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How to get Your Dragon Fruit Cactus to Fruit

Dragon Fruit Cactus

Aka: Pitaya or Pitahaya

(Hylocereus spp)

 

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Growing Overview:

  • Dragon Fruit look amazing and taste wonderful.
  • Unfortunately, like many others, I have had difficulty finding useful information on how to get these plants to produce fruit.
  • Therefore, I did some deep research and some experimentation to figure out what makes these plants tick.  After a few years of effort, I am now happy to report that my plants are producing lots of fruit.  This article covers the method (and madness) of what works for me.

 

Dragon Fruit Appearance:

  • The fruit just looks amazing.
  • An individual fruit weighs between ½ pound to over 3 pounds.
  • From the outside, the fruit resembles a very large egg laid by some kind of mythical creature.  Hum, I wonder if that is how the plant got its name?
  • Anyhow, depending on the plant, the flesh of the fruit can be a variety of colors ranging from white, pink, red or dark purple.  The red and purple variety is really more of a psychedelic bright red/deep purple.  This deep color is rather unbelievable and may indicate the presence of strong antioxidants… or so people say.
  • The fruit flesh is also dotted with black specks which are the small seeds.
Varieties of Dragon Fruit

Red and white-pinkish varieties of dragon fruit from the backyard. My daughters hand is doing a photobomb to the right and there is a ruler on the bottom of the image for more objective measurement.

Scientific name and the color of the fruit flesh:

  • I have seen many references call the white fleshed variety by the scientific name (Hylocereus undatus) and the red fleshed variety (Hylocereus costaricensis).
  • After years of growing the white, pink, red and purple varieties of dragon fruit, I have not been able to appreciate significant difference in the external appearance of the plants.  Therefore, this makes me wonder if the provided nomenclature/taxonomy might be a bit artificial for these plants.  I have not heard anyone else mention this before… but I strongly suspect that these different colored fruits are just variations in color of the same plant species.  Which would actually make them different varieties of plants/fruits and not different species.
  • This then brings me to the next point, what about the pink fleshed variety?  What scientific name do you give that one? Regardless, it is very possible that the pink variety is a hybrid between the red and the white varieties.

 

Red Dragon Fruit

One of my purplish Dragon Fruit varieties cut in half

 

When is the Dragon Fruit Ripe?

  • The fruit is ripe when its wings start to wither (The wings are those leafy things that extend off from the fruit) and the fruit is red like the picture below (note: All of the Hylocereus spp fruit look this way when ripe even if their flesh is white, pink, red or purple).
  • At this point in ripeness the fruit will detach from the vine with a twist or two.  Note, if you wait for the fruit to fall off the plant, it will be over ripe and a waste.
Ripe Dragon Fruit. ready to pick.

Ripe Dragon Fruit, ready to pick.

 

Dragon Fruit Taste:

  • The skin is inedible… at least no one that I know of eats it.  The skin peels off very easily.
  • The texture of the edible flesh seems to defy physics; the flesh is firm and dense but melting and very juicy.
  • The fruit is sweet-and not tart.  There are subtle mild layers of tropical flavors-and an almost melon like overtone.
  • There is definitely a difference in the taste between the different colored varieties of dragon fruit.
  • The small pleasantly crunchy black seeds are similar to Kiwi seeds but not as hard.
  • Allowing the fruit to ripen properly on the vine gives you a much better flavor than any store bought Dragon Fruit that I have ever tried.  I think this is b/c the fruit is picked too early for the commercially grown stuff so that it can survive the transport time to the stores.
Cut up red Dragon Fruit

Tasty Dragon Fruit

 

Video tasting below was setup to be as if you were eating it yourself (8/16/15):

 

Video Taste with friend:

A great friend of mine (Stasi Seay) is a wine education expert and as a result she has an excellent palate for all kinds of food.   I recently had her try a Dragon Fruit for the first time and videotaped her perspectives on the unique flavors.  This YouTube video captures that moment.

 

More tasting references: 

Here is a link to an article I wrote about the taste of Dragon Fruit compared to Peruvian Apple Cactus. There is a cool taste testing video in that article too.

 

Dragon Fruit Season:

  • In Southern California, the main fruit harvest season is summer to fall.

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Food use:

  • Just eat them fresh and enjoy.
  • Also used in fruit salads, ice cream and as blended fruit drinks.
  • I have heard that unopened flower buds are sometimes cooked and eaten as vegetables.  What a shame.

 

Dragon Fruit Flowers:

  • Its a shame the Dragon Fruit Flowers only bloom at night and only last for one day.  They are really large and beautiful.  The flowers also have a wonderful tropical aroma. For more info about Dragon Fruit flowers, click on this link.

 

Time lapse video of dragon fruit flowers opening (August 20, 2014): 

  • Here’s a video I put together of beautiful dragon fruit flowers opening (see below).
  • The following 20 second video was created by taking a picture every 15 min for 2 days.
  • But I didnt stay up all night taking pictures with a stopwatch; I just set things up to happen automatically and walked away.
        • FYI: If you want to make a cool time-lapse video like this yourself, you just need to get a simple plug-in device for your SLR.
        • The tool is called a “Release Timer Remote Control” and it is what allows you to set the time and interval for when the pictures will be taken automatically.
        • The prices for this category of product is all over the map.  The one I got has great reviews and is very reasonable compared to the others.  It was only about $30 on Amazon. Here’s the link if you are interested; Release Timer Remote Control
        • This particular Release Timer also has a ton of other-additional features that I am only starting to explore.
        • Its actually pretty darn cool.
        • The only major drawback about this product that I have read about on the reviews is that it doesn’t have an on/off button.  Therefore, you need to take the two AAA batteries out between uses… Which is probability a good idea anyways.

 

Natural Dragon Fruit Pollinators:

Native pollinators:

  • In their native South/Central American jungle environment, there are nocturnal bats that have a fondness for the large Dragon Fruit flowers. Specifically, in their natural habitat, the nectar-feeding bats Leptonycteris curasoae and Choeronycteris mexicana pollinate the large white flowers.  This is rather interesting because Dragon Fruit flowers seem to have lost their ability to produce nectar. So one could then surmise that these bats are after the huge amount of flower pollen as a food source.  Or perhaps they did not get the memo that these flowers (are just a tease and) have no nectar to share.
  • There are also big nocturnal moths in the jungle that pollinate these flowers as well.

California pollinators:

  • In California, things are a bit different.  Sure, we have nocturnal bats, but most of our bats are the ones that hunt flying bugs and don’t really care about flowers.  Interestingly, some of those Choeronycteris mexicana bats mentioned above have also been known to also be found in Southern California and Southern Arizona. However, from a pollination perspective, I would not count on them being around when you need them for your dragon fruit needs.
  • We also have some big moths such as the sphinx moth/hawkmoth that are quite common in our area. I have witnessed a lot of these big moths getting buried into the dragon fruit flowers at night.
  • Although the dragon fruit cactus produces a one night nocturnal flower, it does tend to stay open for a while in the morning before is shrivels up.  I often see honey bees going nuts inside and around these huge flowers during this early morning window. Those ecstatic bees seem dwarfed by the flower size and look almost intoxicated by their surroundings.
Excellent camouflage of a hawk moth sphinx moth with glowing eyes. This is one of the nighttime Dragon Fruit flower visitors/pollinators.

The pic shows the excellent camouflage of a hawk moth (aka sphinx moth) with glowing eyes. This is one of the nighttime Dragon Fruit flower visitors/pollinators.

 

Close up of a bee covered in pollen sitting on the stigma of the dragon fruitflower

Close up of a honey bee covered in pollen and stumbling on the stigma of the dragon fruit flower

 

Close up of bees pollinating the dragon fruit flower

Close up of 2 honey bees pollinating the dragon fruit flower

 

Hand Pollination of Dragon Fruit Flowers:

  • A few years ago, I tried multiple different ways of hand pollination.  However, none of it seemed to do anything significant to improve the amount of fruit that set.  My results were all over the map.  Some of the flowers that I pollinated fell off quickly and some of the flowers that I didn’t pollinate bore fruit.  Go figure.
  • Then I read that Dragon Fruit are notoriously difficult to pollinate. With that new info, I then thought for sure that I just needed to find the right pollination technique.  However, even though I tried every pollination method that I have heard of, I still had not made a large difference in the amount of fruit that set.
  • By the way, once the early fruit turns yellowish you can also expect that it will feel boggy.  This is an indication that the fruit will fall off soon (see pic below).
What dragon fruit looks like that will fall off

The Dragon Fruit bud turning yellow (on the right side of the image) will be aborted. You might as well take it off now because it will not turn into fruit.  The other developing fruit (on the left sife of the image) is firm and green. This one will turn into a nice big juicy Dragon Fruit in about a month. The brown stuff is the old flower petals and you can just leave them on if you like.

 

  • In protest, last year I didn’t hand pollinate any of the flowers.  The surprising result was that I suddenly had a ton of fruit growing.
  • So what’s the difference?  Well, there is more to the story and I made some additional changes that seemed to have a greater impact on my success than my pollination technique.
  • In general, fruiting success seems depend more on the happiness of the plant than just the mechanical process of putting the male and female parts together.  Ahem… Yes, it is a lot like sex.  You have to be happy and healthy to have a successful union.  More specific info about keeping your dragon happy for this type of success is discussed in the sections further down in this article.
  • All of that being said, once you have your plants in a happy place… may start to see the benefits of cross pollination.  For example, even among the self pollinating varieties of dragon fruit, cross-pollination, (either within a species or by crossing pollen between species), has been reported to result in more/ larger fruit than those obtained by just self-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment.  However, I have not noticed this myself, likely because I have a lot of natural pollinators around and that type of controlled comparison is not possible for me unless I get a greenhouse which would allow me to isolate some plants for comparison.

 

Night time Dragon fruit flowers

Dragon Fruit Flowers

 

Pollination Update:

 

Pollination Update #2:   (July 27, 2014):

  • Today I noticed that my dragon fruit cacti are at different stages of flowering & fruiting.
  • Therefore, I thought it might be cool to do a video that will take you through the process of dragon fruit formation.
  • In this video, I also touched on some pollination concepts as well as important flower anatomy.
  • However, the follow up video done on July 29th is even better (its the next video down on the page).  Therefore, if you only watch one video, I would check out the follow up video from July 29th titled “How dragon fruit are formed”.

 

Pollination Update #3 (July 29, 2014):

  • If you are only going to watch one video, I would pick this one (below).
  • This is basically a 2 day follow up video to the one done above…  This time at night.
  • In this video you get to see how quickly things change in a relatively short amount of time.
  • But as an added bonus, you get to inspect a dragon fruit flower in full bloom.  
  • As a result, you get a better look at some of the important flower anatomy for pollination.
  • We also get to virtually eat some delicious dragon fruit at the end of the video. Yum!

 

Pollination side note:

  • It is also important to note that there are some varieties of Dragon Fruit that definitely do need to be pollinated to make fruit.  However, there are also many varieties of Dragon Fruit that do not need to be pollinated (they are self-fruitful).   This is an important consideration to keep in mind when getting your plants.
  • From what I understand, most of the cacti that produce the purple/red fleshed fruit are self fruitful.  This is the type I have the most of and it is likely the reason why my hand pollination didn’t seem to make a big difference for me.  Therefore, the success of the fruit was all about the happiness of the plant.
  • That being said,  I suspect that pollination will likely boost overall fruit size-because this has been documented in many other types of fruit as well.
    • For those who are interested, Dragon Fruit flower pollen may be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and can be kept in the freezer for up to 30 days.
    • It takes about 45 days to go from flower to ripe fruit.

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Cultivation:

  • The big picture here is that this plant should not be treated like a cactus.
  • This cactus evolved in (and is best adapted to) a hot/warm and wet tropical environment.  Treat this unique cactus like a tropical/subtropical plant and it will be very happy.
  • My cultivation method is to duplicate the plants native habitat as much as possible and it has been very fruitful (so to speak). See the following sections below for more detailed info.
Awesome Dragon Fruit harvest

Dragon Fruit: one days harvest from a few cacti

 

Sun:

  • I planted my plants in full sun.
  • Side note: Full sun may not be the best option if you are living in the inland desert environment because the sun may be too strong without the moisture in the air to deflect some of the strong Southern California sun’s rays.  Again, this is not your typical cactus and it does not belong in the desert.  However, if you have some ocean/marine influence to your climate, full sun or perhaps partial shade would be the way to go.  Full sun works for me and I am 10 miles inland from the ocean.

 

Temp:

  • It’s a tropical jungle plant so it doesn’t like the cold.
  • However, it will tolerate the occasional cold spell/light frost that we sometimes get during the Southern California winter.
  • I have read academic publications stating that it will survive temps down to 28 F.
  • To be safe, you could plant your Dragon Fruit Cactus in a warm part of your yard such as near a south facing wall.  In that position, you would also have to be concerned about over heating in the summer.
  • I planted the ones that I have on the top of a hill, far away from any other structures, and that has been fine.
  • Don’t plant this cactus in a low part of your property where cold air can collect in the winter months.

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Soil:

  • Unfortunately, there is conflicting information about how to grow the Dragon.
  • I was initially naïve and treated this plant like a typical cactus.  However, the plant barely grew in sandy soil and it looked really sad.  I knew something was wrong but I wasn’t sure what.
  • Therefore, I decided to go to the source; I researched the plants native habitat.
  • Hylocereus spp cacti live in the jungle.  Yea, its a bit odd.  In its native central/South America, the dragon fruit cacti tends to grow in and on other trees (the scientific name for a plant that grows upon another plant is epiphyte).
  • If you happen to be in the jungle down South of the border, you might see these guys growing out of the organic leaf litter that has piled up in the branch crevices of large trees.  These cacti will climb their way to the top of the supporting trees and drop their roots wherever they can find soil or a place to grab on.
  • In this elevated tree canopy, the plant also seems to do better than elsewhere which is likely a result of the improved sun exposure and perhaps the lack of competition for soil nutrients. The highest points of the trees not only offer the best sunlight, the elevated location also offers lots of organic fertilizer from the droppings of roosting birds.
  • Therefore, the Dragon Fruit Cactus is built to grow in rich, well draining, organic soil.
  • I planted the cacti that I have with a soil mix containing lots of organic material.  For the most part, this is the method that I use for most of the fruit trees in my yard.  The only difference from my normal mix is that I added in about 10% peat moss for the Dragon.  My thinking here is that the peat moss would be a good way to keep the soil airy and moist with the added benefit of mild acidification.

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Fertilization:

  • I am sure there are many different opinions about how to best fertilize this plant.  However, in my method I have tried to mimic the plants native conditions and it has been working very well.
  • Specifically, I cover the ground (root zone) around the cacti with lots of compost and grow mulch that I pour straight out of the bag.  I look for the type of grow mulch that has chicken manure in it because bird poo is likely the major form of fertilizer for these cacti in their native habitat.
  • I also frequently add doses of chicken manure to the top of the soil just before and during the growing season.
  • I then water in the compost/mulch regularly throughout the year to let the nutrients soak down in.
Water in the organic fertilizer

Water in the organic fertilizer

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Fertilization (Update May 1, 2017)

A contributing reader (Lincoln from Nicholas Dragon Fruit Queensland, Australia) just provided some great insight about how their commercial farm fertilizes dragon fruit.  His comment can be found at the bottom of the dragon fruit disease article, but I have paraphrased it a tiny bit here for reference. The four points (1,2,3,4) in this subsection are all from Lincoln.  Thank you Lincoln !

1. Fertilization during blossoming:

  • Use a fertilizer made up of 2 parts Potassium to 1 part Nitrogen and 1 part Phosphorous.

2. Fertilization during growth season:

  • Use a fertilizer made up of 2 parts Nitrogen, to 1 part Phosphorous and 1 part Potassium.
  • Chicken manure will not provide the needed potassium and excess nitrogen during blossoming will inhibit blossoming.

3. Thinning fruit:

  • Given the correct nutrients most segments of each leaf will blossom leaving you no option but to thin some – to what extent is at your discretion, as the less blossoms you have the larger the fruit will be if pollinated correctly.

4. Pruning:

  • Pruning should be undertaken during growth season to achieve desired training and optimal growth as well as avoiding transmission of infectious material to blossoms and therefore the fruit.

 

Dragon Fruit Cactus Water:

  • This jungle cactus likes to have moist soil that doesn’t dry out.
  • The soil also needs to be loose and well draining.  This plant does not like standing water.
  • I also spray the branches with water on particularly hot-dry days for a jungle effect.  However, I think this spraying is more for me than actually doing anything useful for the plants.

 

Dragon Fruit Propagation:

  • Dragon Fruit Cactus vines are easily started from cuttings.  I just put some recently cut branches in soil and they rooted without anything other than regular water (and the above noted soil mixture).  One year old cuttings about 1 foot long seem to work well.  Cuttings may fruit in as little as one years time.
  • You can also start Dragon Fruit Cactus from seed but it takes a lot longer for them to grow and reach fruiting maturity (It can take up to 6 years to fruit).
    • 8/27/15: I am growing dragon fruit cacti from seed now and will update on the progress when I get some more info.

 

Landscape Use:

Dragon Fruit Cactus Growing Support:

  • Since this cactus-vine is an epiphyte, it prefers to have something to grow on… But it will also meander along the ground.
  • People have successfully used support methods ranging from fences and arbors to palm trees.
  • In South East Asia, (where this fruit is very popular) many commercial growers use a “top branching pole” structure.  In Vietnam they use cement poles so they don’t rot in the naturally wet tropical climate of SE Asia.  However, cement poles in my yard did not seem that appealing so I went with wood (see next section for details).
  • Regardless of the supporting method, most commercial structures are 5-8 feet high with about 8 feet spacing between plants.
  • Initially, the cactus-vine will need some help staying on whatever support structure you go with.  I have used both rope and velcro plant ties to secure the branches close to the main pole.  Don’t use thin wire or string that will cut into the flesh of the cacti.  Eventually, fibrous arial roots from the Dragon Fruit cacti branches will reach out and grab on to the structure and the ties will no longer be needed.  Note: the arial roots wont attach to metal or pressure treated wood.

My dragon fruit cactus support structure: 

  • I used redwood because it has a great natural resistance to water damage/rot.
  • I did not use pressure treated wood because (in my opinion) there are way too many odd chemicals in there to preserve that wood and I didnt want those toxins leaching into the soil and then into my food.
  • Specifically, the structure I like to use is a 4×4 post with smaller cut lengths of wood secured to the top.  These smaller cut pieces of wood at the top give the vine support to drape off of (see picture).
  • When fully grown, the plant and pole resembles an exotic palm tree.

 

Dragon fruit rootlets grabbing onto a redwood post

Dragon fruit rootlets grabbing onto a redwood post

Top of support structure surrounded by fruit

The top of the support structure showing the design.

Growing branch fallen because supporting rope broke before roots could take hold.

Growing branch fallen because supporting rope broke before roots could take hold.

Dragon Fruit Cactus Pruning:

  • Stems may grow more than 20 feet and will eventually need pruning.
  • I try to prune at the natural joints formed on the stems.
  • Some have reported that pruning 1 month before fruiting will increase number of flowers and fruit size.  I have not really noticed that to be true or false, but I have not been measuring this possible effect either.
  • By the way, I have used and abused countless pruning instruments.  After a long trail of broken cutting tools, I have finally found my favorite pruners of all time which is the Corona brand Bypass Pruner.  There are knockoffs that look similar, but the others are not even in the same league in regards to durability and quality.

Also: sterilize your pruners!

  • It is really important to sterilize your trimmers/pruners between plants.  There are several infectious plant diseases that are unknowingly spread from plant to plant by cutting/trimming instruments.   This is true for any plant, but particularly so for Dragon Fruit cacti… many of which have been infected with systemic diseases because of sub-optimal sanitizing techniques (see my resent article on Dragon Fruit Diseases for more info).
  • There are a many sanitizing options for your pruners including household cleaning solutions, alcohol, and hydrogen peroxide. These only need to be applied to the cutting blade. Many of these liquids require some application time that you have to wait for them to be sterilized.
  • Another faster option is heat sterilization of your cutting blade with a hand held torch.  The torch technique, is convenient and fast, but obviously results in the tips of your trimmers being hot… Which are then obviously a potential burn hazard to you and to your plants.. as well as being a general fire hazard.   Definitely don’t try burning things in your garden/yard if you are in a fire danger area.. which is most of California.  And my favorite disclaimer of all,  “don’t try this at home.”
  • Interestingly, I just found this other tool that actually spritzes your hand pruners with sterilizing fluid with each cut. I have no idea how well this product works, but it is an interesting take on addressing the problem. For reference, here is a link to that product Hand Pruners with Spray Applicator.
  • While I was getting my hair cut today another thought came to mind.  I wonder if that chemical they put hair cutting scissors in would also kill any plant microbes.  Seems like it should and apparently it is fully biodegradable.  As a disclaimer, I have never heard of anyone using a barbers/hair salon disinfectant such as Barbicide for this purpose.

