Author Topic: Dragon Fruit thread.  (Read 935495 times)

Mucbean

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #375 on: December 16, 2013, 08:09:28 PM »
I have an area about 6' from a small canal.  I was thinking of planting several dragon fruit along the canal. Is it a good idea to plant dragon fruit that close to water or would I be better off planting it somewhere else.

Thanks,
Mike

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #376 on: December 16, 2013, 08:47:26 PM »
I have an area about 6' from a small canal.  I was thinking of planting several dragon fruit along the canal. Is it a good idea to plant dragon fruit that close to water or would I be better off planting it somewhere else.

Thanks,
Mike

Is the soil always damp.

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #377 on: December 17, 2013, 12:00:15 AM »
They love water.  They are a cactus, but keep in mind they are an under-story plant from a rainforest environment.  They can survive long periods of drought but they do best with daily watering in most sub-tropical areas.  Also they have a very shallow fibrous roots system, so unless it is constantly muddy along the canal I’d expect them to do fine.  Over watering can cause the green part of the stem to rot but the core survives and I have never seen it kill a plant here in California.  If you have poor draining soil you may want to watch the watering more closely, but in well drained soil they enjoy frequent waterings.

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #378 on: December 17, 2013, 12:16:14 AM »
They love water.  They are a cactus, but keep in mind they are an under-story plant from a rainforest environment.  They can survive long periods of drought but they do best with daily watering in most sub-tropical areas.  Also they have a very shallow fibrous roots system, so unless it is constantly muddy along the canal I’d expect them to do fine.  Over watering can cause the green part of the stem to rot but the core survives and I have never seen it kill a plant here in California.  If you have poor draining soil you may want to watch the watering more closely, but in well drained soil they enjoy frequent waterings.

What about using pots?

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #379 on: December 17, 2013, 12:21:05 AM »
I water my potted DF every day in the summer.  We don't get any summer rains here.  Winter time maybe twice a week if it hasn't rained.  They respond well to a lot of fertilizer too.

They like way more water than most people realize. 

ricshaw

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #380 on: December 17, 2013, 01:19:06 AM »
What about using pots?

What I meant was, another option for planting Dragon Fruit next to the canal is to grow them in pots.

mwaterman07

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #381 on: December 17, 2013, 02:13:16 AM »
Phoenix Red, Voodoo Child, Giant Viet


Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #382 on: December 17, 2013, 06:57:18 AM »
What about using pots?

What I meant was, another option for planting Dragon Fruit next to the canal is to grow them in pots.

I see, sorry.  A raised bed would work too if it is too wet.

Sven

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #383 on: December 17, 2013, 07:00:51 AM »
Phoenix Red, Voodoo Child, Giant Viet


I like the totem pole!  Is that to scare away the fruit eating varmints?

mwaterman07

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #384 on: December 17, 2013, 03:12:31 PM »
Haha thanks, hopefully it'll help with varmints. I just had a random moment of creativity. It's was a support from a pallet leftover after making raised beds, and had some paint leftover from my daughter's chair that I painted.

NaturalGreenthumb

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #385 on: December 17, 2013, 03:33:31 PM »
Phoenix Red, Voodoo Child, Giant Viet


Hahahah....lol....that's funny

MangoFang

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #386 on: December 17, 2013, 04:03:19 PM »
Waterman - that really is quite clever!!!!!

Gary

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #387 on: December 18, 2013, 07:37:14 PM »
Phoenix Red, Voodoo Child, Giant Viet


What is the plan when the three Dragon Fruit get bigger?

starling

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #388 on: December 18, 2013, 09:58:27 PM »


With dragonfruit it is best not to think of them as a cactus at all, but rather a rainforest plant which particularly dislikes wet feet. Plant in fast draining mounds with good moisture retention, and cover this with a very, very thick layer of uncomposted leaf litter and manure, if you can get it. Water all the time, keep the soil moisture at a good level, and keep adding the leaf litter. This should also be watered to help it break down.

If you have an old aluminum ladder, you can make the best type of trellis. Basically just run this between two massive posts (along the top) and that way you can get a lot more plant before pruning, which means more fruit and more cuttings in the long run. I may still do this if I can find a crappy old ladder whuch has a decent length, somewhere--but I'm not paying for one.

Don't plant them out anywhere they will get baked most of the day. The worst thing you can do is treat them like an opuntia, Totally different, with totally different sun exposure tolerances.

If you want to make them super healthy, give them a drink of mineral water.

The new trellises I am building will all have abandoned motorbike Tyre rims fixed to the top, which will help to spread out the growth and will help with weight distribution. That;s if I can't get a ladder. Remember the plant itself gets incredibly heavy in later years, so you want a very strong post that is very firmly secured in the ground. Struts are recommended also. Otherwise, it WILL fall over, and you probably won't be able to get it back up again without  using something like a block and tackle.

Arpeggiated Minor Sevenths: They're pretty, and they'll make women want to have sex with you.

Mike T

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #389 on: December 20, 2013, 12:14:10 AM »


My Colombian red is doing pretty well for a year old.I presume it sets fruit better than most as it is self fertile.

starling

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #390 on: December 20, 2013, 12:54:09 AM »


My Colombian red is doing pretty well for a year old.I presume it sets fruit better than most as it is self fertile.

