of the different plant-life stages.

Maybe you know what is happening to my seedlings? Some of them (mostly the smaller and weaker ones) has started to develop what looks to me like a sunburn(?).



They have been getting full sun for about 3 weeks. I moved the pots yesterday to a spot where they'll receive 3-4 hours of direct morning sun instead of 9 or so.

Has anyone experienced this before? Could it be a nutrient issue? 

Thanks.  :)
« Last Edit: May 09, 2018, 02:14:09 PM by DragonCrush »

owenismo

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2586 on: May 09, 2018, 02:58:15 PM »
Yeah it is sun damage. I leave mine in the shade and only receive some morning sun. Good move!

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2587 on: May 09, 2018, 03:17:57 PM »
Thanks! You confirmed my initial belief. :) After you clarified I went on to move all the pots to the shade, not just the sunburned.

SandyL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2588 on: May 09, 2018, 07:39:32 PM »
I'm growing some yellow DF from seeds too and some of mine got sunburned cause I let it get full sun. Now it only gets morning sun.

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2589 on: May 10, 2018, 03:35:41 AM »
Hi Sandy, they still grow ok in the shade? When are they old enough to go full sun?

SandyL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2590 on: May 10, 2018, 02:04:56 PM »
Hi Sandy, they still grow ok in the shade? When are they old enough to go full sun?

They're doing ok. They get morning sun and afternoon shade when the sun's the hottest. Since they're still seedlings, I find it best to harden it off. These are the ones that I had recently planted outside and they were in the house in front of a bright window last month.
But I also have some that are doing great and those get sun from morning till sunset. But I slowly acclimated these to the sun. I had them get morning sun and afternoon shade for a few weeks first
 Then when they got a little bigger and thicker, I slowly let them get more sun.
But I've also read that the yellow dragon are more sensitive to the cold and heat. It isn't really hot where I'm at right now. But when it gets to the 80s, I plan on just giving them morning sun and afternoon shade and that'll be a good 5 hrs of sun for them.

RobPatterson

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How you can tell when you've been growing a plant for too long...
« Reply #2591 on: May 10, 2018, 08:27:35 PM »
When even the weeds around your house look familiar...



On a side note, here's something we all like to see.




Looks like my plants are finally waking up from a long, harsh Southern California winter..... ;)

Orkine

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2592 on: May 11, 2018, 01:38:17 AM »
Way to wake up.  Lots of flowers.

DragonCrush

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2593 on: May 11, 2018, 02:32:59 PM »
Way to wake up.  Lots of flowers.

Holy.. that looks like an awesome onset for the summer! Did you grow them from seeds? It is amazing to see that little one by the leaves and how well it is doing. Congratulations!  ;D

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2594 on: May 11, 2018, 06:59:01 PM »
Rob, could you post a photo zoomed out of your support structure? 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2595 on: May 11, 2018, 08:34:48 PM »
These are older photos, from shortly after I built my setup. I have limited space at my house, so I had to grow most of my plants in the walkway on the side of my house. Unfortunately they don't get much sun during winter due to the neighbors house being in the way, so I lose out on about 2 months of proper fruiting season, but its still worth the end result. Since I took these pictures Ive removed most of the top PVC runners, to allow for me to get on a ladder and work with the tops of the plants













And no, thats not a seedling or a start in the leaves. Its apparently a piece of a piece of a cutting that managed to escape while i was cleaning or pruining and managed to get itself established and, I assume, rerooted. I have a bit of clutter and I find 'strays' popping up all the time.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2018, 08:38:25 PM by RobPatterson »

Mark in Texas

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2596 on: May 12, 2018, 09:08:09 AM »
I have a bit of clutter and I find 'strays' popping up all the time.

Incredible job and I bet lots of fruit.  BTW, do your strays that stay prone take root and grow?  I've got some cuttings planted on their side with one rib sticking in the soil. 

spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2597 on: May 12, 2018, 09:51:23 AM »
Nice Rob.  Love the walkway you created. 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2598 on: May 12, 2018, 10:28:29 PM »
Most of the ground clutter that I don't end up cleaning up and throwing away will eventually try and root. Even the tiny, underdeveloped tips or shaded branches that fall behind my pots against my house I find trying to put out new shoots. In a hospitable environment these plants are very good at reproducing themselves through discarded branch materials, and I think if the end times ever came, they would take over my neighborhood in little time.

CTMIAMI

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #2599 on: May 13, 2018, 09:00:53 AM »
A few days ago I hand pollinated two flowers of Physical Graffiti with its own pollen. Was done at 11pm. Made sure I put a sufficient amount in the stigma. Flowers dropped. I had no other pollen available. I have heard both, that physical graffiti es self fertile and others say it not. Any one with experience on this ?

Particularly looking with successfull pollination with other cultivars.

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