 

Dragon Fruit Diseases:

  • There are several important Dragon Fruit diseases to be aware of.  Since I have had a lot of difficulty finding a complete source of information on the subject, I decided to create one myself.  For more information, please check out that article titled Dragon Fruit Diseases.
Brown spots on dragon fruit stems

Dragon Fruit symptoms of stem spots caused by Botryospaheria dothidea on Hylocereus undatus. Rev. Fac. Cienc. Agrar., Univ. Nac. Cuyo vol.45 no.1 Mendoza ene. jun. 2013

 

Dragon Fruit Pests:

  • Overall there are not a lot of buggy-pests on the plant that I have noticed with the exception of the occasional snail which doesn’t seem to do significant damage.
  • However, the fruit itself attracts aphids and their courier-accomplice ants.  However, these sap suckers are easy to remove with a strong spray of water from the garden hose.
  • Gophers will eat the roots.   Caging the roots is relatively easy at planting.
  • I would also expect squirrels to be a problem once they figure out that this fruit is tasty.  I have only seen a few rodent bite marks on ripening Dragon Fruit. Not sure if this would represent squirrels or mice or something else.   Might be best to pluck the fruit on the ground early so the rodents don’t learn that this is something worth jumping up for.
Rodent damage on Dragon Fruit that was sitting on the ground. This location is just too easy for the rodents to take a curious bite of something they have never seen before.

Rodent damage on Dragon Fruit that was sitting on the soil. This ground location is just too easy for the rodents to take a curious bite of something they have never seen before.

 

Misc:

  • There is cultural evidence and biologic evidence that dragon fruits have been cultivated by native Central and South America people since ancient (pre-columbian) times.
  • There are >25 species of Hylocereus spp identified with numerous different cultivars and hybrids.
    • There are reported to be more than 100 varieties in California alone.
    • The major species that are grown commercially are H. polyrhizus and  H. undatus.
    • The genus name undatus is derived from the Latin word unda meaning ‘wavy or waved’ like water.  This name is in reference to the wavy appearance of the cactus branches/stems.
    • There is ongoing academic research being done to figure out which varieties are the best and the details of their optimal growing characteristics.
    • See the section above labeled “Scientific name and the color of the fruit flesh” for my take on the scientific naming convention.
  • Some varieties are self-pollinating and many others require cross-pollination from another species,variety or cultivar.  Ask when you buy and (if it was me) get the self-pollinating varieties.
  • Red fleshed and pink fleshed fruit contain high levels of antioxidants.
  • Hylocereus undatus is native to tropical deciduous forests of Mexico, the West Indies, Central America and northern South America ( Bravo-Hollis, 1978;Nobel and de la Barrera, 2002).
  • Interesting, scientific papers have mentioned that Dragon fruit cactus flowers don’t produce nectar… and that trait may have been lost in the plant domestication process.

 

Updates from contributing Readers:

 

August 11, 2015 Update:

Stefanie from Southern California has sent in some lovely pictures of her dragon fruit cacti in bloom (see below). Thanks Stefanie!

Dragon Fruit Flower: Photo credit: fellow reader Stefanie from Southern California

Dragon Fruit Flower: Photo credit: fellow reader Stefanie from Southern California

 

Stefanie adds that, "Some flowers take on an almost luminous quality when photographed." Photo credit from Stefanie living in Southern California

Stefanie adds that, “Some flowers take on an almost luminous quality when photographed.” Photo credit from Stefanie living in Southern California

 

Stefanie has a cool picture here that shows how her dragon fruit cactus rootlets have found her fountain which is connected to her aquaponics system. I am sure there is a lot of good nutrients in that water. Photo credit: Stefanie from Southern California

Stefanie has a cool picture here that shows how her dragon fruit cactus rootlets have found her fountain which is connected to her aquaponics system. I am sure there is a lot of great nutrients in that water. Photo credit: Stefanie from Southern California

 

Dragon Fruit Flowers opening. Photo credit Fellow reader Stefanie from Southern California

Dragon Fruit Flowers opening. Photo credit from fellow reader Stefanie living in Southern California

 

April 15, 2016 update:

Another great contributing reader from South Africa has shared this amazing picture (below). It shows a huge dragon cactus vine that has grown all the way up into a large pine tree. The dragon part is the lighter green centered in the lower-middle part of the branches.

old dragon fruit cactus

Huge Dragon Fruit Cactus in a big old pine tree (you can click on the pic to enlarge)

 

April 17, 2016 Update:

Another awesome contributing reader (Rose in Sebastian, FL) has shared some dragon pics from her garden. Thank you Rose!

Below is an associated quote from her:

“Here are the pics of my dragonfruit garden, planted with no roots Nov. 2014.  The first pictures are Aug. 2015 with first buds!  The last pic is now with 5 buds so far!!  These plants grow like weeds and the flowers are just so beautiful!!!  But, the fruit is the BEST!!!  I have 12 varieties!  The first bud is getting ready to open in a few days.
Like I said, your site with all the information you have given, is why my plants are doing so well!!! 
Thank you!
Rose”

Dragon Fruit garden

Dragon Fruit Cactus doing awesome in the “Garden of Rose” in Sebastian, FL

Dragon Fruit Cactus

Dragon Fruit Cactus doing awesome in the “Garden of Rose” in Sebastian, FL

About Thomas Osborne, MD

Dr. Osborne is a Harvard trained Radiologist and Neuroradiologist who loves to share his insight about medicine and gardening.

426 comments

  1. Ron Kranz........Australia

    Can get heaps of blooms but no fruit

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Ron
      Bummer about the lack of fruit for you.

      The 3 most common reasons that I have seen for this are:
      -Plant is too young.
      -No or wrong pollinizers
      -Wrong soil moisture.

      And yea, could be something else, such as air temp, or light, or fertilization, or the boogieman.

      I might try to pollinate some flowers yourself, just to see what will happen.

      Good luck!

      • Hi. I have a dragon fruit I ordered online as a tiny nub of a cactus. Its going on year 3 and its still alive and well, however, I have to keep it in a container bc I live in west Virginia and it must come inside for the winter. The main stalk has several branches now but some are pencil thin. I was using a small metal suppoet7but by reading this I am going to quickly find it a new and bigger structure. I want to grow a dragon fruit so badly. Is there any hope of getting mine to actually produce fruit? Theres only a couple of branches that are real thin. The rest are very plump. Should I prune the thin ones off? Thank you for your help. I love my plants almost as much as I love .y kids 😀

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Mauna
          Thanks for the great questions.
          Congrats on your growing dragons.

          Your best chance to get dragon cactus to fruit… is to provide them with as much of the things they love (reference the article). And yes, I there is great hope for you to get fruit from your potted plants.

          Regarding pruning. There is some different opinions out there, but I only prune when I need to to keep them in shape, transplant, or to cut our dead/diseased branches.

          Lol regarding your love for plants. You are not alone.

          Best,
          Tom

          • Rose Len Tingcang

            Hello ,
            Im Rose from Phil. Im new in this field .
            I have 471 post so far,and the first plants are getting 1 year old this coming July. I had so many blossoms but ants were attacking them ., buy any chance do you have any advice on how i can illeminate them by natural and safe ways? right now i have 7 successful polinated flowers.in 3 weeks time i guess i can tatse them for the first time.thanks

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Wow, that is a lot of plants. Congrats.
            Ants are a common problem for all plants. If it is not too bad of a problem, you can always blast them off with a water hose. Importantly, you will want to make sure that the ants are not farming aphids… if so, getting rid of the aphids will solve a lot of problems. If there are only a few ants, it may not be a big deal and may not impact pollination or fruit setting. However, if you want to really get rid of ants (or at least slow them down) there are a few organic solutions that I have used.

            Deterrence:
            Tangle foot is a nice option that is totally organic. To use it, first put the paper “tangle guard banding material” (or masking tape with the sticky side out) around the base of your cactus. Then make sure you fill in the gaps with cotton-balls or something to keep the ants from sneaking through. And then finally goop the tangle foot around on top of the banding material. It works because the ants cant crawl over the sticky stuff. Therefore, you will want to make sure the ants don’t find an alternative way around (bypass/bridge) that is not also blocked off. In addition, you will need to recharge the goop when it looses its stickiness.

            Killing:
            Many of the typical indoor ant baits (such as terro) are just a mix of borax and sugar-syrup… So if you really want to, and have time, it can be made DYI. Note; borax (boric acid) is commonly used in various household laundry and cleaning products but is toxic to insects digestive system. It is effective because the ants brings back the borax laced sugar syrup back to their colony and then the colony dies. Terro also has an outdoor option with great reviews on amazon.

            Hope this helps.
            Best,
            Tom

        • Hi Mauna,

          I can only offer a couple of tips I am trying.

          1 – let them get long, not wide. They are fragile when they branch out and the support is more complex. I pinch off all the little shoots before they harden. This plant seems to want to weigh about 20 pounds per rooted vine before they will set fruit. I train them up a 4×4 post trellis that tops at 5 feet. At that length they weigh about 20 pounds. 🙂 Then I let them grow longer and I allow some branching, but only upward. You want length and weight, up and outward.

          2 – Feed them very well. I have other posts here on feeding.

          3 – plant in a very rich, well draining, acid balanced ,organic soil mix. I change the top half of the soil mix every year.

          4 – get into propagating and replanting because only the very health vines will flower and only well for 3 years.

          The thin vines are done in my experience. They were light starved or something. Get a health piece about 8 ich long
          and sit it in warm dark for 2 weeks for the ends to harden. Make sure you know the bottom end. I use a Sharpie and mark them. Set that bottom hardened end onto the wet planting mix leaning against the side of the container. A little water every day and it will root!

          Good luck!

          • @Alan Monday. Thank u very much. I took a screenshot of your message so I can read it every time I have a question. I usually get my mom to help me repot bc its so fragile I’m afraid I’m going to break it. I really appreciate the tips! The thin branches had slipped off there supports and were bent down. I will just clip them and try to make a whole new plant with them. Heck this time next year, west Virginia might be the dragon fruit capital of the state 😂. I will post updates. Thanks again!

          • That’s the spirit! BTW, what you want is a healthy piece, not the thin stragglers. What I do is let some of the little popper buds get to about 6-7 inches long on the bottom of the plant. You don’t want but a few per vine to mature a bit to get a good rooting. I take off the other tiny buds, as I mentioned. But, because of plant hormones nearer to the roots, these lower ones grow fast and are the best charged for rooting. I do this at any time, but don’t expect anything over the winter. Just keep your cuttings moist, cool-cold, not frozen, good light and they will go dormant and rest in the winter, only the bust out good growth in the spring. You pick the winners and losers.

            At the end of the vine = good.
            Anywhere else you remove it.

            2+ new buds forming at the end?! Good healthy sign. But, pick ONE winner.

            When they double themselves in length they are ready for full sun and will need a stick or something to be loosely tied to.
            I use 3/8″ x 3′ bamboo. That support seems to stimulate growth.

            PS- don’t plant the ends of the cutting. They will rot. Just prop them against the sides. Put a little bit of mix around the bottoms, like a pinch. I water once a day, and keep them in the shade.

          • @Alan Monday
            Ohhhh ok I just did repot and one broke off so I PLANTED it. It had 2 very nice growths at the end. Nice and prickly. I just left those on but I will get t out of the soil now. Thanks again. Its been ever so helpful!

          • See?! They root fairly easily. I will have to put up a bit of wire fence against the rabbits.
            When it gets this dry they eat it… yuck.

    • Wrong type of dragon fruit, you have the old variety that does not self pollinate, we have the self pollinating variety and almost every flower sets fruit. If the plant is old enough to flower it is old enough to bear fruit.

    • Hi Thomas if you are interested I have a picture of this plant growing alongside a pine tree at least 25 meters high. Please send me your e-mail adress and I will forward you a picture.

      Sourthen Cape South Africa of all places !!!

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Hey Kalo
        Thanks for your pic, its now published in the article.
        Thanks!

      • Hi Kalo
        I stay in the Overberg (western cape) and i have about 30 of the dragons can you tell me what type of soil you are using and are you getting fruit.
        Please let me know.
        Thanks.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hi Bos
          Thanks for the note
          I am using rich well draining soil. Basically compost and grow-mulch mixed with some native soil.
          Good luck.

    • Please help! My Dragon fruit cutting has some sort of rot . . . I don’t know how to contact Thomas but hoping this will find its way. I have photos. I cut the yellow part off but I think there may still be some rot I have missed. The cutting is in top quality potting mix with root enhancer added to the ends. I live in a very hot humid climate Broome, Western Australia. The cutting is in morning sun and afternoon shade. I planned on. Moving it to full sun when it takes root. Its been 4 weeks. I don’t want to lose it. I hope I can save it.

      • Hi Kate – I grow DF in Oz too but in SE Qld, humid too but not as hot a Broome.
        Was the cutting dried off before putting it into the soil? If not then I suggest that you pull it out of the soil and leave it in a light but shaded and dry spot to spend a week or two drying. Then re-plant.
        If the cutting was dried off first and was well rooted when you planted it, then it is possible it is just too wet for its comfort. The DF plants like plenty of water but it must be free-draining. Taking the cutting from the soil and leaving it to dry as above could be a help.
        Can you post a link to the pictures?

        • Thanks for your reply. No I did not dry them 😱. I was told otherwise. I have had a look and they are starting to grow roots now. Baby ones. Do I still pull them out or just cut back on the water? I have no idea how to post pictures. I’m not very good with the IPad. But if you don’t mind sending your email I can attach them to that? Thanks again for the feedback. I have definitely been overwatering.

          • Kate, I have no way of sending my email address to you via this forum. So we’ll just have to do without pix! Or join up Brisbane Local Food and send a personal message to me via that Forum.
            OK so you have more than 1 cutting? Then I’d just cut back on the water for one – still leaving it in full sun, DFs do not like shade (weirdly!). And the other I’d take it out of the mix and leave it out of direct sun for at least a couple of days to dry it off a bit, then replant and put back into direct sun. If you have more than 2, experiment with the others.
            Overwatering without good drainage would be the biggest issues for DF. A cactus yes, but one which is from a rainforest originally so not too dry … getting the balance right is the challenge!
            Even though from a rainforest, DF I have found after rigging an elaborate 50pc shadecloth cover, just hated that shade. The stems grew very long and skinny and snaked around the cover to get to the sun. And this after several stems were badly sunburned. Seems sunburn than can hack but not real shade!
            I suggest you buy some Biodynamic Paste from biodynamics.net.au. This strengthens the plants and could help to get them on the path to good health. It’s great stuff for all plants especially fruit trees.

          • Thanks so much for all the info. I will join the QLD forum you mentioned. And I will do what you suggested. I have 3 cuttings. One seems to be doing ok from what I can tell. Then I have the one with the rot. And the third one looks ok but is curling in a little and feels a little soft. But I’ll do what you said 😊. Thanks again!

    • Hi sir…I have a dragon fruit garden in 2 hetars land

  2. Are they possibly apomictic like citrus? (requiring no action whatsoever) or are they inbreeders like tomatoes that can be pollinated by vibration such as wind or fan?

    We’ve been growing them for several years — rather haphazardly — after reading all your wonderful information — I’m going to make some changes to how we grow them. We, here in Southern Middle Tennessee, of course, have to grow them in a greenhouse — we keep them in our semi-tropical greenhouse and they grow fine=== no flowers yet == so no fruit — I’ll make some changes to our growing strategies and see what happens this year. thanks for sharing all the good info and the videos.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Great question Sue.

      Apomictic:
      I dont think this plant follows apomixis as defined as “replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction.
      I believe that fertilization does need to occur, even if it is self fertilization.

      Overall:
      As far as fertilization, it depends on what you got.

      Some varieties of dragon fruit cactus are self fertile and others require a different plant for pollination.
      From what I understand, the self fertile dragon fruit cactus have been breed and selected for growers and are very uncommon in the wild.

      Pollinate:
      If you are in a greenhouse, I can imagine you would be wondering if you need to hand pollinate.
      As you likely know, many self fertile plants will still need something to get the pollen from the anther to the stigma.
      I suspect that the Dragon fruit cactus needs at least some pollen-transfer to get fruit.

      Some pollen will likely fall to the stigma on its own. However, because my plants are outdoors I don’t know if this is also aided by the wind, insects, etc.
      Overall, my cactus fruiting success seems to have more to do with the growing conditions than my hand pollination attempts.
      For example, I got fruit regardless of what I tried to hand pollinate… likely because of other pollinators were at work out there.

      However, I suspect that the combination of pollination (of some sort) and tropical growing conditions are necessary for fruit to form.

      Please keep us updated on how things go for you!

  3. Im trying to grow dragon fruit of all 3 variaties but i havent bought the seeds yet i would like some advice on how to grow them in a place like Maryland near the beach because i want to grow them but im worried i might acidently kill them if i plant them here and i dont know how to hand pollinate you advice would really help me out.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey kkfire12
      Great questions.

      I suspect that Maryland might be a bit cold in the winter for these guys. They are really subtropical plants and dont seem to tolerate more than a light frost.
      That being said, they do rather well in pots. Therefore, you could have them outside for most of the year and then bring them in for the colder months.
      Or.. You could keep them inside all year long by a sunny window.
      Regardless of where you have them, you will need to give them some support to grow on because they are climbers. They grow more like vines than your typical cactus.

      As far as pollination.. yea, hand pollination would be the way to go. They only bloom at night.. and for one night, so you have a small window to do it. The standard way is to take a brush and transfer the pollen from the anther to the stigma. However, in my own experience, the overall soil health (right moisture, temp, etc) has more to do with fruiting success than anything.

      As far as growing from seed… good for you for trying. However, it is much easier to grow from cuttings. Just put the dragon fruit branch cutting in the right soil and they grow. I have them fruiting in one year from planting. Seedlings on the other hand take many years (some say 7 years) to reach fruiting maturity.

      • you can do pitaya cuttings cut pieces and place in a dark dry box, within 30 days after transplantation. the Polonization must be crossed to produce larger fruit, 700 gr. Very low temperature resistant varieties, can remain in place permanently plasticlutura planting winter use. they can be induced to flroescimento early flowering time and more. Production can be concetrada between crop of competitors. have higher price. with seedlings through seeds, they may bear fruit in the same year. it takes 72 hours to induce germination and transplant the dragon fruit seedlings. I am an agronomist and look for work in California, USA, with fruit growing, I want to take a short English course, then my PhD with neurodegenerative diseases. Medinal with passion fruit. I can work after school the English course, intensive, every day and weekends, Saturdays and Sundays. for maracujas I desejvolvi protocols and methodologies, they may be produced in California, for both juice and for different purposes, such as weight loss, obesity control,reduce infarct in 74% reduction of hospital stay in patients undergoing surgery pos heart, cicattrizacao more quickly eliminates fat veins and arteries. some types of diabetes and and prevention of some types of cancer and digestive tract passion fruit species control convulsion, so scientific papers were filed in Brazil in hospitals and research centers, I worked eight years with a great team. If some company is interested vafor contact, both for the production of fruits, such as for the production of commercial plants. I tenhoe experience in culture and laboratory plant tissue, I am an agronomist with pespecilaização in molecular biology. I have Brazilian and European passport, I lived five years in Germany, I speak French, Italian, Spanish. portuges and understand English. I need an opportunity. thank you. alvaro

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hi Alvaro
          Thanks for all the great info.
          Tom

        • Hola Alvaro,
          Felix Navidad. Pruebe contactar Rancho Soledad Nursery in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Hacen tambien tissue culture asi que podrian ser ineresados en Usted.Yo tambien necesito alguien para ayudarme establecer diferentes plantas de fruta, tambien Maracuya. Vivo en San Diego inland. Me puede email tambien en alema or ingles, soy Suiza.
          Muchos saludos,
          Susan

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hi Susan
            Thank you for your note and Merry Christmas to you too.

            I put your note into googles Spanish-to-English translator and the following is what I got:

            Hello Alvaro ,
            Felix Christmas. Try contacting Rancho Soledad Nursery in Rancho Santa Fe , California. They also tissue culture so they could be ineresados ​​in Usted.Yo also need someone to help me set different fruit plants , also passion fruit. I live in San Diego inland . You can also email me in English or Alema , I’m Switzerland.
            Many greetings,
            Susan

            It looks like the translation was not complete. However, from what I can tell you were interested in different plants including passion fruit.
            Happy to help you however I can. If you could reply in English, that would make it a lot easier for me and help ensure I get all of the info.