A year is rocket fast for a plant that size Mike, especially considering it is fruiting already. I don't think they'd be that quick in Bris, though they are created different that's for sure. I have two which have been sitting there for months and months now and haven't done anything, while others send up new shoots pretty much a few days after being stuck in soil as cuttings. I've noticed that if a cutting has an epiphyte it tends to take longer to send a new shoot. I have read that younger cuttings grow more quickly. The yellows always grow the fastest for me, with the reds being the slowest.
Arpeggiated Minor Sevenths: They're pretty, and they'll make women want to have sex with you.

Mike T

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #391 on: December 25, 2013, 09:45:39 PM »




Every flower on the Colombian red sets fruit and I have been tanking up lately.They have a good taste being sweet with a bit of berry and kiwi going on.

HMHausman

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #392 on: December 26, 2013, 08:19:32 AM »




Every flower on the Colombian red sets fruit and I have been tanking up lately.They have a good taste being sweet with a bit of berry and kiwi going on.

Nice looking fruit.  Not sure if you mentioned this somewhere.  You're saying this is self fruitful without hand pollination and without another variety close by for cross pollination, right?  And each flower sets a fruit, right?  Do you know more about the history of this variety?  Also the sourcing?
Harry
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Mike T

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #393 on: December 26, 2013, 09:06:01 AM »
Haus I showed flowers and discussed it in this thread on Nov 15 reply 318.

LEOOEL

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #394 on: December 26, 2013, 09:44:47 PM »
Dangermouse01, thanks for the pics showing your dragon fruit pole setup.

I also have Dragon Fruit up a pressure treated pole. I've noticed that the 'roots' of the dragon fruit hate the chemicals on the pole. I suppose this is why you wrapped your pole with those thread-sacks, very ingenious. I'm cosidering doing the same thing.

Also, thanks to your photos, I'm getting the idea of 'crowning' the top of the pole with the same wood structure that you're using. It looks very aesthetic, very nice.

Finally, I noticed that at the bottom of the pole, between the pole itself and the wood board planks that keep the worms out, I see in the photos something with a black coloration. If you don't mind and shine some light on what that is, I'd appreciate if you'd let us know what that is and its purpose, thanks again for all the wonderful photos.
I have not noticed any of my DF not wanting to attach roots to the PT wood, except maybe the yellow, which doesn't seem to send out as many aerial roots as the others. The others all have varying amounts of roots attaching.

The burlap wrapped around the post provides both a structure for the roots to grab on to, and retains moisture when spraying the DFs with liquid nutritional sprays.

Top of my trellis is loosely based on how I saw them done at the Fruit & Spice park.

Frames around the base of my posts were to re-direct my dogs running path and also was a planting bed for butterfly plants and stuff.

Something with black coloration? If it is in the picture of the held fruit, all that stuff is chopped up banana tree stalks rotting away. Is that the picture you saw it in?

DM

Dangermouse01, I added chopped up banana tree stalks around the base of the dragon fruit pole, and I'm letting them rot away, just as you have. I'm writing to you again to give you an update and to say thanks. Now, I don't know if this is a direct consequence of trying out your method, but the results have been great. The dragon fruit is creeping up that pole really quick. Since my last post to you, it's gone up the pole by a length of 1.5 feet, that's one and a half foot! At that pase, it'll reach the top of the pole sometime next year. Since nothing else has changed, other than a change to cooler weather, I can't help but to think that adding the banana stalks have had something to do with the turn for the better. One thing is for sure, copying your setup sure has not hurt, so thanks again for the inspiration.
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Luisport

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #395 on: December 28, 2013, 10:03:28 AM »

micah

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #396 on: December 28, 2013, 12:17:14 PM »
Yum nice video.  Is that one a selenecereus or hylocereus?   Looks like yellow selenecereus's thorns on the fruit. 

I plant the yellow pitahiya on trees...make sure u can harvest em though...extended pole saw works good i cut off chunks of cactus to harvest fruit(this kinda thins it so it doesn't  engulf the desirable tree..the bummer part is if u don't harvest fruit...thorns from ripe fruits fall off onto ground.
 on an older orange tree works good...monkey pod tree a low spreading one(pole saw harvest) we can climb. Topped Java plum trees. Gliricidia trees.
The happiest one is on a cut ornamental palm stump.  6ft stump...it's the Yellow Uku (head lice) Dreadlock Tiki. Carve a face and its on.  Nowadays his dreads are natty...lots of Uku's(fruit).  Eventually the palm trunk will rot and fall...it's been 6-7 yrs..maybe a few more to go.

 

maui guy

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #397 on: December 28, 2013, 04:31:17 PM »
There has been discussion of  DF & water . I had some extra cuttings of Selenicereus Megalanthus that I tossed aside about 6 month ago into a non draining pan. They have not received any fertilizer just neglect . From time to time I would dump out the water.   I can't post the pic!! but it shows plants w/roots growing ok under drowning conditions. Must remember that we never get to the low 60's; are very humid: & plants under ~ 50% shade. From what I can tell these could be grown hydroponically. Below is what I get on posting the pic // perhaps it will come out? 



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thao

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Re: Dragon Fruit thread.
« Reply #399 on: January 01, 2014, 08:21:04 PM »
Pitaia do Cerrado


Is this Selenicereus setaceus species self fertile and productive? I was planing to get a rooted cutting maybe soon.