            All the best,
            Tom

  4. Hello Doc

    Have just self pollenated my first crop of dragon fruit last night and again tonight, have noted the flowers last longer into the next morning after being pollenated,
    Do not know if white or red flesh fruit.
    Regards

    Terry

    Brisbane Queensland Australia

  5. Best report I’ve read so far Thomas – thank you!
    Still wanting to know: if the fruiting stems (the ones with the blunt ends) need to be 2 years old before they fruit. Seems like it from the time my plants have been in the soil. With pruning, I don’t want to prune off next season’s fruit!
    And if the stem fruited this season, will it do so again next season? (I know I’ll find this out if I live long enough, but would love to know for sure one way or the other!).
    Oh indeed the plants love organic fertiliser, mulched soil and lots of water! And they do sunburn in coastal Brisbane.
    I do pollinate: snip some stamens off and shake the pollen over the pistil of the same flower. So far, so good.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Elaine!
      That is a really great observation about the fruiting age of the Dragon fruit vines.
      I have noticed the same thing; but I haven’t quantified the exact details.

      Although I have not specifically marked the vines with dates, this is my general sense:
      -Old vines that have turned kindof woody do not flower at all.
      -I don’t think that 1 year old growth has flowered either (but I am not totally sure about that).
      -2 year old vines do flower and fruit… And I suspect that 3 year old vines do too.

      Ill have to keep a closer watch on this and get back to you.

      Thanks,
      Tom

      • Thank you for your observations, Tom. Now by ‘vines’ do you mean the individual stem?
        I’m assuming from the photos I’ve seen that the plants themselves live for many years.
        So can I take it that the flat-ended stem which produced flowers then fruit this year, might produce more next year? But not necessarily after that?
        When I prune, I should mark some stems so I can follow the results. This is where keeping a detailed garden diary would bear fruit 😉
        I’ve looked into some information put out by various Agricultural Departments both here in Australia (Northern Territory especially) and overseas. There is little detailed information of the kinds I want answers to … I would love to know what commercial growers really do. My 5 plants aren’t any threat to any commercial growers.
        Looks like we amateurs are re-inventing our Cactus wheel. Fun though! Such tasty fun.
        Thinking about the fruit trees which have come and gone over the years, the Dragon Fruits for the amount of space they take up and the small amount of care required, are the most productive of all.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Elaine

          Terms:
          Thanks for asking; so yea… when I was saying vines I meant the branches or stems of the cactus.
          I sometimes use the terms vines and branches interchangeably when talking about the dragon fruit cactus, but I see now this is confusing.
          Although this cactus acts like a vine, thanks to your clarifying question, I think I am going to change my lexicon and delete vine in this contex.

          Lifespan:
          Yea, they do live many years… Exactly how many years I am not sure, but I have no reason to suspect they are short lived. Over 10 years at least.

          Shape of stems:
          There is a variable number of ribs to each stem/branch.
          Most branches have 3 ribs, sometimes 2 ribs (flat branch) and sometimes 4 or more.
          Why the variation.. I have no idea.
          However, at least for my plants, there doesn’t seem to be any correlation to the number of ribs and the fruiting ability of that branch.

          Commercial Growers:
          Agree, I would love to talk to some commercial growers and see how they do it.
          Let me know if you hear anything.

          Awesome plant:
          Agree Agree… They are great producers or the space they take up.
          They also seem to prefer to grow where other fruit trees would rather not (in the shade/filtered sunlight of big trees).

          • Right, Thomas just a little more clarification … the shape to which I referred is the ends of the stems.
            It seems the mature stems have blunt or flat ends where the stems which are still growing have pointed ends. The stems with the flat ends (or call them another name which is more descriptive) are the fruiting stems. The pointed stems are still growing and will be flat one day when they are ready to fruit.
            Cheers – Elaine

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Awesome observation Elaine
            I have noticed that the pointed ends are growing but I had not made the connection with flowering.
            I will have to keep an eye out this season to see what they do.
            Thanks!
            Tom

        • i have a dragon fruit cactus that i inherit from my grandma, that said the plant its over 35 years old, it flowers all year long but the fruit never comes out of the flower it is the red variety because last october one flower did became a fruit but it rot before i could eat it (it was about 4 inches long), maybe it is caracas weather that have to much difference in degrees between day and night (from 30-27 day time to 16-18 Celsius at night), but right now im living in panama and the weather here its perfect for this pant and the sprout from my seeds are growing really fast im hopping that the 6 year breach between plant and fruit becomes 2 😀

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Thanks for the note Yorel
            There can be a lot of factors causing the flowers to drop before fruit.
            Most common ones are soil conditions (moisture and amount of organic material, etc).
            Other things like air temp and humidity also play a part bit harder to do anything about that.

            Finally, some of the older varieties may only fruit if there is a different type of dragon fruit flower pollen applied (by you, moths or bats).
            Since the flowering time is so short, cross pollination of these cactus can be tricky.

            Good luck.
            Tom

      • This was extremely informative, thanks a ton for your patience and deep study on the dragon fruit plant. I’ve had mine growing for 4 years here in temecula, ca and I was losing hope that it wasnt gonna flower. One night about a week ago it randomly did and I was so excited! Now just time to be patient. I was sad I didnt get to see it open, but i saw it the next day and was still awesome to see. I have hummingbirds and bees for pollinators. I have also cut off pups and have started growing a few more plants. So hopefully they will follow suit even though they arent as big.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Wonderful and congratulations Chase! That is a huge milestone. Keep up the great work and you should get a lot more flowers next year.
          Best,
          Tom

  6. Hi Tom,

    I live in Columbus, OH. I have 2 dragon fruit plants of unknown variety in my guest room/greenhouse at the moment. After a summer full of blooms, but no fruit, I am convinced this is a variety that requires cross pollination…ugh! As we are FINALLY starting to get to spring, I am thinking about purchasing a dragon fruit cutting from Pine Island Nursery in Miami, Florida. Do you have any recommendations on varieties that are self fruiting? I have 4 varieties in mind, but I’m not sure if you have any experience with any of them (Dark Star, Delight, Purple Haze, and the yellow dragon fruit). Thanks!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Brian
      Great questions.

      I believe all of your choices are all self Self-fertile varieties (Dark Star, Delight, Purple Haze, and the yellow dragon fruit).

      I know there are going to be dragon fruit connoisseurs that will say this is blasphemy… but to me, the biggest between most of them is the difference in the color of the flesh. The taste is very similar between most of them.

      Dark Star = Red skin with green fins-Pinkish-red flesh

      Delight = Red skin with green fins- Pinkish flesh

      Purple Haze = Red skin with green fins- yea, the flesh is kindof purple

      Yellow = Yellow skin white flesh. (I haven’t personally tried this one myself) This one looks very different from the rest; the skin is also thorny and people say that it is the sweetest. The significant difference is not surprising considering it is a totally different genus (Hylocereus megalanthus aka Selenicereus megalanthus)

      As far as the nursery you mentioned, I don’t have any experience with them.

      • Hi Tom,

        Thank you for your detailed description of the varieties. Unfortunately Pine Island is out of most of the varieties I’m interested in trying out. Where did you originally purchase the plants you have currently? Do you grow other tropical fruits other than dragon fruit?

        Thanks again!

        Brian

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Brian
          Your very welcome.
          I bought all of my plants locally in California.

          I see them at some rather random and unexpected places around San Diego.
          Sometimes they are put out in prominent locations of popular nurseries.
          Sometimes I see them in lonely corners of wholesale nurseries.
          Quite often they are not labeled as being a specific variety.
          At a particular location, their availability is flux for reasons I have not been able to correlate to a particular season.

          Very rarely, I have seen them in the big box home improvement stores… But the plant selection for these stores tends to be regionally specific and the dragon fruit cactus may not be available at stores located in cooler climates like Ohio.

          Overall, at lest in San Diego, if you ask a manager or owner of a local nursery they often tell you where to go, or could order it for you.
          I would expect the same for other warmer parts of the country as well…
          Perhaps an option for you would be to ask an owner or manager of a local nursery if they had a contact or could order some for you.

          Some additional thoughts for the adventurous traveling plant collector. Some states are very strict about bringing plants in from another state. California is one of the most strict. Therefore, I would look into the particular states agricultural rules before resorting to a domestic vacation-reconnaissance mission. However, I know for a fact that if you tried to bring some plants in from another country that those cute little dogs at the airport would go nuts on your baggage… so not a great option.

          Good luck and let us know how it goes.
          Best,
          Tom

          • Hi Tom,

            Just to give you an update on our previous conversation…The first Florida shipment arrived at my local nursery this week. I felt like a kid in a candy shop! Guava, papaya, mango, dragon fruit, to name a few! I ended up leaving with a barbados cherry tree and a Natural Mystic dragon fruit (which looks VERY different than my mystery variety that I got last summer). Both are from Pine Island Nursery in Miami, FL. Looking forward to see what the Spring and summer brings for the barbados cherry and the new dragon fruit!

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Ooh Ahh.. I totally know what you mean about being a kid in the candy shop.
            I feel that way every time I see a new fruiting plant.
            It is great to hear I am not alone in my passion, b/c many of my family/friends just dont get it.

            Interesting about your mystic dragon… It sounds like we might be on the same page about this; If they look VERY different, I would be wondering if at least one of them was different variety and mislabeled.

            Barbados cherry is on my list, I am looking forward to hear how that goes for you.

            Thanks for the update!

            T

          • Hi Tom,

            I’d like to repot my new dragon fruit plant I got last weekend. Would you recommend using an organic fertilizer designed for tropical plants (Espoma Palmtone 4-1-5) or a general purpose organic fertilizer (Espoma Plantone 5-3-3) to amend the potting soil. I was also planning on using a bit of sand (just as an addition, not as a primary ingredient) and perlite to lighten up the soil as well. Should this work!

            As a side note, the Barbados cherry seems to be pretty resilient. I repotted it a day after I got it and while it was droopy for about a day, the next day it perked right back up! I’m still shopping around for a replacement Nam Doc Mai mango tree!

            Thanks as always!

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hey Brian.

            Thanks for the very important questions.

            Fertilize and transplant:

            As a general rule, when I repot plants I tend not to fertilize them at the same time.
            I try to keep the changes to a minimum.
            I wait to fertilize for at least a week (often more) to give the plant a chance to settle in first.

            Type of fertilizer:
            But yea, when I do fertilize, I give them the organic stuff.
            Dragon fruit cactus are epiphyte plants from the jungle (like orchids). So orchid type food should be great for them.
            However, I personally tend to give them stronger (and cheaper) stuff, like chicken manure, mushroom compost, and grow mulch in the root zone.
            I like to mix it up for them.
            But for odorous reasons, this method will not be a nasal friendly solution if the plants are going to be inside at any time.

            Considering Dragon Fruit Cactus are often found at the tops of jungle trees where birds perch, I would expect they get a lot of bird poo on their stems. Therefore, I would think that a foliar fertilizer spray would also work well…. Although I haven’t tried that yet.

            Soil:
            Yea, well-draining rich-soil is a must.
            Stay away from heavy clay soils
            Personally, I like to add in peat moss to help with soil moisture control and to lightly acidify the soil as well.
            Most people that I know of will also recommended that perlite be used for dragon fruit soil.
            However, lately I have been using a soil mix made mostly of peat moss and grow mulch (no pearlite); and the plants are very happy. But these plants are planted on a bit of a slope and drainage is ideal.
            To your specific question, a bit of sand should be just fine.

            Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your green minions.

            Thanks,
            Tom

          • Hi Thomas, Merry Christmas, where can I buy Pitaya plants in San Diego that will produce fruit in 2016?
            Did you ever grow Lychee fruits here? Do you hava knowledge about growing Muscadine grapes?
            Thanks for all the amazing information.
            Best,
            Susan

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hi Susan
            Thank you and Merry Christmas to you too!

            Dragon Fruit plants for sale:
            There are a lot of places where you can buy Dragon Fruit plants (Pitaya) in San Diego.
            It seems like there are more places that sell them all the time.
            I have sometimes seen them at the big box stores.. but they are usually of poorer health/quality there.
            If you would like a specific list of growers, just let me know and ill create a list for you.

            Pitaya that will fruit in 1/2 a year after purchase:
            To your specific question about buying a pitaya plant now that would produce fruit this coming summer 2016… that is a tall order.
            Most plants for sale are a recently rooted and just few feet tall at best.
            Under optimal conditions I have gotten my cuttings to flower in that short time frame, but to also get fruit as well would be a big challenge.
            For the most part, the plants need to be a bit older in order to be able to support fruit. The second growing season is still pretty early for fruit, but I can often do this myself if the weather is right and by following the recommendations outlined in the article.

            On the other hand, if you are somehow able to buy a well established/old plant in a container, you might be able to get it to fruit right away. I just havent seen any of these older plants for sale at a local nursery.

            Lychee:
            Oh the lovely lychee.
            I do grow Lychee. I am growing several different varieties (I have 5 Lychee trees).
            They are really wonderful trees but a bit tricky.
            I am also growing the same number of Longan trees witch are a close relative to the Lychee but seem to be a bit easier to grow in San Diego.
            I plan to do an article about them as soon as I finish a few more growing optimization experiments (in progress).

            Muscadine Grapes:
            As you may know, Muscadine (Muscadania) grapes are North American natives and can grow great without the need for spraying any pesticides.
            However, I am only growing European, (Vitis viniferaL) grapes, and American bunch grapes, (Vitis labrusca L). Therefre, I cant really speak to growing Muscadine grapes from my personal experience. However, the University of Florida has what looks like a very nice article on growing The Muscadine Grape.

            All the best,
            Tom

  7. hi thomas was wondering if you did tours of your dragon fruits, btw just read all the info on your site and have to say you have alot of good info, cant wait to share with you my experiences, i live in riverside and have lots of plants and varieties , with plants that are 3-2-1 year old plants,

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Dave

      Thanks for the great feedback.
      I have tons more articles lined up… just need the time to put them together.

      I have given lots of informal tours for family and friends. But no plans to open things up to the public. Perhaps some day… But at this point, I have a lot of other things that I would like to do before I am at that stage.

      In Riverside you should be able to grow the same types of things as I do here. I am looking forward to hear about your experience.

      Best,
      Tom

      • hi tom i live in guam am having trouble getting my dragon fruit to keep its fruit after it flowers , the fruit part after the flower will stay green for 4 days then starts to turn yellow , please help?

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hi Marian
          Thanks for the question.
          Unfortunately, I don’t have a definitive answer for you.
          Basically, you have to have all of the important environmental factors lined up just right for this plant to produce fruit.
          My best advice is to follow the outline in the Dragon Fruit articles.
          Best,
          Tom

    • Hello Doc am a newbie in this kind of planting and I live here in South California. I got the right soil, watering the plant as appropriate. And now my dragon plant starts to produce fruit. But the thing is that the fruit starts to be so green then suddenly starts to turn yellow then falls off…. Am wondering what happens do I nedd to do something else? Thanks you in advance.

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Hey Guil
        Thanks for the question.

        This is a common issue that happens to a lot of people.
        In my experience, the 3 most common issues to consider are;
        The age of the plant, environmental conditions and potentially poor pollination.

        Age:
        A young plant, (of any kind) may abort fruit before it is ready.
        From a cost perspective, producing fruit can be rather taxing.
        At some point a young plant says to itself, “What have I gotten myself into? I can’t support the expense of this thing”
        And then that young plant flips a switch and lets that fruit go before it is ready.
        Young plants may also produce smaller fruit compared to an older plant.

        Both of the above issues may also be related to the plants root system.
        A young plant is going to have a less developed root system than an older plant. Therefore, that younger plant is more likely to be stressed out by dry conditions than an older plant with a more developed root system.

        Environmental conditions:
        These dragon fruit cactus have evolved in the relatively stable environment of the jungle.
        The temperature, moisture, sunlight, etc doesn’t vary a whole lot from day to day or month to month in their homeland.
        Therefore, they never needed the resiliency biology that many other plants have.
        With all of that in mind, as you know the environmental conditions in Southern California have been rather extreme lately.
        Record heat and dry air is not optimal for these fickle creatures.

        Therefore, do what you can to soften these environmental extremes when you can.
        If you see a heat wave coming, water heavy the night before.
        Spraying the branches with some water in the middle of a really hot day may potentially help, but I dont think this has been proven.
        Some people will use shade cloth on really hot days, which makes sense, but I have not tried that.

        Ck out my article on Gardening success in a heat wave 3 key tips for more info on the subject.

        Poor pollination:
        Most of the dragon fruit cactus that you can buy around here are the self pollinating type.
        Therefore, poor pollination should not be a major issue for most people.
        However, in theory, even the self pollinating types will do better if they are also properly pollinated.

        Fertilization:
        Not enough fertilizer may be a natural concern you might have.
        However, if the plant looks otherwise green (not yellow) then fertilization should not be the reason for fruit drop.
        On the other hand, over fertilization with a non-organic fertilizer can definitely be a cause for fruit drop.

  8. Very informative and detailed article! What cultivar is that magenta one you cut in half? Where did you buy it? I’m in San Diego as well.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Ed

      I believe the magenta variety in the picture is “Dark Star” However, I am not positive.

      I got these many years ago, and the labels are long gone. This is before I found a lasting way to label my plants.

      I have gotten plants and cuttings from many different places in California; local nurseries, some un-named road side stands, cuttings from random places.
      They are around but for some reason they are not usually front and center.
      The offerings also seem to come and go- and are not related to any seasonal trend that I have noticed.
      I find if I ask at a local nursery, they will often take me to a back-quiet corner of the grounds and show me their selection.
      They are so tasty, easy to grow and easy to propigate I am surprised that they are not easier to find for sale.

      Best,
      T

  9. Hello Tom,
    Great information, I brought the purple/red kind and I think it is old enough, but it grows the flowers but then the flowers will just die and fall off of the cactus, it won’t produce any fruit. I have it in a huge planter pot because I wanted to be able to move it once I move into my yard once I move in. I planted it with an organic soil and breathable soil for it. I don’t water it to often and don’t think I have used any kind of fertilizer. I am curious how to pollen the flowers, do you just shake the flowers and the yellow flakes ( power like) not sure how to describe it come out because I have done that to my flowers before but still no fruit so maybe you could tell me how you hand pollinate? Also I looked at Home Depot and they have cow manure would that work? Also where do you find the mushroom compost, grow mulch etc.? I am interested in changing up to see if maybe my dragonfruit will actually grow fruit.
    Thanks,
    Brittany

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      HI Brittany
      Thanks for the questions and your positive feedback.
      Your travel website looks very interesting.

      Regarding getting a dragon fruit cactus to fruit:
      This is a common question and an issue that many people struggle with.

      Pollination:
      I think I should do a post on this soon with detailed pictures.
      In the mean time, here is the process in written form.

      You basically want to get the pollen from the male part of the flower to the female-part of the flower.
      -The female part of the flower is the octopus looking thing in the middle of the flower. This is called the stigma and is where the pollen goes.
      -The yellow powdery stuff is the pollen which comes from the male part of the flower. The pollen is found on the anthers, and the anthers are the numerous yellow things that surround the stigma.
      -Many people use a soft paint brush to transfer the pollen from the anthers to the stigma… but anything like that will work.

      Cactus variety:
      Important note, a lot of this depends on if you have a self fertile variety or if you have a cactus that needs cross pollinating with a flower from a different plant.
      -For the self fertile type you can transfer the pollen to the anther of the same flower.
      -For the ones that need cross pollinating, you need to take the pollen from a flower of a different plant and usually a different variety of dragon fruit.

      Growing environment is key:
      If the growing environment is not optimal, the dragon fruit cactus tends to drop its flowers and drop its fruit prematurely.
      Even if your pollinating was done perfectly, if the soil is not right, the flowers will drop.
      From what you have written, it looks like you have done a great job with the soil.

      Growing in pots:
      However, growing in pots can be challenging. Specifically, the temperature of the soil and roots tends to flux more when growing in containers. This can sometimes stress out a plant.
      In addition, the soil in pots will dry out faster than the soil in the ground. Since these cactus are really jungle plants, they like constant moisture (but not waterlogged damp conditions). Getting the right soil moisture is about as important as the right soil type.

      Fertilizer:
      I have not tried cow manure so I have no idea if it would work. However, cow manure tends to have a lot of salts in it, and salts do not always agree with tropical plants. Therefore, if it was me, I would avoid this option, or use a small amount… Or, you could also try it as an experiment on one isolated cactus.

      Where to get mushroom compost?:
      I happened to get my mushroom compost at a nearby mushroom farm. They give it away. Yea, crazy… and smelly. For more info on this option check out an old post I did on free mushroom compost.

  10. I’m growing all the different varieties in north San Diego county. I got one from Home Depot., and the rest (cuttings) from ebay. I just put them in a pot and off they go, didn’t worry about soil type, whatever I had around. When the dogs run by and break off a piece I just put it in a pot of whatever is around and they usually grow. I’ve had a few fruitings, I do the small paint brush routine to pollinate. I’ll have to pay more attention to what I’m doing I guess, if I want more fruit. There’s one about to flower in a few days. I like them, not much flavor, but the rest of the family won’t even try them. Their loss. I’ll have to get some of that mushroom compost from Escondido.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Jim
      Thanks for the note.
      The compost in Escondido is a great deal (free), but any kind of good organic compost should work for your Dragon Fruit cactus.

  11. Have a question…I have had a dragonfruit plant for about a year. My problem isn’t the growing, but how do I get it to flower and grow fruit? Do I need to pollinate it?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Marla.
      Thanks for the post.

      This is a popular question.
      The answer depends on a few factors… most importantly, the variety of dragon fruit cactus that you have.
      Some varieties are self pollinating and therefore may be able to produce fruit without hand pollination.
      I have several of these types of dragon fruit and I get lots of fruit with out any flower manipulation.

      There are a few other factors that you need to consider if you want your dragon to flower and fruit.
      These important growing points are outlined in my articles on the subject; found above and via the associated links.

      Best,
      T

  12. Your mysterious night-time pollinator has eyeshine. (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapetum_lucidum#Eyeshine) That rules out insects.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Interesting, thanks David

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey David, that is an interesting link you sent.
      Thanks!

      However, from what I am reading, eyeshine does not rule out insects.
      Eyeshine is an adaptation related to night vision of many different creatures.
      Specifically, I have recently discovered that the Sphinx Moth has eyeshine.
      I have found multiple references out there, but this one has a nice photo (below)
      http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/11/28/sphinx-from-guam/

      This mysterious pollinator in the video is looking more and more like a Sphinx Moth.

      • Hi Tom! I believe your mystery visitor is a hummingbird! They do fly at night, and you can see in your video that it flew backwards out of the flower, a feat only a hummie could perform!

        Thanks for the GREAT info about Dragon Fruit. My first plant just bloomed for the first time yesterday evening and I had no idea it was going to flower like that! I’m so in love with the plant!!!

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks Donna! I didnt think hummingbirds flew around at night.
          And your very welcome about the Dragon fruit info… Congrats on your first bloom! They are amazing flowers.

          • I agree with Donna. It looks like a hummingbird to me and you’ll notice the night eyes reflecting your camera light, which would suggest it’s not a moth. Love reading these posts and your tips. We just got three cuttings from a friend and have planted them with the help of your tips. We’re in Redondo beach, so we’re hoping for good results. Wish us luck!

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Awesome, and good luck.
            I am sure you will do great!

      • RE the video, my first thought was also sphinx moth. Here are a couple of images of the sphinx moth pollinator: http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=26966

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Awesome, Thanks Greg!

          • Your night time visitor is a humming bird, I am not familiar with the variety but i have seen many and would bet my dragonfruit on it! I am in Florida and we have many variety although few that large.

  13. Nice post, Doc. Thanks.

  14. Hi Thomas,

    Fantastic resource you have here @ tasty landscape.com! About 5 years ago I was @ a Lowes ogling a Dragonfruit plant as they have fantastic variety there. A kind Vietnamese woman noticed me ogling and said “you want one?” I said I was thinking about it. She said I have tons I give you free. The universe had fullfilled my hearts desire. I gave her my address. The next day I get a cardboard box filled with like 20 pieces whichever I plant 2-3 to a pot with supports. Later we are given some huge cement pots, I transplant then with a mix of potting soil, palm tree soul and succulent soul. They are put on a drip system and bookend a fountain that gets full sun and plays host to aquaponic goldfish. They often get some “dirty” goldfish water for fertilizer. Last year 1 year after transplant into the large pots we got 1 fruit per pot. This year we have 4 flowers per pot. No idea the cultivar name but the fruits are large Mango sized and have white flesh inside. Tonight there were 2 flowers, last night 1, 5 yet to open. My husband and u have been speculating about the pollinators for a while now. I guessed fruit bat and we live in Simi Valley, CA near a wash where there are bats nearby, but tonight I spotted a H U G E moth on the wall near our flowering Dragonfruit and wondered. I took photos and it struck me that this moth looked like it was built like a hummingbird. I have photos of this moth and googled Dragonfruit pollinators, came across your website and put 2 and 2 together after I manually pollinated the flowers tonight. This moth may have done it before me already! Or afterward! I took photos of the flowers too and after I did, the moth was gone! I also have chickens and have been putting their droppings into the Dragonfruit pots sparingly as the droppings are fresh. Anyway, I’d be happy to share the Moth and flower photos with you. I didn’t catch him in the act, but the fact that it was here when our Dragonfruit flowers were open speaks to some very serendipitous circumstances. We have 5 more flowers to go, hope he comes back tomorrow and the next few nights. Our Dragonfruit peacefully cohabitates with out passionfruits which are also flowering and fruiting at the moment. Thank you for this wonderful resource and you are so lucky to be in San Diego, there is an excellent resource for tropical fruit trees there, which I am certain you are a frequent patron.

    Kindest Regards,
    Stefanie

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Stefanie
      I am glad you found us here at tastylandscape.com.
      Thanks for the fun story.
      And your big humming bird moth…. yes, very serendipitous indeed.
      Keep us posted.
      Best,
      Tom

  15. Hi Thomas, i have planted my dragon fruit with PT wood supports is this safe to eat the fruit i have been reading these stories of the chemicals transferring to the fruit. Should i rip out all my dragon fruits and start over???

    Andrew

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Andrew

      Thank you for bringing up this important issue.

      Pressure treated wood:
      Pressure treated wood is basically saturated with all kinds of toxic chemicals… and this is by design.
      Pressure treated wood is intended to be toxic so bugs, bacteria and mold cant live in it.
      Unfortunately, what is really bad for bugs is often really bad for us too.

      Start over:
      Therefore, if it was me, I would start over with your dragon fruit cactus.

      Soil:
      However, another issue is that the toxic chemicals in the wood will also leach into the surrounding soil.
      Exactly how much leaching is difficult to say. It depends on how the long the pressure treated wood has been there and the conditions (moisture, sunlight, etc).
      The point here is that (if it was me) I would also remove a lot of the soil in the area where the pressure treated wood was.. because that soil is considered contaminated.

      New location:
      You might also consider starting over in a totally different area because it is difficult to know how far the bad stuff has infiltrated the soil.

      Adjacent contamination:
      Also: the plants nearby (esp down hill) are also at risk for contamination.
      Water will take some of this bad stuff with it down hill.
      Therefore, I would also assume the neighboring plants to be contaminated as well.

      Reference:
      Heres a nice link to a more detailed take on the subject from Washington State University:
      http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/CCA%20wood.pdf

      Bummer, I know.
      But better to be safe and healthy.

      Best,
      Tom

      • Planted mine with just regular Douglas Fir 4x4s. I did soak bottom ends in un-boiled Linseed Oil, over night. (Boiled Linseed Oil, dries really fast, but contains a bit of arsenic, from the boiling process. . No concrete or stones in the hole. Just packed the dirt.

        That will last 10 years, at least. And the cactus can feed on the post, thru the air roots. As some have pointed out, the stems are productive in quantity for about 6 years (after the initial 2-3 years) Then I replace the post and plants.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks for your great info and details on your technique.
          Looking forward to hearing about how it holds up.
          Thanks!

  16. My 2 year old dragonfruit had several blooms…hope to become fruit. However,noticed a 2-3” brown section on some of the branches. When I squeezed the brown mushy section water would come out. I took a stick and scraped the mushy stuff off down to the bone [for lack of any other discription] of the branch. Did I over water or is this some type fungis?

    Georgie

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Georgie
      Thanks for the great question.

      Well, you are not alone.
      This has happened to me… and many others too.
      My experience is that is happens randomly to the ends of branches.
      Usually one out of 50 branches or so.

      At first I felt this was a major danger because I have seen this type of thing move like cancer in other cacti.
      Therefore, I would quickly cut off the dead branch and make sure I had clean margins.
      However, One day I just decided to see what would happen on a branch if I didn’t do anything.. and well… it didn’t spread.

      That being said, its probably a good idea to cut these brown mushy branches off anyways.
      I would also clean/sterilize your cutting tools when your done so you dont spread any disease.

      So what causes this dragon fruit brown stem problem?
      My gut thought is that it is some kind of infection. Likely fungal, possibly bacterial.

      Unfortunately, bacteria and fungi are everywhere… so you cant avoid it.
      A healthy branch has a skin that will keep these bad guys out.
      However, if that skin is injured then there is an opening for problems.

      Therefore, infection usually penetrates weakened or injured branches.
      There are many potential causes of branch injury.
      Bugs may take a bite, resulting in a break in the skin where bacteria/fungi can get in.
      Too much fertilizer can cause rapid growth that will can make branches more susceptible to injury… and then infection.
      Sunburn can also cause injury that would allow bacteria/fungus to infect a branch.

      I dont think the cause is too much water, at least for what I am seeing.
      These cactus can handle a lot of watering as long as the soil has excellent drainage.
      Note, water/soil drainage problems usually cause the cactus to rot from the bottom up.
      What I am seeing happens at the ends of branches.

      Please let me know if you have any additional insight.

      Best,
      Tom

  17. Hi Thomas,

    I had planted different varieties in my front and back yard. I have a palm tree in the front house about five of them and I used and cut them about 5-6 ft. So eventually I planted cutting vines using the trunk of my palm tree guide them and tie every vines going up until the triiies to drop like umbrella .Is it a good idea?.
    I was in love this kind of fruit. Lucky I had read your info regarding cactus family (dragon fruit).I live in San Diego Ca.Thanks for your help for this matter.God bless.

    Pepito

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Pepito
      Thanks for the comment.

      Yes, that sounds like a wonderful idea.
      Your dragon fruit cactus vines should do wonderful growing on this type of natural support.

      If you like, Send me a pic and I will post it the article.

      Best,
      Tom

  18. One more question [for now] I am fairly new to dragonfruit growing. Is it necessary to remove the flower and pistol a few days after flowering to insure fruit. So glag I found your website.

    Thanks, Georgie

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Georgie

      Thanks for the question.
      No need to remove the pistol/flower form the growing dragon fruit.
      I just let it go o’natural.

      Best,
      Tom

  19. i want to do to fruit the dragon fruit off season.how will i do?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hy Nayyan
      interesting question.

      I have not tried this myself, but here are a few thoughts.
      I understand that the dragon fruit cactus fruits all year long in the tropics.
      Therefore, I would imagine that you would want to create the native tropical growing conditions for a longer time to extend the growing season.
      This likely means growing the plant in a green house in the winter and adding some artificial lighting to extend the amount of ‘daylight’ in the winter.

      Best,
      Tom

  20. I have my dragon fruit over 3 years, no fruit, except this year only 1 :(. I notice that my dragon leaves are turning yellow on the top. Bottom and middle still green. Do you have any ideas?

    Thank you.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Kim
      Thanks for your question.
      There are a few possibilities that come to mind.

      No Fruit:
      If your dragon fruit cactus is >3y old and is not fruiting, then I would start to think that there is something amiss with the growing conditions.
      Overall, these cactus are tropical-jungle plants and do best in that type of environment.
      Please see the article for more specific info on the optimal growing conditions.

      Yellow branches:
      There are several different possible causes of yellowing cactus branches.

      1.
      -A lack of nitrogen is a common cause of yellowing of any plant… and these guys are no different.
      In fact, the dragon fruit cactus seems to need more nitrogen than the average cactus.
      However, for these cactus, organic is the way to feed them.

      2.
      -Too much water/poorly draining soil can cause vascular damage that will look a lot like nitrogen deficiency.
      This in part is because the waterlogged roots cant take up the nitrogen in those conditions.

      3.
      -Too much sun, and/or rapid transition to a very sunny spot from a shady spot can cause yellowing of branches.
      This type of thing is often a problem if you are growing your cactus in a container-inside the house for part of the year and then being it suddenly into direct sunlight.
      Removing the shade of a nearby tree or other structure can cause similar problems if you are growing your cactus in the ground.

      4.
      -Not enough water/water stress is also a potential cause of yellowing.

      Hope this helps.
      Best,
      Tom

  21. Mr. Osborne,
    I have a white dragon fruit. I saw a video on how to pollenate the flowers by hand and tried it. The plant produced four fruits which was terrific since I have had this plant for years waiting for it to bare fruit. So I thought I finally figured it out and tried again with the next batch of flowers. There was around twenty-five blooms. We did exactly what we did the first time and did not get one fruit. Can you explain to me just what I am doing wrong? We love the fruit and would like to get this going.
    Thanks for your help,
    Cheryl
    Fort Myers, Florida

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Cheryl
      There are a lot of reasons why you may not be getting fruit.
      Having more info about your growing situation would help to narrow down your list of possibilities.

      Overall, if you are pollinating the dragon fruit flowers correctly, then the next thing to consider it the growing conditions.
      Dragon fruit cactus will drop their flowers and fruit if the growing conditions are not optimal.

      The most common issue is not enough water or too much water-poorly draining soil.
      However, there are other many things to consider.
      It might be easier to try and duplicate the optimal conditions I described in the article.
      The closer you get to the native growing conditions (as outlined in the article) the better your chances at success.

      Best,
      Tom

  22. how do I shape my dragon plant.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks for the question Shane.

      Shaping a cactus vine is more of a series of suggestions than anything.
      Slowly move the branches in the direction you want them to grow, secure them in place, cut off branches at the joints that don’t/cant be manipulated to follow your vision.

      Best,
      Tom

  23. Is the Dragon Fruit a regular tree or is it a bush that hibernates (like a banana)

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Steven
      Thanks for the clarifying question.
      The dragon fruit is not really a tree or a bush. It is a vine.
      In its native jungle habitat it usually grows on large trees… using them for support.
      Plants that grow this way are called epiphytes (epiphyte = a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic).
      Best,
      Tom

  24. I originally bought the fruit while working in Guatemala in 1979 and I save some seeds, after some 20 or more year I found the seeds and with luck as I didn’t know what type of soil they needed, I planted them in a pot where a palm plant had died. Any way one plant came out of those old seeds and this year I had two blooms and I was very excited of what the future would be like, until today when I noticed that one of the flowers fell off. I inspected the base of the flower and I found little white worms. I suspect these are the result of the small brown bugs that were eating the flower petals. I am at a loss, could it have been due to too much rain? I want to grow more plants, but not if this is going to happen again.

    • Hi Roberto

      Amazing:
      Thanks for sharing your story.
      I am actually amazed to hear that any of the seeds were still viable after 20 years.
      That’s actually amazing.

      So whats eating your flowers?
      I have no idea at this point; ‘little white worms’ could be a lot of things.
      As you said, it could have something to do with the weather making it more favorable for a particular bug.
      However, as you know, there are all kinds of bugs and they are everywhere regardless of the weather.

      I am not sure where you are located, but here in Southern California the dragon fruit cactus plants are fairly bug free.
      The only major issue I have seen is with aphids that are brought in by ants.
      However, these invaders only seem to get to the flowers and minimally to the fruit. They don’t seem to have the capacity to attack the rest of the plant.
      I just spray them off with the garden hose when I notice them. Sure they come back but they dont seem to do a lot of lasting harm that I have noticed.

      Pollination of dragon fruit:
      A bigger issue for you might be the type of dragon fruit that you have.
      Considering that it is an older unnamed variety, it would likely need a companion pollinator dragon fruit plant to get any fruit out of it.
      If I was you, I would also grow a self pollinating variety… that should be able to produce fruit itself and hopefully also cross pollinate the one you have brought up from seed.

      Hang in there:
      I just ate a big pink and purple dragon fruit earlier today… They were picked fresh from my garden.
      They are so good.
      I encourage you to hang in there, its well worth the effort.

      Best,
      Tom

  25. i would like to do to fruit dragon fruit off season
    is it possible ? if possible,how will i prepare ? can u help me?pls

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      If you are living in a temperate/subtropical area, the best option I can think of for getting your Dragon cactus to fruit off season would be a heated greenhouse and artificial lighting.
      I have not tried this myself, it would be rather expensive.
      Or, travel to the tropics…
      But basically you want to create the growing conditions that stimulate the plants to fruit.

  26. I recently bought two varieties of dragon fruit cuttings in May 2013 from Pine Island. I have been growing them in a giant container with trellis and have been doing great this last year. They are both well over four feet in the container and starting to look like a tree. I keep it pruned n have multiple new growths on it weekly, it looks very healthy for living in New Mexico haha. I make sure to keep the cactus soil mix moist and have been using an 8-3-9 fertilizer mix once a month as recomended by Pine Island. After this great year of growth i was positive i was going to get flowers this year, but no luck. My question is, should i be patient and continue what im doing in hope for flowers next year or change something in my routine? Id like to send you pictures and stay in contact thru email if i may.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Justin
      Congrats on the great growth rate of your cacti.
      I am not too surprised that they havent flowered yet; they are still likely trying to get their roots setup.
      Based on what you have described, I would expect you should have some flowers next year and perhaps even a few fruit.
      The next year will be more… They seem to hit their stride around 3 years in the ground.
      Best,
      Tom

  27. ***Updated report!!!***

    I left a post here at Tastylandscape last spring but I can’t find it so I’ll update what has happened since then. I live in Bermuda Dunes, CA which is in the Coachella Valley and is a fairly arid desert. I bought five dragon fruit cacti last April, planted them, and watched them grow. All was well until it started heating up here in the desert in late May with temperatures reaching 100 degrees by then. It was at that point that I began to notice what I can only describe as ‘Sunburn’ on the most sun prone parts of the five cacti. These ‘sunburnt’ areas were effectively destroyed, while the less sun exposed parts were less affected. I’ve seen similar effects on some other succulents, especially some kinds of aloe which I lost because I wasn’t paying attention(yeah, my bad…).

    Not wanting to lose the cacti and work that I had put into them I constructed a sunscreen, or canopy using wooden posts and lots of two feet wide sections of white muslin cloth. The nine wooden posts were set apart in the ground from each other 3 feet from each other in a square, grid pattern surrounding the plot of earth I had planted the five cacti. The white muslin cloth using two lengths of 2′ x 8′ lengths(each one above the other) was then attached on all four sides(essentially creating a 4’x8’s screen) using a staple gun to attach the lengths. I also took the lengths of muslin cloth and attached them above the cacti, all of which created a nice canopy for the cacti on the sides and on top. I left a 8 inch gap between the lengths of cloth on the top and the lengths on the sides to allow for some air circulation. The lengths of muslin on the sides were two feet above the soil and only stapled on the top to allow access to the cacti. The canopy and cloth allowed enough filtered light(not direct light) in but protected the dragon fruit cacti from really piercing aspects of the sunlight.

    So, what was the result of this canopy? It worked!!! As soon as I put the canopy up the dragonfruit stopped getting sunburnt. Nor did I have a problem for the rest of the summer. I double checked the condition of these cacti not quite daily, but about every other day. These cacti can handle 100+ degree heat, even 110+ degree heat, and the occasional, intense humidity we get here in the desert when the monsoonal weather comes up from Mexico(This year was especially intense with the disorganized remnants of a couple of hurricanes making it out this way). What Dragonfruit cacti can’t survive is the very intense sunlight we get in the desert. After all, they are tropical cacti not desert cacti. It really paid to keep an eye on the UV Index with these plants in mind. So, it’s the intense(high UV Index) sunlight which will kill them not heat. As far as I can tell the combination of 100+ degree heat & the intense sunlight effectively “broils” them.

    The muslin cloth canopy solved all of these problems and as I write this(Oct. ’14) all of the dragronfruit cacti I’ve planted last Spring have survived and thrived through the Summer here in the desert. So, yes, you can grow dragon fruit here in the desert, it just takes a little extra work to do it.

    What found really interesting is although I fed and watered all five the same and used the same mixture of soil for each cacti, each cacti grew at different rates. Here are the results for each one;

    Cacti A(white fruit variety): Lots and lots of growth, about 7′ tall, with many tendrils I’ve tied upward, but no flowers or fruit yet.
    Cacti B(white fruit variety): Moderate growth with several tendrils, about 3′ of growth, but no flowers or fruit.
    Cacti C(red variety): Lots and lots of growth, about 6′ tall, with many tendrils tied upwards, but no flowers or fruit, yet.
    Cacti D(red variety): Moderate growth with a few tendrils, about 3′ of growth, no flowers or fruit. To be fair, this one was really in bad shape when I picked it up from Home Despot(of all places!) for $6(they saw how damaged it was so they gave me a discount on it). All things considered, I’m happy with its growth as it was about 8″ tall, dessicated, and dying when I bought it.
    Cacti E(Pink variety): Lots of growth, was about 4′ tall with lots of tendrils. This was doing well until we had a really bad wind & dust storm(in July) which knocked over one of the posts onto this cactus and broke off six tendrils. I immediately planted each tendril in a shaded pot filled with Miracle Grow Cactus, Palm, and Citrus potting soil and each one has shown about 6-8″ of growth since then.

    I should also note that I placed the cacti in a plot between two established trees-a 12′ moro blood orange tree and a 12′ olive tree. Both provided considerable shade in the morning and afternoon and were aligned East-West. It also helps if you give them a strong structure, like a post for them to climb upwards.

    So far, I’m quite pleased that all of these dragon fruit cacti survived the desert summer. Now, it’s on to helping them grow and prepare for the occasional below freezing weather we get in the winter. Perhaps someday they’ll bear flowers and fruit. I will keep y’all informed.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Jim C!
      What an excellent update report!!!
      Thank you for the awesome info and insight.
      Your sunlight observations are in direct alignment with my knowledge of the UV dangers in the desert.
      However, I am pleased to learn that the lack of humidity in the desert does not seem to be a major growth inhibitor as long as there is shade.
      I am looking forward to hear about your next challenges: winter cold and flowering.
      Thanks Jim!

  28. I have a random question, I know you can eat the fruit, but can you eat the actual cactus too?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Interesting question.
      I know that many people actually eat the actual cactus of the prickly pear cactus.
      There are a lot of prickly pear cactus pads recipes available.

      However, I don’t personally know about people eating the actual cactus of the dragon fruit cactus.
      Seems like there might be better things to eat out there.
      Why do you ask?

  29. Fantastic read. I had dragonfruit for breakfast almost every day when I lived in Thailand. Heaven. If only I could easily have them in the USA…

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Gracefruit!
      They are awesome fruit.
      You can def grow them in parts of the US, I actually have 5 fruits on my plants now… A late crop in the cold of San Diego winter.

  30. I have a bunch of these guys growing up my fence, what triggers them to flower? I’ve heard when they reach the top of what they are climbing the will and mine have been hanging over the fence a few months now

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Great question Matt

      There are a lot of factors that play into when and why the dragon fruit cactus plant flowers.
      Basically; they need the right temp, soil, moisture, humidity and light.
      Thats all…lol.

      If everything is optimal in your environment, then the major trigger for flowering is likely the hours of optimal sunlight in the day.
      This could be why someone have noticed that the plants flower when they reach the top of the fence… In this situation, they are suddenly getting more sunlight up there at the top of the fence.

      However, the height of the plant… or being at the top of a fence (by itself) is not a factor for flowering.
      I have a lot of these cactus around the yard and they flower from every part of the plant if conditions are right.
      I have also had branches growing along the ground that flower and fruit.

      Hope this helps
      Best,
      Tom

      • Down in Australia we are in the middle of summer, so at the coolest of nights it is about 20C (68F) and hot days up to 35C (95F). It is in the garden with cactus soil, small parts sand and perlite. They have been in there for about a year and seem to love life (maybe I should fertilize them?) They get watered daily and half the time it rains too! They are located on my Southern fence and get almost 12 hours of sun at the moment. Maybe they aren’t ready this season, or maybe I need to do something to give them a little push?
        Thanks!

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks Matt
          So, based on the additional info, think it could be a combination of two reasons.

          1.
          The cactus could be too young still.

          2.
          Wrong soil.
          When I started with these guys, I tried growing them in cactus soil.
          On the plus side, cactus soil drains great which is very important for these plants.
          On the negative side, cactus soil is not what they have in their native habitat.
          These plants are from the central American jungle.
          The closer you can get to that environment the better they will do.

          The soil in their jungle floor… or the soil in the nooks of tree branches where they grow, is typically rich organic and well composted.
          Therefore, I would suggest that you plant them in the type of soil that you would provide to your other tropical plants.
          For me that is a mixture of things like mushroom compost, grow mulch, chicken manure, peat moss and some sandy native soil.

          These plants also like a good amount of natural fertilizer.
          Since these cactus often grow on trees, they are often getting pooped on by roosting birds.
          Thats the kind of nitrogen I would provide them.

          Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted.
          T

  31. Dr. O

    First off I just want to say I really enjoy reading your blogs, a lot of helpful information. I am starting my little tropical fruit garden here in southern California with sugar Apple, sapodilla, cherimoya, guava and next thing on my list is dragon frui and I have applied lots of your helpful tips. Now my question is how do you build the support for the dragon fruit that can withstand the heavy weight of the fully grown dragon fruit tree? Do you just bury the post 2 feet deep into the ground or do you use concrete mix to stabilize the post as well? Please help. Thank you.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Tracy
      And great question.
      Dragon fruit will grow on just about anything organic and many nonorganic items.
      I would try to stay away using support materials such as metal because the temperature flux (very hot in day and cold at night) can be damaging to the plant.

      More specifically:
      There are many different support systems that people use.
      There are some basic things to consider (below).

      1. Materials:
      Choose nontoxic materials.
      Although, materials such as treated wood may last longer, those chemicals will leach into the soil and then get into your dragon fruit.
      Not something that anyone wants.
      On the other hand, you want something that will last longer without man made chemicals, untreated Cedar and Redwood are great at holding up without any extra wood treatment needed.

      2. Design
      The best support design will allow your dragons to get the light they need and still be stable enough to hold them.
      A wooden fence is nice, but you often run into the issue of the sun being blocked by the fence for a good part of the day (depending on the orientation of the fence).

      3. My design:
      I have tried a few different options and there is one I personally like the best.
      It is basically a post with wood extensions at the top.
      The post is redwood and I tie the branches to it as they grow and send out their supporting rootlets.
      The extensions at the top of the post basically make the whole thing look like an uppercase “T” but in 3D.
      The top of the T part goes front and back and side to side, so if you were looking from the top it would look like an X.

      4. Depth:
      The depth you put the posts in the ground depends on a few things.
      Most importantly, how hard your soil is and how high you want the post to be.
      Obviously, the deeper the post, the more stable it will be.
      I personally dont use cement because I dont like the idea of any extra chemicals and I feel that my 2 foot deep hole is good enough for a post that is 5 foot above the ground.

      Hope this helps.
      Tom

      • Thank you so much for such a detailed explanation. I got 4×4 untreated redwood post and will be putting it down.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Your very welcome,
          Good luck!
          Tom

          • Thank you, Dr. Osborne, for the wealth of information and insight you have provided on growing dragon fruit! I just planted four next to 5-foot redwood posts serving also as anchors to raised vegetable beds. My question about creating the supporting trellis is: how wide do the cross-beams (Ts) need to be? I’m using 1 x 1 redwood for the supports and contemplating whether I can get away with 1.5-foot cross beams, which would allow for a 7-inch spread in either side of the 4 x 4 post. I’ll also add a 1 x 1 x 5the-foot span across the top of each bed, to join the posts.

            Thanks for any thoughts!

            P.s. I don’t know what variety of dragon fruit I have, unfortunately. But the stems are pretty beefy — probably about 3-inches in diameter.

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hi Kathleen
            Great question.
            However, there is no “right” answer.
            Dragon fruit will climb organic material where you let them. (They will also climb metal to some degree but it can got hot and burn them).
            So to some degree it depends on what you are looking for. I personally like the posts to be 5-6 foot tall so picking is easy.
            At the top, a crossbeam span of a few feet in each direction is nice if you want them to flow over the top to look like a strange palm tree. You could also connect all the posts with a long crossbeam and they would be happy to climb all over that too. They do well climbing all over fences for example.
            The most important thing is that the material and how you hold it together it is strong. These plants cant hold their own weight and they can get heavy.
            Also: I have used redwood posts with great success (for the most part) however, recently one of my redwood posts rotted at the bottom and toppled over. This is a side effect of organic gardening and using wood in moist organic soil. Another option would be to cement it in… or just replace things when it rots.

            Best of luck,
            T

  32. Hello Thomas, I started to read your blog and thought you might have an answer to my problem with red dragon fruit. I have a large plantation of yellow dragon fruit and have lots of fruit all the time. But my red dragon fruit plants (that were planted from the seeds bought in the US online) never gave me not even one fruit and no flowers whatsoever. At the moment these plants are almost 4 years old and look very big, green, and healthy.

  33. Hello Thomas, appreciate you sharing ur knowledge and insights. was wondering if u had any suggestions for my problems, not sure if uv already been asked this question but I have had a yellow one for about over 4 years now and it just never flowers so let alone fruit! not once, I trained it up a bamboo stake, prob only 3/4 feet high. I heard that they require growing up and then drooping over something at a certain height to induce flowers? have a red one too that iv had for prob only 1 year and training it up a wooden pole, bout 5 foot tall, and same no flowers. they both get good water, plenty of sun, look health green plants, grow really well… :/
    thanks for any help!
    blessings!
    Andy

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Andy
      Good question.
      I have heard the same about the branches needing to be drooping over something to induce flowering.
      However, in my experience that is just a myth.
      When conditions are optimal, flowers and fruit come off of every part of the plant… even if they are just trailing along the ground and not climbing on something.
      At least for me, the key is to treat them as the tropical plants they are and the instructions provided int he article.
      Best of luck.
      Tom

  34. Hi Tom,

    I have a big matured plum tree and planted a dragon vine in the trunk of the tree. The dragon fruit vine roll and climb in the plum tree about 5 ft. already, now I cut the tip of the dragon vine cause it will reach and go farther the top of the plum tree. Am I doing right? Tell me if this cactus will bear fruit and advice me more regarding this experiment of mine? God bless.

    Pete

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Pete

      Interesting situation you have.

      Growing on a small tree:
      I cannot speak from direct experience with that exact growing orientation… but here is my best shot.
      For big trees, it is not a problem to have dragon fruit cactus vines growing on them.
      However, for smaller trees it can be a problem…, because as you noticed you can run out of room.
      And under optimal growing conditions, dragon fruit cactus can grow fast…
      Dragon cactus vines can also be heavy and therefore they can break off smaller branches of the trees they grow on.

      Trimming:
      As far as trimming, I have heard that trimming can stimulate flowering and I have heard that it can delay flowerewing. I myself have not nocited a difference either way and the flowers/fruit to come off of every part of the vine.

      Looking forward to hearing how your experiment goes.

      Best,
      Tom

  35. Good evening. I have wanted to try dragonfruit for years. I recently went to Hawaii and tried so many exotic fruits but the dragonfruit was out of season, to my immense disappointment. I live in Nebraska where you will never even see such fruits. Anyway, I was wondering if there is any way you would sell and ship some of these amazing looking fruits. I have searched the Internet trying to find some with no luck, which is how I eventually came to your site. With all of your knowledge on them I’m sure that yours are excellent. I would be really excited and appreciative if there is anyway you could make this happen. Great website and videos. Thanks.

  36. Hello Thomas, first of all thank you for all the great info you have helped us with.
    I’ve had a Dragon fruit plant for 2- 3 years, I can’t really remember, anyways, I used to treat it like a cactus plant watering it once a month or so, until I realized in mid spring (last year) that it would grow quite a bit every time I watered it. I had it in a 15 gal. black landscaping container. It was here in your website that I learned it was not a cactus, so I moved it to the sunnier area in my backyard and kept it in the pot (lots of gopher problems) last year in September it started to bloom, it produced 7 buds, I plucked 2 of them because they were too close to each other and thought they would benefit if they were thinned to 5. I hand pollinated them and they ripened to scrumptious Dragon fruits. I trimmed some parts of the plant to propagate them and this year I should have 3 plants that may produce by year end (I hope) I check on my plants daily and was surprised to see that the older plant has about 15 – 20 buds popping up already, I didn’t expect that this time of year (I live in Vista by the way), my concern now is… will the 15 gal. pot prove to be too small? I am afraid to re pot it and in the process break the whole plant in pieces. along with the buds it also has new growth and I fertilize it monthly with an organic fertilizer and a little organic soil as well… any recommendation is welcomed…

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Rafael
      Thank you for the follow up note.
      That is awesome news; so happy to hear that I could be part of your dragon fruit growing success.

      Early flower buds:
      Great to hear about your early flower buds!
      The combo of your care and the warm weather likely plays a major part in that early budding.
      It sounds like you must have gotten all of the growing requirements in optimal condition as well (soil type, moisture, etc).
      As a result, you might get multiple crops throughout this growing season-congrats!
      Therefore, you will want to keep up with the organic fertilization. Because as you know, fruiting will take a lot of nutrients out of your plant.

      Container or not?:
      Most all plants do better when grown in the ground.
      However, dragon fruit cactus are known to live quite well in the crevices made at the junction large tree branches of old jungle trees.
      So… in their natural environment, this is kindof like a big organic container.
      So I an not as concerned about dragon fruit cactus becoming root bound as much as other plants.

      However….
      The major additional benefit of growing your dragons in the ground is that the surrounding soil will stabilize the moisture and temperature conditions of the dragon cactus roots.
      In the jungle this temp-moisture flux is less of a concern do to the nature of the jungle environment.
      However, as you know in Sounthern California, it is not unusual for the temps to go from 40F at night to 80F in the day.
      A container is less able to buffer this change in conditions and this rapid flux could stress out the dragons that were not built for that kindof thing.

      Major options:
      1. Growing in a larger container will reduce the environmental change seen by the roots.
      2. Plant the dragons in the ground with gopher protection.

      I wrote an article about how to easily make a gopher cage that might help if you would like to try that option.
      This is what I do with all my dragon fruit cactus and it works great.
      (See link to article below)

      Best!
      Tom

      • Thank you for your quick reply and great advise Tom. I forgot to mention I have nothing but hard clay in my back yard, which is another reason for the pots. I will transplant my 4 young ones (18 – 24 inches tall) to 24 gal containers to give them a better chance. Thank you for the advise and keep up the great work, you help a lot of people. Good luck with your Dragons!!!

        Rafael

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Rafael
          Thank you for the great feedback!

          Yea, we got that hard clay here too. Our soil seems to be either clay, DG (Decomposed granite) rock or sand.
          But mostly hard clay and DG that gets harder as it drys out.
          I have broken a lot of shovels out there in the yard.
          I have also resorted to using a jackhammer just to get a hole in the ground for a tree. Not an easy task.
          Starting with a small hole and filling it in with water over night helps soften things up for the digging.. if you are ever inclined to take on that challenge.

          Best,
          Tom

      • I planted in 15 gal nursery pots. I took a step drill x 1/2 inch and drilled three levels of holes, 4″ apart. And the bottom middle, I cut with saber saw, to take the 4×4. Dug down around the hole to bury the pot 1/2 way, covering 2 levels of holes.

        In the pot is a tropical planting mix.

        One very important thing about flowering plants is the N vs P ratio of the food. I learned the hard way. If you want a chance at flowering time, change to bloom food about April or so. Bloom food has much less Nitrogen.

        So, the schedule for me is:
        Winter = no additional food
        March = grow food every week (more Nitrogen (N) – nitrogen is largely responsible for the growth of leaves on the plant. Fast acting)
        April = Bloom food every week (more Phosphorus (P) – Phosphorus is largely responsible for root growth and flower and fruit development. Slow acting so start a few months before blooms)

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Awesome Alan
          Where are you growing your plants (part of the world/growing zone)?
          Whats your dragon fruit productivity like (fruit/plant)?
          Thanks!

          • I’m in San Diego County. Jamul, actually, at 1200 feet. So, that’s Zone 9b. on paper.

            And, on paper, it seems possible to have 200 lbs, of fruit, per year, per post. (4-5 rooted vines per post.)

            I met a guy last weekend that was putting in a full acre. Maybe 500 posts.

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Thanks for the info Alan. Sounds very ambitious

  37. Bob Klingenberg

    I first discovered dragon fruit while working in Guatemala in the 80s. Our unit was mainly around Lake Atitlan whose volcanic soils were perfect for it. They grew up fences and walls. I smuggled some cuttings back and planted them in a shady part of my garden in La Quinta. 120 degrees in the summer but the twice a day sprinkler setting worked. I first say them for sale in the US at an oriental market in San Diego. They were from Vietnam. Sold be the palate. Makes a great smoothie with the addition of mint and ginger. Due to their unique…almost unrealistic color I’m surprised they haven’t turned up on more restaurant menus. Super addition to a fruit salad.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Bob
      Thanks for the cool story.
      It sounds like you were way ahead of most of us in your wonderful discovery of the dragon fruit.
      I am also surprised that they have not showed up in restaurants.
      However, I am seeing some places selling them as fruit shakes.
      Thanks,
      Tom

  38. Dear Thomas,

    I would like to know if you had the information to grow mangosteens. I also live in SoCal so this information would be very helpful as I am interested in these fruits. I have a shop near me that should sell mangosteens so I’m pretty sure I could get my hands on a few seeds, if you can tell me information about growing mangosteens from seed that would be great!

    -Kurisu

  39. Hi Thomas,

    Last Spring, I bought a Natural Mystic variety of dragon fruit. It flourished in the summer months in Ohio and kept pretty well in the winter indoors. However, after taking it out for a week, it has gotten some pretty bad sunburn that appears to be spreading up and down the effected areas. I also thing an orangy type fungus is starting to set in as well… I have a few photos upon request, but I don’t think I can post any here.

    My question is when I prune back the plant back and remove the damaged parts, can I cut in the middle of the section or should I cut at the base of each section? I was told a copper fungicide spray should do the trick for the orangy fungus.

    Also, this makes for a good opportunity to make some cuttings! Will the cutting, once it roots, pick up as if it were the same age as the parent plant, thus making it just as ready to flower and fruit or does it kind of restart the “clock” all over again?

    Thank you!

    Brian

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks for the great questions Brian

      Pruning dragon fruit cactus:
      I have not seen much written on the topic of dragon fruit pruning.
      Myself, I try to prune the cactus at the narrow joint parts of the branches (the pencil thin parts).
      I avoid cutting the branches in the thick middle part.
      For me this has worked very well and I have not had any problems.

      Orange marks on the branches:
      Humm… This could mean a few things.
      Do you have a way to post the pictures somewhere like pinterest?

      One orange colored possibility:
      I have seen small scattered orange spots on a bunch of my dragon fruit cactus branches.
      I have asked around about what these orange spots could represent and I have gotten mixed responses.
      Some say it is sunburn, which I dont believe (considering the distribution).
      Others say it is some sort of viral infection.
      Either way, I am not too concerned about those few orange spots because they dont seem to impact plant growth or fruiting.

      Orange colored and powdery:
      I have not seen this on my cactus but I have it on the leaves of some of my roses.
      On the roses it is clearly the fungal infection known as rust.
      The best way to address this on roses is prevention which involves keeping the leaves dry; not watering from above and not watering in the morning. (Watering at night allows fungus to grow more rapidly in the dark, damp cool conditions). On the same note, good aeration and sunlight are also a big help. Copper fungicide is great as a second line option for plants such as roses after/or with the above initial recommendations.

      Bonide 811 Copper 4E Fungicide 16oz (473ML)

      Fungus treatment:
      As mentioned, copper is a great topical fungicide spray to use topically on many different plants.
      However, I have never used it on my dragon fruit cactus.
      For me, I have found that dragon fruit cactus seem to do the best in organic environments and I have tried to avoid stronger chemicals on them.
      I cant say this is the best way, but it is what I have been doing.
      Therefore, if a problem like you mentioned is localized to a single branch I would consider following the first steps mentioned for roses. In addition, blasting off the fungus in the morning with a spray of water directed away from other parts of the plant can help. If that didnt work, and if it was only infecting one area, I would consider the option of just cutting off that diseased branch.

      Cuttings to fruit:
      Cuttings are much faster way to get fruit than starting from seed.
      However, I have found that cuttings need about a year or two get their footing before they are ready to fruit.
      In this first/second year in the ground, the cuttings are likely putting all their energy into their roots.
      Once the roots are developed the plant will be ready to support flowers/fruits.

      Best,
      Tom

      • Hi Tom,

        Thank you for your detailed response! Definitely not powdery orange…With regards to pruning, that was my though too about cutting them at the joints as opposed to in the middle of the section. Unfortunately, I do not have a pinterest or any real way to get you some photos unless you email me, not sure if you can see the email address I have to input when I leave a reply here. I have it shaded by my banana tree currently, but I don’t want to wait too long to let the dying parts spread to other branches. 🙁

        I haven’t had much luck with trying to start them from seeds. I tried once just as an experiment to see what would happen, and it wasn’t worth the time! haha

        Let me know what’s the best way to get you some photos!

        Thanks!

        Brian

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Brian
          No problem.
          Ill have to look into how might be the best way to get a look at your photos.
          Will get back to you when I figure something out.
          Thanks,
          Tom

  40. Thank you for the wealth of dragonfruit info. We just received our mail order dragonfruit today. I was surprised to see they looked like cactus plants. We plan to keep them in pots and overwinter them in a greenhouse.

  41. Very informative. My two year old plant just started to drop flowers and the insight here is most useful.

  42. Hello Mr. Thomas Osborne, MD
    I am a farmer from amateur Algeria
    Can you provide me some seeds?

  43. Hi Thomas,

    I am glad I found your site on Dragonfruits. We just started planting last year given to us from my mother-in-law. We have one white flesh and one red flesh.

    Our problem was 9 buds but only 3 matured to fruit. The others prematurely turned yellow and fell off. It could be the weather because we saw them flowering at 9am in the morning and stayed all day until next day it closed up.

    I wish I could post a picture here. I will try to send you a picture from your site.

    Your site is very helpful. We will try your soil methods with our Chicken manure since we are currently raising backyard chickens.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Danny!

      So great to hear that I could help.
      Your natural sustainable source of fertilizer sounds awesome.
      Looking forward to seeing the pics.

      best,
      Tom

  44. We have many Dragonfruit buds and flowers this year and are wondering if we should trim the vine segments distal to the buds and fruit so they don’t divert too many nutrients from the flowers.
    Thanks for your work on this site. Very nice.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Sandy

      That is an interesting thought.
      I have heard some say that this can be helpful.
      However, I have not seen any documented proof to this idea and I havent tried this method myself.
      Sorry, I do not have any direct experience with this method.

      Best,
      Tom

  45. I have several plants of dragon fruit and live in Carlsbad, Ca (close to the beach). When I should expect blooming or having fruits.

    Thank you,

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Susy
      Thanks for the question neighbor.
      Since you are close to the beach, I suspect you have more marine layer and cooler weather than I do.
      (I am about 10 miles inland on a hill)

      I suspect that the marine layer should be ok… perhaps even good for the dragons.
      Except if you are really close to the ocean and you have salty air… they may not like the salty air.
      Perhaps spray them with water and deep (flushing) watering will help with that.

      I am also in northern San Diego county, and my dragons started blooming a few months ago… I have been harvesting fruit for about a month now.
      But as I said, I am further inland and likely get more sun and warmer days.
      The cooler weather you have by the beach may set them back a bit on the blooming schedule.

      Other key factors; the soil, moisture and fertilizer.
      I would first control the things you can (like the items above and mentioned in the article).

      If you are living in a particularly chilly microclimate, perhaps having them by a south facing wall will warm them up a bit.
      Just dont want to overdo it and have them fry from the heat coming off the wall on a clear day.

      Hope this helps,
      Tom

      • Thomas my Dragonfruit went hog wild and produced more blooms than ever before. I have them crowded in very large pots crawling over a cinder lock wall, they love the heat. Interesting to note one of them found the Aquaponics fountain with it’s aerial roots and that root bunch exploded into like a 100 rootlets sucking up nutrient rich water from our catfish Aquaponics fountain. Also we have chickens and for the past 2 years I’ve been picking up their droppings and tossing them into the Dragonfruit pots. This year we had over 20 blooms from 2 plants and the plant produced more than 20 blooms but the plant nixed a few by turning the brown and yellow and those fell off. But all in all this is the best year yet for our Dragonfruit. I have photos if you would like to see post and share. Just let me know where to send them.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Stephanie!
          Thant sounds awesome and consistent with my experience.
          They love natural fertilizer and seem to esp like chicken manure.
          As long as it is not dry desert heat they seem to really take off with the temperature.

          Cool story about your Aquaponics fountain and the dragons roots.
          Would love to see photos.
          With your permission, I will post them on the site.
          Ill send you an email.

          Best,
          Tom

  46. So I am new to dragon fruit plants, and want to make sure I would do a cutting correctly so it splits and grows a larger plant. Information is hard to find I think I have read to cut at the joints of the plant and a split will occur. Is this correct? And thanks

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Jamie
      Great question.
      I agree, it is hard to find information on Dragon Fruit, this is one of the core reasons why I created this site.

      Per your question:
      I should probably create a post to answer your question with pics.
      In the mean time ill try to describe without images.

      Before I cut a branch from the mother plant, I make sure I give the mother plant a good deep watering so the branches are full of moisture.
      Then wait a day or so for it to soak in.

      I generally cut the branches at what I call the joints… this is where the branch tapers to a pencil thin diameter.
      Then I let the branch “harden off” in the shade for a few days so the wound heals (I dont always do this, but it is probably a good idea).
      Then place the branch in about 6 inches of good rich soil and water regularly.

      Hope this helps,
      Best,
      Tom

      • And so I am correct in saying that when you cut this will cause a split in the plant. Allowing two to grow from one and thank you again for your help.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Jamie
          So yea, I think I know what your are saying.
          Just to be sure I will outline in some detail.

          Taking a branch of a cactus and replanting it is a form of vegetative propagation.
          The new branch you planted is a genetic clone of the parent plant.
          You can do this type of thing with a lot of different plants.
          For example, I wrote an article about how you can do this with rosemary and geraniums (see below).
          How to propagate rosemary: 2 key tricks

          The best way to propagate geraniums

          An important thing is that you want the mother plant to be big and strong enough before you take a branch.
          Basically you are pruning the plant and then replanting the branches you cut.

          In general, you dont want to over-prune a small plant because… well it is small and cant afford to loose a lot of branches.
          However a larger plant will have no problem loosing a few branches.
          Does this make sense?

          Best,
          Tom

  47. Great Work. Very happy to find someone with scientific background giving time and research to most important things in life.

    Great work for the community and coming generations.

    One suggestion might be to have a report type article converging towards How To/Insturctables scope, with full details from beginning to end.

    How To Grow (with pics)
    How To Care
    Do’s Don’ts
    Pest Care
    Incorporating answers from above posts within article if feasible.

    The intention of page being one stop page with full information for the newbies to pros. Maybe for other plants to.

    Thanks!!! & Keep It up!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Mick
      Thanks for the great suggestions.

      Its funny you mention some of this…

      How to grow:
      I am currently in the process of documenting my experience/experiments growing Dragon Fruit from seed and from cuttings.
      I am building a photographic library in the process of doing this and will publish my results when I am done.
      For now, the section, in the article titled, Dragon Fruit Propagation: also has a bit of info on the topic as well.

      How to care:
      I think I covered the “how to care” part in this article, but open to any suggestions.

      Do’s and Don’ts:
      This is a good one.
      I think I have covered a bit of this in the article already, but it might make sense to also have a dedicated section to this topic.

      Pest care:
      I do have a section in the article titled, Dragon Fruit Pests:.
      What kind of additional things do you think would be useful for this topic?

      Thanks!
      Tom

  48. Hi Thomas,

    We have a three year old dragon fruit (I’m not sure which variety) planted in pots. Lately, it had 7 buds, but now only 2 are left and one of them looks different than the other (instead of being green, it’s red). What might have caused the other buds to wither? Also, how many days will I wait for the buds to bear fruits? This is the first time in three years that the vine has bore buds the size of a baby’s closed palm. I live in the Philippines and it’s been hot here since last week.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Ren
      Thanks for the note.

      red bud
      Wow, a red bud… Thats interesting.
      I would have to see a picture of that.

      Why did your buds wither:
      Buds fall off for a variety or reasons; its mostly related to some sort of change that tips the plant off. Too much-too little of anything can do it (water, heat, cold, sun, wind, etc). It may also be related to a young age of a plant, disease or poor pollination.

      How long for fruit:
      From pollination to fruit is usually about 45 days.

      Best of luck!
      Tom

      • Here’s the link to the pictures of the buds: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B04e4tG_3fuEM0FQQ05ySjVHMnc
        I took these pictures a while ago (it’s 9 in the evening here in the Philippines) and I had to add flash to it because it’s so dark. The first one looks red in person but it seems like it has yellow undertones in it (because of the flash, I think). The second bud looks greener in person.

        Some of the vines have “dust” on them. I haven’t tried adding fertilizer or watering the vines (but my mom did, I think that was last year. She poured water on the soil then a few days after, it withered.)

        Thanks for the tips!

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks Ren

          I got the “You need permission” prompt on that link… and therefore could not access your images.
          Any other options?
          Thanks,
          Tom

        • Ren have you gotten any more of these different colored flower buds? Looks like a sport of the regular color. Sports can happen in any plant and it’s often how we get new varieties of plants. It would be interesting to plant cuttings from that section of your plant to see if it grows true to type.

  49. I live here in the Philippines and I planted a dragon fruit
    My question is : how many years to take before I see my dragon bear its fruit.?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Andi
      Thanks for the question

      For cuttings it can be as early as one year for them to flower.
      However, the flowers usually dont set the first year to make fruit.
      Fruit may set as early as 2 years, but really depends on growing conditions.

      Best,
      Tom

  50. Hello. You site is so helpful. Our little 2 to 4 in cuttings that arrived in May are now 3 ft high. We have the plants in pots. Do you have any suggestions as to what size pot would be best? Do you have any suggestions for a staking system for dragonfruit in pots? We love these plants. We can almost see them grow. Thank you.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Sue
      That is awesome amount of great growth on your little Dragon Fruit Cacti.
      Congrats!

      As far as the container size.
      I dont know of a hard and fast rule for the size of a container.
      However, in general, bigger is better.
      As you know these guys can grow fast and a proportionally small container will eventually slow down the growth of your dragons.
      In addition, a larger container will also provide a more stable growing environment (specifically more stable soil temps and moisture levels)

      Best,
      Tom

  51. Dear Sir, in mid July this year 2015, my Dragon Fruit Cacti flowered ( grew from a cutting 4 years ago ) and I managed to harvest one single fruit on the 21st of August ( about 30days later ). Now I have succesfully germinated the seeds with small shoots ( about 20 days old ) I need to know a progress chart of growth in size and time ( days ) to help me to know if it is developing correctly. Thank You.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi David.

      Great question.
      I dont have anything totally put together at the moment…
      However, as it turns out, I am working on just this very thing.
      So I am growing 3 different clusters of seedlings in different areas and I am keeping track of the progress.
      I will publish results as soon as all the data is in.

      Best,
      Tom

    • David…I have seeded plants too. Started them last Nov. once they reached 5″, I put each plant in its own pot and placed in morning sun outside for an hour. Then increased the sunlight each week..not to burn the plant. A month later, I put them in pots with a post in full sun. They are now, in just 9 months..5ft tall and climbing to my top in a week or two where I will prune the top to canopy plant. I have many varieties..will be glad to send you a cutting of one you don’t have..just pay for shipping. I live in FL. I hear it takes years (5-6) for a seed to produce flowers. Yet, a cutting can take 1-2 years! I started all of mine from cutting last Nov. 2014 and I have 3 varieties that produces 6 fruits just within the last month! So happy!!
      Hope this helps!
      Rose

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Hey Rosie
        Sounds like you have a great method.
        Your info is consistent with my experience as well.
        Thanks for sharing and congrats on your success.
        T

  52. Hey, I have recently purchased some Dragon Fruit cuttings from Ebay that I am going to plant. I will keep them in a container in my window. However, when I look around at pictures of Dragon Fruit plants, they all seem to be extremely large before the set any fruit. I have read that the plant must weigh at least 20 lbs and it will only fruit when stems a either hanging down or laying sideways, do you have any idea about if those things are true.

    I imagine that my Dragon fruit should grow to about 1 meter and from there I would prune it to keep it fairly small, but will that ever be able to set any fruit at all….?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Joanas
      Thanks for the note.

      I have also read the same things you have mentioned…
      There are a lot of roomers and speculation about dragon fruit that I have found to be untrue (from personal experience).

      I currently have fruit growing on every part of my Dragon Fruit plants regardless of how the branches are oriented.
      Although there do seem to be more fruit at the ends of branches, there are also lots of fruit on branches oriented in every possible direction, as well as old and relatively new branches. So the legends that fruit only form on stems hanging down or lying sideways is absolutely not true in my garden.

      Interesting about the 20 pound rule. I have read the same thing too. I wonder how someone could come to that conclusion. I mean… How could you just weigh the plant and not the soil/water in the soil. Do really weigh just the plant you would have to uproot the whole thing and put it on a scale, which I doubt anyone would do… And if you did you def would not get fruit that year.

      So sure, any plant will be more likely to fruit if it is larger and more mature.
      However, I have seen 3 foot tall dragon fruit plants growing in optimal conditions in South East Asia with lots of fruit on them.
      So the whole fruiting thing likely has a lot to do with other things such as the overall age of the plant and the maturity-extent of its root system. Plants that are old with great roots are often large and that might be where the idea started… Other important factors are the right soil, water, sun, humidity, etc.

  53. I have many different Dragon Fruit that I purchased last year and have made a garden on the East side of my home. My question is ants! I live in FLorida and I have 6 flowers so far and all have turned to fruit..happy!! But, the ants are eating my buds that just flowered..they look bad! And fruit flies are all over the flower tips that are withering away. I have put mint at base. Cinnamon around plants. Nothing is working. Everyday I spray off ants..white flies and hrs later..their back!! Will they harm my fruit from the inside and just have ugly outsides? I don’t want to spray ant killer..what should I do?? I am very proud of my 16 plants (all different varieties). But, my first year is already causes me so many headaches! Help!
    Thank you!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Rose

      So those bugs are there b/c they are taking something from your plant… They are eating, though in different ways.
      As they take away energy from your dragon fruit, it will impact the size and possibly the quality of the fruit as well.
      In my experience, ants cannot easily get into the fruit itself unless there is a break in the outer skin.. which can sometimes happen with damaged, sickly or overripe fruit.

      Dam ants.
      I bet the ants are also bring other sap-sucking critters with them such as aphids or scale.
      (Ants in plants are almost always working with co-conspirators).

      So yea, as you mentioned, as a first step, I try to blast off the ants with a strong spray of water.
      However, if they are “farming” other sap sucking bugs such as aphids, you need to deal with them too… or the ants will just keep coming back.

      Ants are a big issue for all of us, but it sounds like you have a tenacious colony nearby.
      I should probably write an article about this soon… in the mean time, here are some things to think about.

      In nature, you have two competing players that control the aphid/scale population. On one hand you have the ants which farm the aphids for the sticky sweet goo they secrete. The ants tend to and defend their herd. On the other side, you have predatory insects (like lady bugs, lacewings, etc) that want to eat the aphids. So the ants are kindof like a shepherd tending their flock of sheep and defending them from wolves. Just a few days ago, I put a lady bug on a branch infected with aphids. In about 3 seconds the ants were swarming the ladybug and it had to fly away. This ant-aphid relationship is ancient dating back millions of years.

      So what can you do if you are infested with sap sucking aphids and ants?

      Take away the ants and the aphids have a hard time surviving on their own.

      Kill the ant colony:
      I havent tried to do this in the garden, but it might help in extreme situations such as yours.

      A simple straightforward method would be to use ant bait, (which is usually simple borax mixed with sugar water)
      You can buy this ant bait at most stores or make it yourself.
      I havent made this home remedy myself, but here is a link to an article from someone who has.
      http://thegardeningcook.com/testing-borax-ant-killer-remedies/ I havent met this author, but I admire her experimenting nature to validate things.. which is what I try to do as well.

      Aphids:
      My organic method of controlling aphids/scale is a step-wise approach of increasing measures. I try to start simple and then escalate to more powerful methods as needed.

      First step:
      Like you did, my first step is to blast off the the ants and aphids with a spray of water. Try to get in to the little crevasse that they like to hide in. Careful not to spray the aphids onto another beloved plant in the process. This process will knock down the population but it is not expected to remove all of them. However, if you are growing outside, this may restore the balance and allow the plant to recover while the predators find their prey. But hey it is simple water – so it is an easy organic first step. Fortunately for me, I havent needed to go past this step for my dragon fruit cactus. However, I often have to do more for my other plants that get hit by aphids.

      Second:
      I havent needed to use tanglefoot with dragon fruit yet, but it is a great organic method that I use with my other plants. So here are some thoughts about how I might approach using it with dragon fruit.

      With most of my other fruiting plants, I apply tanglefoot to the base of a plant (typically a trunk of a tree). However, I never apply the tanglefoot goo directly on the surface of the plant. You need a barrier. Not all people will do this for plants with thick bark, however, You definitely DO want to apply tanglefoot on something else first if you are using for dragon fruit. Direct contact with tanglefoot will damage the skin of the dragon fruit stems. I often apply tanglefoot on some masking tape (make it thick and 2 layers for safety) that I put on the trunk with the sticky side of the masking tape facing out… You can also use their suggested tanglefoot wrapping paper. For this to work, you need to close up all the gaps where ants could crawl under the tape… and for dragon fruit branches, there would be a lot of gaps. Filling those with something like pulled apart cotton balls might do the trick.

      So overall, this tangle foot barrier keeps the ants out of the plant and the combo of spray and tanglefoot is pretty darn good.

      Third:
      Spraying simple horticulture soap will kill the little suckers.
      I have used this successfully on a lot of plants, but I have never tried it on Dragon fruit. Therefore, if you want to try this organic method, go forward with caution and test on a few small areas first, then wait a week or so to make sure it did not damage your plant.

      You can buy this insect soap, or just make it yourself by adding pure liquid soap to water. Some precautions when mixing your own soapy brew. Impurities in commercial hand soap such as detergents, whiteners, antibiotics and perfumes may damage a plant. Best to use simple pure soap. Popular options include pure “Ivory Soap” and “Shaklee’s basic H” Since any spray can damage a plant, start with a low concentration and test on a few small areas first… working up to a higher concentration after a week or tow to make sure there is no damage. 1 tablespoon of soap (to several tablespoons of soap) 1 gallon of water is the range you could start with most plants…. However, I have never used soap on dragon fruit cactus, I so really dont know how safe it would be. Some people will add vegetable-cooking oils to the mix that work in a different way for an added bug killing effect. Although some people would recommend using more oil, I would start with several tablespoons of oil per gallon of water to be safe and go from there. Never spray oil in the middle of a hot day, that can burn a plant. Spray in the evening.

      Fourth:
      Neem oil spray is an awesome tool for any gardener. It is an extract from a seed and it is super safe. Same plant precautions as above.

      Hope this helps and keep us posted.

      Thanks!

      • Tom,
        Thank you so much for your wisdom and great advice on my pesty ant problem. I will try a few of the methods you suggested, that I haven’t already tried. Tonight I noticed, while I was out pollinating a flower..yeah!, that the black ants go to sleep at night and the red ants were all over my buds! I ate ants!!! The American Beauty flower is on a cutting I received last Nov. I m so thrilled to have flowers and fruit on the other plants in less than one year!

        From the beginning, I read your blog on soil type and care. You are spot on and my plants grew like crazy! I watched them grow an inch a day! Thank you so much for all your help!!! You are wonderful to have this site for us and to answer all our questions..no matter what they are. I will wake up and follow those lil pest to their home and then I am going to destroy them!! I really am nice..lol

        Thanks again!
        Rose

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Your very welcome

          Thank you for your kind words and congrats on your awesome growing success!

          Tom

          • Hi Tom,
            Well..4 out of 6 have turned into nice fruit forming. Two turned yellow and fell off. We have had a lot of rain this past month here in Florida, and I bet that might have had something to do with it. Or just too young for fruit? All my plants are just 10 months old..so I was just thrilled to see buds and now some fruit!! I have very organic, well drained soil, as you have stated in other posts. So my plants just took off from the moment they got roots.
            My question is pruning. My plants grew up my cedar poles and then I topped them at 5 1/2 ft. From there, I allowed 3-4 shoots to form off the top..trimming everything under them that wanted to sprout. From those shoots, I allowed 2 more shoots on each. What do I trim in the Spring? I have looked for videos and only find some in foreign languages..can’t understand a word they say..LOL. Here in Florida, dragon fruit flower June-Nov. a very long season! Any help with my spring trimming will be most helpful!!
            Another question is my flower buds. When they bloomed, and 3-4 days later the flower ends are drying up, they seem to be soggy with all our morning/nightly dew. And I notice hundreds of fruit flies. Do you pull the ends off after a week or leave them on and the fruit flies won’t hurt the fruit? Sorry for all these questions!
            Again, thank you for all your wisdom and help!!!
            Rose

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hey Rose
            Sorry took me a bit to get back to you, I just got back from a business trip.

            Dragon fruit falling off:
            Young plants of any kind may abort fruit just because they are too immature to support the extra.
            Since 10 months is a bit young, that is a big possibility here.
            But sometimes a change in the weather will throw things off and cause dragon fruit to fall off as well.
            These guys can be fickle.

            Time for dragon fruit pruning:
            Some sources have suggested that pruning around flowering time will increase the chances of fruiting.
            However, I have not noticed that to be the case for me.
            Some plants (such as stone fruit) are well known to have a particular time for optimal pruning (winter).
            None the less, I have not noticed that the timing of pruning my dragon fruit makes any difference. I just prune them when I want regardless of the calendar.
            I am interested to hear any other insights on this from anyone else though.

            Way to trim dragon fruit:
            I try to trim at the joints of the stems (there it gets pencil thin narrow).
            I try not to trim through the midsection of a stem because it leaves more open flesh up for possible infection.

            Old dragon fruit flower buds:
            I personally dont bother taking the old flowers off the developing fruit.
            However, it is rather dry here in Southern California, so we dont have the same moisture issues you might have in Florida.
            From my Mediterranean climate perspective, leaving the flowers on doesnt cause any harm.
            But we really dont have that kind of fruit fly problem either.
            Fruit flys can lay their eggs in some fruit (such as thin skinned guava) and cause the fruit to be inedible.
            I am not sure if the eggs/larva can penetrate the dragon fruit skin.
            I guess if you were concerned, you could pull off the dry dead flowers, but I would be careful not to tug too much on the fruit because that may cause the plant to abort the fruit too.

            Best
            T

        • Hi Tom,
          I am so thrilled beyond belief!! I planted all my unrooted cutting Nov. 2014. Last year I had 7 buds from 3 different varieties…I have 12 varieties and 24 plants on posts and about 25 in pots! We had rain for 4 weeks straight and I lost 4 buds. :(.
          I followed all your suggestions on training plants up posts and composted dirt. And this year..it’s just April and I have 3 buds already!! I expect more dragon fruit buds any day. My plants are so healthy and love FL!! Thanks for all your expert advice!! It has made all the difference in the world.
          How can I email you pictures of my plants to share with others?
          Thank you again for all your helpful, trusted information!!!
          Cheers,
          Rose

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Hey Rose
            Thanks for your pics. They are now published in the article.
            Thanks!

          • Thank you for publishing my pics! My first flower bloomed last night…so happy! I have many buds now on two other plants. Thanks again for all your great information on making my plants the best they can be. You are such a Blessing to so many of us!

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            You are very welcome Rose.
            Thank you for sharing your success with us!
            Tom

      • diatomaceous earth is suppose to be good against ants. Dust it on the stems and soil. Totally inert and organic. Mechanical barrier. Like razor wire for ants.

        Also, I mix borax and sugar 50/50. Put in mason jars with holes in lid. Wire a jar to bottom of each post. (I put the lids on tight with pliers. Kid protection)

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Awesome info.

          I knew about the borax and sugar (bubbles up inside the ants= explosive death).

          However, I was unaware that the diatomaceous earth would work as a barrier. Do you know how that works?

          • This from Wikipedia.
            Diatomaceous earth (pronunciation: /ˌdaɪ.ətəˌmeɪʃəs ˈɜːrθ/), (is) also known as D.E. or diatomite

            Diatomite is used as an insecticide, due to its abrasive and physico-sorptive properties.[10] The fine powder absorbs lipids from the waxy outer layer of insects’ exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate. Arthropods die as a result of the water pressure deficiency, based on Fick’s law of diffusion…and (it) can be used to help control and possibly eliminate bed bug, house dust mite, cockroach, ant and flea infestations.[13] This material has wide application for insect control in grain storage.[14]

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Thanks Alan
            Thats awesome info. Thanks!

  54. Hi Doctor T!
    Your step by step instructions and detailed informations is really fascinating and helpful. And I just just want to let you know (i’ve not seen it in your videos/pictures) there’s a yellow type of dragon fruit as well. Thank you for all your hard work and keep it!

    -Dannick

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Dannick
      I have not grown the yellow variety myself (yet) but it is on my list.
      My understanding that is it very sweet, a little more drought tolerant and the fruit has a few thorns.
      Are you growing this one… if so any suggestions from your experience?
      Thanks,
      Tom

      • No I don’t have it yet but it’s the next thing on my to do list. I’ll keep you updated on it for sure. And once the plant is big enough and mature, I can make a cutting for you if you’re interested! 👍

  55. Tom,

    Thanks for this info about Dragon Fruit. I like many of your readers was having a hard time to get the fruit to set. I read all the info on your site which helped me a lot. Last year, in fact, I had 10 luscious red-fleshed fruit (and very big). I bought plants from Lowe’s and Home Depot initially (7 years ago), and I believe that the ones from Lowes were generic Dragon Fruit that needed to be cross-pollinated. Over the past 3 years I have bought other types (American Beauty, Halley’s Comet, Thomson G2, Physical Graffiti). This year I have had 20 fruit. My favorite is American Beauty which does not need to be cross-pollinated and is extremely tasty.

    I have read many of your posts and all of them are very informative. Your site is extremely helpful, especially for the hobbyist.

    Again, thanks very much for all of the information and suggestions that you have given.

    Don

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Don

      Congrats on your Dragon Fruit growing success!
      That’s awesome.

      Very happy to hear this website has been helpful.
      Thank you for your thoughtful/kind feedback.

      Best,
      Tom

  56. Thank you so much for your resourceful content! We purchased a new home in San Diego and the original owner had been growing a dragon fruit cactus for decades. It’s like a 5ft by 5ft shrub and I even had to cut off 10 feet of vines that were growing up trees. I had/have little clue what to do with this amazing plant and your site it definitely help guide me.

    We have had a hot summer and recent the color on the vines have been turning yellow. With the exception of the color change it seems pretty happy and has dozens and dozens of flowers.

    Should I make a note to water it more to try and prevent yellowing or not worry since it seems happy otherwise?

    Thank you for your time and expertise!

  57. Hi, Doc

    I have quite some flowers but very few fruits. my successful rate is around 10~15%, even I hand pollinate them. I wonder if its because of red/pink dragon fruit I plant. I heard white flesh kind is easy to fruit. also my plants are around 2-3 years old. Im planning to plant white/red/pink all 3 kinds in a pot. hopefully ill get some more next year.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey CJ
      Thanks for the comment.
      In my experience, the different varieties I have all fruit at about the same success rate.
      Age definitely plays a factor… but so do a variety of other things (soil, water, sun, temp, etc).
      So, (like life), you do the best to optimize the factors you have control of and hope that will carry you through for the factors you cant control.
      T

  58. Hi Tom,

    Thanks for a wonderful website. Lots of great information. It’s amazing how a plain looking plant can produce such a beautiful bloom.

    My dad has a thriving dragon fruit plant (white variety) in his garden. I’ve noticed that the last few fruits that I’ve tried hasn’t been sweet. It was ripe when it was removed from the vine. Is there anything to do to make the fruit sweeter?

    Also, I just purchased some seeds of the red variety for him. I was wondering how long it would take to bear fruit? You had mentioned that the red variety is self pollinating? We’re in San Diego, CA.

    Thanks again for a great and informative website.

    Regards,
    Linda

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Linda
      Important questions.

      Time to fruit:
      I have traditionally grown dragon fruit from cuttings, and they can produce flowers/fruit in as little as 1 year.
      I have recently also started growing dragon fruit from seeds and they germinate really well.
      However, since my seedlings are rather small, I do not expect any fruit from them for a while.
      Unfortunately, I have read that it can take 7years to get a Dragon Fruit seedling to fruit… We will see about that.

      Your self pollinating question:

      First some background:
      Self pollinating varieties have (for the most part) gotten that way via human selection/domestication.
      …and wild type Dragon Fruit cacti are (for the most part) thought not to be self pollinating (self fruitful).

      Many of the intense and robust flesh colors of different dragon fruit are felt to have developed from human selection/domestication.

      So it is easy to want to conclude that the red types are from human selection and therefore also self-fruitful.

      However, since the color had to come from somewhere in the plants genetics, I suspect that there are red fleshed non-self-pollinating varieties living wild in the jungle. Therefore, I don’t think we can say with certainty that all red fleshed types of Dragon Fruit cacti are self-fruitful. In fact, I am pretty sure that there are red fleshed varieties that need cross pollination.

      Al that being said…
      Most all cuttings and seeds that you will get from a reputable seller will be self fruitful regardless of the color of the flesh.

      • Wow, 7 years! I was hoping for less than 2. We’ll see. Hopefully, it’ll be the right conditions for the seeds to thrive.

        My dad shines a light on the fruit in the evenings. I’m not quite sure why but I think it’s to trick the plant into thinking it’s sunlight? I’ve also seen this done in Viet Nam while driving by a dragon fruit farm at night. Quite a sight to see.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Yea, 7 years… seems like a bit much

          That is interesting about the lights at night.
          I have heard reports that the flower buds will not open if they are under a bright porch light (apparently it confuses the flower).

          However, if the lights go on after the flowers open… and/or if the lights are not too bright…. perhaps they are doing something else.
          Perhaps they are attracting something else.
          Such as pollinating moths that would be naturally be attracted to the nighttime lights.

          Thanks,
          T

  59. Dr. Osborne: Thank you for publishing all that you have learned about these plants. I have a few questions for you.

    I recently acquired a Dragon Fruit plant. It is about 5′ wide overall, in a one gallon pot. My house is south-facing with some nice hot days, but usually not too hot (in Santa Barbara). My yard is definitely Zone 10+. My house is three miles from the beach and we get some lovely ocean breezes from time to time. My Epiphyllum oxypetalum are all doing great on the west side of my house, with full sun from only noon to about 4pm. Do you think my Dragon Fruit would fare well in the same location or will it need a lot more than just four hours’ full sun each day?

    That side of the garden also retains more moisture, thanks to not being fully exposed to the sun all day.

    Also: Would a dragon fruit be okay grown in a 1/2 barrel? I would build an upright structure for the plant to climb on, as you have done. Or does the plant need to be in the ground?

    Thank you for perusing my questions and thanks in advance for any advice you may have for me.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey MiTmite9

      You are very welcome. Thank you for your kind feedback.

      Santa Barbara
      I lived in Santa Barbara for a while… Such a wonderful place and magical climate.
      Based on your description of your microclimate, Dragon Fruit Cacti should do great in your area.
      I think there might be some growing at Lotusland.

      Amount of Sun:
      Dragon Fruit Cacti will grow just fine in shady areas… However, they will tend to look greener and get longer-skinner in shady areas… but flowering and fruiting will be a bigger challenge.
      Key for fruiting success in your marine influenced area -> the more sun the better.
      4 hours of sun/day might be pushing the lower limits a bit.

      Growing in Containers:
      Dragon fruit do rather well in containers so long as you dont let the soil dry out.
      I have seen tons of fruit on small cacti in containers. But that was Vietnam and the climate/soil was pretty perfect for them.
      But as always, the bigger the container the better.
      Most plants (including Dragon Fruit) seem to do better when planted in the ground.

      Cold:
      Bonus info.
      Try not to put your plant in a low part of your yard where cold air collects in the winter.
      Dragon Fruit Cacti do not do well with frosty conditions.
      On the other hand, I would be careful about putting the plant too close to a south facing wall for warmth… As you know, it can get really hot on some of our more intense summer days and you dont want to fry them. That being said, if you have them in containers you could always move them around a bit.

      Hope this helps!
      Best,

      • Thank you thank you! What a great amount of good info you have shared with me. I know now exactly where I shall put my Dragon Fruit plant. I have the perfect spot. That is, if you think it’s not pushing it to have all day sun. As long as I keep the soil moist enough?

        If I call the Nursery where I got the plant, will they know if it is self-fruitful? I forgot to ask you about that earlier. I think you wrote that most of them are self fruitful.

        Also: “longer-skinner?” Ah. I just got it! Longer and skinnier! Haha. (Under “Amount of Sun.”)

        Thank you, Dr. for the prompt reply, too. I am excited to get my plant into the ground and see if I can grow some delicious fruit. You are so terrific to have posted all this information for the rest of us. I appreciate greatly your knowledge, your willingness to share that knowledge, and your wonderfully thorough reply to all of my questions. What an awesome resource you are.

        I await your final verdict on the all day sun and pollination questions.

        Thanks again.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey MiTmite9 from Santa Barbara

          Your very welcome. Very happy to help.

          Sun:
          Yea, I wouldnt recommend all day sun form someone living in the inland desert… That may be too intense for these jungle plants. However, with moisture in the air scattering the sunlight, your area should be awesome. In fact, I have several of my Dragons full sun here in San Diego and I live 10 miles in from the ocean. So you should have much more of a marine layer influence to cut down on the UV where you are at in SB.

          Soil:
          Yep, they love rich well draining soil that does not dry out.
          However, they also dont like standing water… so you can overdo it with the watering too.
          Its a bit of a goldilocks scenario.
          I am sure you will do awesome.

          Self-fruitful:
          I would think the nursery where you got your Dragon Fruit Cactus should know if it is self fruitful. Cant really speak for them though.
          However, as you mentioned, most of the ones you get at a nursery should be self fruitful anyways.

          Best,
          Tom

  60. how to plant a dragon fruit using cuttings from the developing plant.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      This is my general formula for starting Dragon fruit from cuttings:

      Pick a single branch that is 6 to 12 inches long (+/-).
      Cut the branch at a joint (narrow point)
      Let that branch harden off for a few days.
      Put the cut end about 4 inches deep into rich loose aerated soil.
      Put in bright shade,
      Dont let the soil dry out but dont make the soil too damp either.

      Best,
      Tom

    • Any suggestions on how to ensure fruit production are welcomed gladly. I spoke with the Nursery where I purchased my one plant, and they said it is self-fruitful. But I also spoke with a woman who said her Dragon Fruit never ever produced any fruit.

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Hey MiTmite9
        Best advice I can give for producing fruit is to follow the outline provided in the article.
        Happy to expand on any topics or answer any clarifying questions.
        Let us know how it goes.
        Best,
        Tom

  61. Dr. Osborne,
    Thank you for your information on pruning my plants in the spring. I am so excited!! Nov. will be one year since I planted my cuttings and I have fruit that made it on two varieties..Cosmic Charlie and Red Thai. They are turning red now..can’t wait to taste my first fruit. I had two of Delight..but we had two straight weeks of rain and I am lucky I got anything to make it! I hand pollinated all the flowers..even if self. I wish we could post pictures on your site!!! I am so proud of my lil dragon fruit garden..12 varieties and now full of limbs. My husband built 3×3 above ground boxes for my cedar posts with holes around the base for drainage.
    Question…Do you know if I trim he new growth on the first limbs that came out from the top of my planet or both old and new? I am not sure how much of a haircut they need? I just gave them all fresh compost and they smiled!! 😎
    Thank you again for all your help and wonderful knowledge to so many of us beginners! And I wanted to let your followers know, that I am willing to send them some of my seedling and rooted cutting, if they pay for shipping. I live in Florida. I love sharing plants!!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Rosie, that’s awesome!
      Congrats on your success.

      Tasty Fruit:
      Cool, I am looking forward to hearing what you think of the Cosmic Charlie and Red Thai varieties of fruit.

      Pictures:
      I would be happy to post your pictures… but as you know my site has not be optimized to put the pics on a comment.
      If anyone out there has any ideas on an app I can add into WordPress to do this it would be much appreciated.
      In the meantime, if you have some social media site you post your pictures to, I can link to that.
      If not, let me know and we can do email or something.

      Trim:
      Although there are differing opinions out there, I have not found that Dragon Fruit “need a trim” the way other plants need to to produce fruit (such as peaches for example).
      Other than that, I am not aware of any best practices available to recommend when/how much to trim.
      I have plants that I never trim and other plants that I randomly trim and I haven’t noticed a difference to the mother plant.
      Most of my Dragon Fruit trimming is for forming a preferred shape and ease of picking the fruit.

      Your very welcome.
      Thank you for your great comments.

      Best,
      Tom

  62. Hi Tom.

    I don’t know if you can mix planting together these three different variety red fruit, white fruit,and yellow fruit in one post?I have the red and white but no yellow.

    Pete

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Pete
      Great question

      Yes, you can plant multiple different varieties in the same planting.
      Several of my plantings are mixed and they do great.
      (However, I have not personally tried it with the yellow type… though I dont know why that ones compatibility would be any different).

      However, there is a drawback.
      When you follow the steps in this article, you might find that the dragon fruit cactus grow really fast.
      Providing you an opportunity to take a lot of cuttings and make more dragon fruit plants.
      However, if you have different varieties in the same planting, it is really easy to lose track of which one is which.

      Therefore, I suggest you band or mark the different plants in some way so you can later identify them when they get big and all tangled up together in the same area.

      Best,
      Tom
      .

      • Hi Tom,

        Thanks, for the info , and I have red fruits and white fruits all together which 70 pieces front and back in my house.The only messing is yellow and I am eager to looking forward to check with friend or buy on wedside

        Pete Abalos

  63. I moved from Naples Fl to Cape Cod MA and brought some dragon fruit cuttings. They are in pots in an attached garage. I gave the mother plant to a neighbor and really hope I can get them to fruit up here. I will bring them outside when the chance of frost has past. Will let you know how it goes.

    Debbie Myers

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Debbie
      Thanks for the note.
      This is a dilemma that I am sure a lot of other people would also want to figure out.

      In theory I would think it should work;Keep them inside a warm sunny spot in your home in the cold months and bring them outside in the summer.
      Will likely need to be extra diligent with the watering in the winter due to the dry air.
      Also want to keep them from drafty locations.

      Best of luck!
      Tom

  64. Hi Tom,

    Regarding the messing cactus which is yellow color, I have not receive to my friend, and your comment for the yellow fruit is not available to mix with other variety?So far, I had picked some fruits already this year front section and the back too. Tell me something, how many times these cactus produce fruits in a year?Also, its okay to start planting in their respective post.God bless.

    Pete

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Pete
      The thorn-less fruit variety (red skin outside) can fruit many times a year.
      I have had them fruit up to 3x a year.
      The amount of fruiting seems to have a lot to do with weather and optimal growing conditions including soil conditions and moisture.

      I have not grown the yellow skinned variety so I don’t have direct experience with them. However, I would suspect they would be similar.

      Best,
      Tom

  65. I’ve just found my first fruit. I’m so excited. It’s totally natural. Never knowingly even had flowers before although we do go away for months at a time every couple of years. We live on Magnetic Island, Queensland. The plant is at least 3 metres tall now and using a tree for support#. I have just read all your notes. Thanks for taking the time. I’m now going to forage round the chook pen for some pooh.
    We have another plant by the back fence in full sun. That isn’t looking too happy. It has refused the fence as a support (glad about that as it’s treated). We’re in the middle of a serious drought so it’s not surprising if it prefers a jungle – more like the conditions the other plant enjoys, but still not much water.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Awesome
      Thank you for the note Audrey and congrats on your tasty discovery.
      Looking forward to hearing about your progress.
      best,
      Tom

  66. Hi Tom. My family farms along the Hamakua Coast on the Big Island (Hawaii). We have around 100 yellow dragon fruit stalks plus a few other varieties (Purple Haze, Halley’s Comet, Orange, and Physical Graffiti). Both the yellow and orange varieties are exhibiting something that looks like a drying out of the outer surface (both on the plant itself and the fruit). This is just ‘skin deep’ and can be scrapped off. The fruit is not affected as far as taste but lacks the thorns common to these varieties and I have to scrape the surface to determine if the fruit is ripe (yellow or still green). Also, the plants, which used to be a deep green are lighter in color (though not yellow). These plants vary between about three to seven years old. Except for a slight bit on the Delight trellis, I do not have this problem on the other varieties. I suspect that it rained too much this year as we normally get about 80″ where this year its up to 130+”. This is fairly deep soil and I retain a pretty good layer of organic compost well around the plants. Our daily temperatures are pretty steady as the farm is only about two miles from the sea (max. high = 85 F, low about 55 F). About three times a year, I’ll sprinkle Coffee Booster (16-3-10) to about four feet outside the planting. This stuff has good micro-nutrients (calcium, zinc, iron, sulfur, and magnesium) and seems to work well on just about everything we farm. That said, my Orange and Yellow dragon fruit look like someone touched them with a blowtorch in places. I’m considering pruning back the worst plants to just above the trellises but this may be an overkill. Sure appreciate all the fine direction and feedback your site provides. Maybe yourself or one of your readers can help solve this mystery. Thanks and Merry Christmas! – Al

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Al & Sandy
      Apologies that it took me a while to get back to you, I was away for a bit.

      Sounds like an annoying problem you are having with your cacti.

      It is interesting that the disease only impacts some varieties and not others.
      Do you happen to have some photos to share via something like social media (Pinterest, twitter, etc)?

      Not sure what could be the problem yet.
      Because it could be infectious, I would be careful about cleaning your trimmers between plants.
      Dont want to spread anything.

      In the mean time, see if there is anything useful in the article I wrote about Dragon Fruit Diseases

      Looking forward to hearing/seeing more.
      Hopefully we can figure this out.

      best,
      Tom

      • Hi Tom: Thanks for the good info. From the discourse on diseases in dragon fruit, the dry stem rot looks pretty similar but, in my case, the problem is not confined to the stem but manifests itself in various locations throughout the vine including the fruit. I’ll see if my wire can take a picture of the stuff and send it. Again, many thanks – Al

  67. I am from South India, We are planning to plant Dragon plants in 5 acres as intercrop between sandalwood.
    We have sandalwood plants in 10 X 10 spacing, now we are about to plant dragon plants in between sandalwood plants. we are using cement structure as support and we are planting 4 dragon plants around the cement structure.
    temperatures in my area various from 23 to 46 C, is it good practice to plant dragon between sandalwood ?, what can happen if there is a partial sun because of the shadow by sandalwood after few years. I read some where Dragon plants need full sun to able product flowers, is that right ?

    First 5 years dragon plants will be under full sun, as sandalwood plants grow dragon might get partial sun only, is that a problem for dragon flowering ?

    Regards
    Ramesh

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Ramesh
      Thanks for the question.

      I dont have direct experience with sandalwood (Santalum).
      However, I would expect that dragon fruit cactus would interact with sandalwood plants the same way it would with any other similar sized plants.

      The main issue that you brought up is sunlight.
      I agree, this is likely the biggest issue you would need to account for in this situation.

      If you live in a humid environment, there will be some natural protection in the atmosphere from the sun.
      Dragon fruit cactus seem to really like this and in these conditions they do great in direct sunlight.

      In dryer conditions like a desert, direct sunlight can be too harsh and some shade is needed.

      Dragon fruit cactus will flower in partial shade conditions but your productivity will depend on many factors. The amount of sunlight you need will depend on the baseline intensity of the sunlight in your area.

      So there is not a simple answer.
      Unfortunately it depends.
      However, full sun to partial shade works in a lot of places around the world.

      However, full shade in any area would not be expected to be very productive.
      I suspect that your sandalwood could get very big if you let it and they could eventually shade out your dragon cactus.

  68. Hi Tom,
    i really enjoy you blog ! your the reason i bought yellow guava and Lolita surinam among many others 🙂
    Big thanks !!

    I have been trying to get some DF cutting around la mesa I am around Mt Helix i think fairly close to you.
    would you consider selling or sharing some cutting if your favorite varieties ?
    Thank you

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Yves
      Thanks for the note
      Your very welcome.

      I would be happy to give you some DF cuttings.
      However, they have been hit by Botryospaheria dothidea. This fungus spot disease doesn’t kill the plants but it is said to decrease the productivity and it can be spread to other DF cactus by sap sucking bugs. Now that I have the spot disease on my dragon fruit cactus, I see it all over the place (on plants sold in stores, nurseries, etc). I am looking into anti fungal methods of wiping it out. However, before I do that I would rather not share cuttings that would spread the disease elsewhere. If you (or anyone else) knows a proven method to eliminate this fungus disease I will reward you with lots of cuttings… after the disease is gone. Thanks!

      • Hi Yves,
        I live in FL and have 12 varieties of Dragon Fruit (white, red, pink, purple inside) .no yellow, about 24 plants on my posts. I would be happy to send you plants, as I have started about 25+rooted cuttings from very healthy plants. If you just pay for shipping, I will be happy to share? No fungus on mine. I hope yours are better Tom?
        Rose

        • Hi Rose,
          Me and my wife just started a dragon fruit garden and while searching the internet about the subject I came across your post.
          You have a beautiful garden, and since we live in Fellsmere and work in Sebastian I was wondering if you would be gracious and give us some suggestions on how to proceed, and would it be too much to ask to see your garden?
          Thank you,
          Roni and Linda

          • Hi…perfect!! Would love to show you my garden!! I just noticed first new buds!!! I get so excited over my dragon fruit garden!!! Please feel free to email me at flrosebud@gmail.com and I will give you my number to contact me.
            Cheers!
            Rose

          • Hi Roni & Linda,
            It was very nice meeting you both. I hope the plants I gave you will produce fruit for you soon. Did you plant them yet? If you have any questions, please give me a call😀
            Cheers, Rose

        • Hi Rose
          I have looked much for getting cuttings of Dragon Fruit, unfortunately i couldn’t. I saw your Post offering help to others, I got so happy and excited

          I live in Egypt (Middle East), i am wondering if it easy to ship for me. i do not know if there a regulations controlling that issue or just DHL shipping

          surely i am ready to pay for shipping

  69. Hi Thomas,
    Thank you for sharing SO MUCH great knowledge. I’m currently obsessed with the idea of growing dragom fruit. It seems we live in areas with similar growing conditions… I’m about 6 miles from the coast of Southern California. I’ve become passionate about learning how to grow delicious things to eat… And have learned so much from what you’ve shared here on your site.

    I just read your previous comment about your fungus issue… And I have an idea for you. What about making a spray using Melaluca Oil (aka tea tree oil). I’ve used a combination of Melaluca Oil mixed with Cold Pressed Coconut Oil to treat all sorts of skin and nail fungus issues in my family with 100% success (after wasting a lot of time and money on over the counter stuff that didn’t work). So it seems that it could possibly work to treat this pesky dragon fruit fungus issue of yours. I heard of other gardeners using various essential oils to keep their plants happy and healthy. Let me know if you try it and if it works for you… As I will hopefully be growing my own dragon fruit soon.

    If the many different varieties, which variety do you recommend growing? I’m a bit limited by space… So I can’t grow them all.

    Thanks again for all the great information you share.

    • Here’s a link to an article I found on how to use tea tree oil to treat fungus issues on plants… Not only is it free from all the funky chemicals, but it’s also really inexpensive and easy to make your own tea tree anti-fungus plant spray. Good Luck! And let me know if it works. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!

      http://homeguides.sfgate.com/tea-tree-oil-fungicide-plants-57276.html

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Ann
      Thank you for your great feedback.
      6 miles in from the coast in Southern California should be a great place for Dragon Fruit… Unless you are in an extreme micro-climate.

      Thanks for the anti-fungal suggestion.
      If I can do this organically that would be awesome.
      I have not even thought about essential oils as an option.
      Great to know. DO you have dose suggestions?

      As far as varieties to grow..
      That is a difficult one.
      Very individual preference.
      In general, (at least for me) the light colored varieties see to be a bit milder in flavor and the darker-red colored ones seem to be a bit more complex-richer in flavor. Some of this also depends on growing conditions and when you harvest an individual fruit too. Perhaps another reader can add in their insight/experience.

      Thanks,
      Tom

  70. Sonja Rademaker

    Great article…really appreciate all the effort and info. Thanks.

  71. Hi Tom,
    How are you? Its been a while for giving advise regarding expert for dragon fruits plant. By the way I had been harvested some fruits last year but not much.This year mostly the cactus vines produce small cacti in every vines instead of flowers.I don’t know why like that? Do you have experience regarding that situation? What is your suggestion,trim those little vines or I will let it stay.I need your advice.

    Regards,
    Pete

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Pete
      If I understand the question, this is something a lot of people ask about.
      Basically… many people ask,
      “Should I trim growing branches to encourage flowering and fruiting?”

      Some people suggest that you should trim some branches just before expected flowering and/or fruiting.

      However, this is not my practice. I just train the vines to grow how I want them and trim when necessary.
      To me.. in the long run… more branches mean more energy for fruit.

      My main focus is a healthy plant which means the right soil, fertilizer, water, etc.

      Best of luck.
      Tom

  72. Hello Dr. Osborne,

    I purchased a dragon fruit cactus plant in March of this year from “House Depot”.
    It cost me a little over $18, tax included.

    I kept it in the plastic pot for 3-4 weeks. While in the pot, four offshoots started growing.
    So, I decided to transplant from pot to ground.

    I mixed 40% gardening soil, 30% compost, 30% native soil in my mixing tub (just eyeball quantity).
    I also added 2 cups of Blood Meal(good source of Nitrogen) and 2 cups of Bone Meal(to encourage flower growth) in the mix. I was using these for my tomatoes. Yes, I know, they’re both vines but still different plant.

    Here’s my dragon fruit plant in the ground(April picture), now supported by a 2×4.
    According to the tag, it’s the red flesh variety. The white stick, 24 inches in length, next to it
    was the support while it was in the pot.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/kt2ebkzsixmqm6q/dragonfruit_april_transplant.JPG

    I read somewhere that to encourage vertical growth, remove the offshoots. So, I did.
    I threw away the rest but planted the big one(10 inches) in a pot with the hope that
    it would take root. Sadly, it did not.
    I was successful with a tomato sucker to take root. Sorry , I digress… not about tomatoes.

    Anyway, for the next 2-3 weeks, I kept looking for some hint of growth, maybe an eighth of an inch
    or a quarter of an inch. It doesn’t have to be much.

    Still, no vertical growth…

    … but parts of the plants that used to be thorns are now offshoots.

    ALL 24 OF THEM!!!

    …and actively growing from my barely 24 inch,
    almost 2 1/2 month old (according to receipt) dragon fruit cactus plant.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/z3476hhvgc50xt0/dragonfruit_offshoots3.JPG
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/9zq9fqlc9qkldgl/dragonfruit_offshoots1.JPG
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/4l9vfz8m8okx338/dragonfruit_offshoots2.JPG
    https://www.dropbox.com/s/b8l1h4iiu4ifr8z/dragonfruit_offshoots4.JPG

    Should I …

    1. Remove them all?
    2. Keep them all?
    3. Strategically remove a few and keep a few?
    4. Do something differently?

    I probably should have held off on the Bone Meal, huh?

    By the way, great website.
    Thank you for the treasure trove of information on this particular plant.

    I appreciate any advice on this matter.

    Thank you.

    — Robert(Dragon Fruit Planter Newbie)
    San Gabriel Valley, 20 miles East of L.A.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Wow Robert!
      That is a ton of “off shoot” growth.
      That is pretty cool.

      To your question…
      Yea, most plants shift towards vertical growth when you remove lower branches.
      For example, some plants (such as pineapple guava) will require constant surveillance and trimming to make sure that the lower growth does not take over and turn the plant into a bush… which is what it naturally wants to do.
      Dragon fruit cactus are a bit like this. However, as I mentioned, looking at your pictures, this is more than I have seen and as you mentioned, it could be related to your rich growth medium.

      There may not be a “right” or “wrong” way to do this.
      However, if it was me, I would remove most of the lower new-baby branches and leave a few of the larger branches at the top.
      Those larger ones can be trained to continue the upward growth you are looking for.
      If you diagrammed it out, it might look a bit like a pitchfork with one main stem and several long branch extensions going upward.

      Please keep us updated on your progress.

      T

  73. Greetings Dr. Osborne.

    This is a fantastic wealth of information. I just finished browsing and I learned a lot. I have five dragon fruit plants which I purchased as grafted cacti and they have outlived their scions. I live in Canada, and while I can keep them green and ‘healthy’, I have to grow them indoors. They have been in my collection since 2003, but are still growing in 4″ clay pots with very sandy cactus mix. I have periodically removed branches to serve as grafting stock for various cacti, but never re-potted them. This spring they started growing again after three years with no new branches.
    I suspect the recent growth has something to do with my watering schedule. When I started grafting cacti, I used to water them regularly, year round. The scions would often die due to over-watering during the winter, so I adapted my schedule to include a dry season: one watering in January, with regular water from April to November. Last winter I continued to water the dragon fruit plants (without grafts) every second week. In the last two months they have grown new 8″ and 12″ branches. The largest plants have several new branches growing at the same time.
    I will plant some of the new branches in a large planter pot, but it has to stay manageable so I can transport the plant and trellis indoors during the cold months. It regularly gets down below -20 F here in the winter, so my greenhouse isn’t an option between September and May.

    I have two questions.

    1.) Have I stunted these plants with poor soil, inadequate water, and small pots to the point where they will not flower even if I transplant them?
    2.) Will the cuttings flower in a reasonable amount of time if they are given the right conditions?

    Thanks for your time.

    Steve

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Steve
      Cool story.
      Sounds like you have learned a ton about these plants on your own and done a fantastic job already in challenging conditions.

      Per your questions:
      In my experience, these plants respond very well to positive changes in their environment.
      Even neglected sickly plants will grow and flower after they are transplanted and their specific needs are attended to.

      Thanks,
      T

      • Thank you for the speedy reply.

        I will try my best to accommodate their needs and see how big they grow.

        After 13 years they are considerably smaller than most cuttings or seedlings after only one year. They seem to be healthy with lots of areal roots and thick dark green stems, but have only grown about 3 or 4 inches per year, until they stopped growing new branches about three years ago. This, combined with my habit of taking the best branches to preform grafting experiments, means that my largest plant has one old branch, about 20″ long and 2 inches wide, with 6 segments.

        I was concerned about stunting because I read that they have a 20-25 year lifespan. If this is true, my plants are well into middle-age.

        If I take old branches as cuttings will they have a preset lifespan, or do they behave like schlumbergera and rhipsalidopsis, where clones of clones can extend a plants life indefinitely? Would it be useful to take new branches instead of old ones? I would like them to stay alive and healthy for as long as possible, and if I can convince one to flower, that would be great.

        Thanks again

        Steve

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Steve
          Great question.
          I havent been growing dragon fruit for the decades needed to confidently answer your question (from personal experience).
          As you mentioned, many plants grown from vegetative propagation have their life-span clock reset.
          This is also seems to be true for the grafts of grafted plants (grapes, citrus etc).
          However, the same phenomenon doesn’t necessarily apply to shorter lived plants such as annuals.

          Although I dont have any concrete data on this, it is my strong suspicion that young dragon fruit cuttings will have a lifespan clock that is reset at the time of propagation.

          Would be interested to see if you find any scientific data to support findings in either direction.

          Thanks,
          Tom

          • After some time searching, I have only found bits and pieces.

            “There are many named varieties of dragon fruit, although breeding of new varieties is still in its infancy. At present, most commercial fruit is grown from clones”
            “http://science-all.com/dragon-fruit.html”

            It is my assumption that cloning does reset their genetic clock. It would make dragon fruit very difficult to commercially propagate via cloning if the clones inherit their age from the parent plant, but the cutting does inherit maturity from the parent. Large plantations would need to regularly start seedlings for propagation purposes and stock rotation. It seems that when large dragon fruit plantations start getting old and slow their production, they (plantation owners) just take young cuttings and start the process over again.

            I found some small bits of information here also, interesting, but not definitive.

            “http://cesandiego.ucdavis.edu/files/55065.pdf”

            (not definitive but interesting)
            Subsection “Commercial Varieties?”

            “• Several clones promoted as “superior” but no replicated research data available
            • Huge challenge for commercial production”

            Subsection “Propagation”

            “• Cuttings is most preferred method for commercial plantings
            – use one year old wood, at least 12 inches long
            – May fruit after one year”

            No “scientific” data so far, which is sort of frustrating. In other perennial plants, vegetative cloning seems to have no negative effect on plant longevity as long as the parent plant isn’t diseased at the time of cloning.

            I find it very interesting that a plant could inherit maturity from a parent without inheriting the genetic age as well.

            Regards

            Steve

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Thanks Steve
            All interesting stuff.
            What you are saying/reporting is also consistent with my observations and research as well.

            And I also find it fascinating how vegetative propagation can do these somewhat contradictory things (reset longevity and preserve maturity).

            However, cuttings will accumulate some genetic mutations over time from errors of cell division (mitosis) and other genetic insults. So… even lines of clones taken from the same original mother-plant may demonstrate genetic variation over time.

            Cool stuff.

  74. Doc I have a few new questions. A I was trimming my palm trees today and knocked a section of my dragon fruit plant off I have it wrapped in a moist Towell for now. What do I need to do it broke right at the joint so it’s not like a cutting nor have I ever done cuttings. Can I plant it as is, or do I need to keep in a towel and let roots grow out? Also for each area say palm tree or 4×4 should I be planting more than one plant it seems like everyone’s plants are much fuller that mine

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Jamie
      I plant dragon fruit cuttings directly in the ground and do not try to root the cuttings beforehand.
      They will grow from cuttings at the joint or in the midsection of the branch. I primarily cut them at the joint but I dont know for sure if that is the best option: they have grown for me both ways.

      I am not sure what your last question is (the last sentence of your comment). Perhaps you can rephrase the question.

      Best,
      Tom

      • Hi Jamie and Dr. Tom,
        I think you are asking how many plants to plant up each post/tree? Well, in my pictures I sent Dr. Tom, posted in this article, I have 4 plants and different varieties, growing up each post. I have 24 plants. I have found it to get crowded and trimmed some branches off last month, that are newer and in the way. I have a neighbor who let his plant grow up a palm tree here in FL. Well…its way up the tree and he can’t reach the fruit!! So, make sure you keep it trimmed to your height, for easy care.
        My plants will be 2 yrs. old in Oct. I planted them from cuttings sent to me. This year has been crazy! I have over 100 fruits developing right now. Every night the smell from 2-10 new flowers blooming is crazy!!!
        Good luck! And thank you Dr. Tom for all your great information!!!
        Rose from Florida

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Perfect Rose.
          Agree, thanks for the great comments and insight.
          Your plants look awesome.
          Congrats, your doing awesome.

      • Ok on the last question, when I look at your plants you have multiple shoots coming up from the ground where I have one. My plants are two years old and none of them have slip off near the ground. Should I say plant one plant on each flat side of the 4X4. I am not getting the fullness of your plants now mine are 2 years old and roughly 4.5 feet tall have never flowered or bore fruit, I am hoping that is coming I treat these like there my children because I ate one dragon fruit loved it and cant find hem anywhere LOL.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks Jamie
          I think Rose already expertly covered your question.

          A few more thoughts to consider.
          Dragon fruit cactus do spontaneously branch out… However, they don’t tend to spontaneously come up from the soil as a separate plant. So if you want plants to grow up from the ground all around a post, you would need to plant separate cuttings around the post.

          So a great process to create a “fuller looking plant” is to do what Rose has described; planting four cuttings on each side of each post.
          Since the plants want to branch out as they climb, many people will trim the offshoot-branches as they form so the result is more manageable.

          Your flowering success and fruiting success will depend on multiple factors. Some factors you have control over and others (such as the weather) you dont. Some parts of the world have a climate that is more conducive to growing dragon fruit cactus and… well it is easier to be successful. Other parts of the world are as optimal and if you live in an area that is not perfect you are then we are left to try and optimize the factors that we have control over. Try to optimize what you can based on the recommendations in the article.

          Best of luck,. T

        • Jamie…I would be happy to give you some variety cuttings!!! What kind do you have? Where do you live? I am in FL, and you just need to pay for shipping. I have too many!!!
          I have followed Dr. Toms advice about the dragons fruit plants and have had so much success!!! Great loose, organic dirt..the right amount of water…and talking to my plants!! It works!! And I have a bird who built a nest in my plants…she is happy too!
          I have plenty of cuttings..rooted..to share! Feel for to email me with your info. Flrosebud@gmail.com
          Rose

    • I forgot to say….make sure you dry out the ends of your dragon fruit cutting first. No moist towel needed. They are full of water and need to dry for 5-7 days first. They will rot if you don’t. I have a bucket of cutting on my back porch. It’s been 3 weeks now, and they have roots on the ends just sitting there. So dry your broken branch and start another plant! Good luck!!

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Great point Rose.
        Many people will let the cut-ends of the cuttings dry out before planting.
        This “hardening off” process is used widely for many different types of cactus.
        As Rose mentioned, it is done to reduce the chance of rotting.

        However, as an experiment I have planted some cuttings directly in the ground without waiting for the hardening off process. This does work sometimes but the success rate seems to be lower.

        Thanks,

      • Hey rose would you be willing to sell me some of your trimmings? I would pay freight I ordered all of mine off eBay and have great growth just no flowers or obviously fruit. Shock makes me skeptical I have great growth

  75. I have a great photo of dragon fruit rootlets grabbing the side of my water storage tank if you would like it. Not sure about the variety, it was given to me and hasn’t fruited yet.

  76. Hi….first of all thank you so much for all of this information on dragon fruits! I learned a lot and definitely know where to look if mine (sigh) ever decides to flower.

    I’m sort of looking for some advice. A couple years back (Probably about two now) my sister started dragon fruits from the actual seeds of a dragon fruit that she got from the grocery store. I’m not sure whether it’s GMO or not (so therefore not even sure if it will actually ever reproduce–are dragon fruits even GMO at this point? I wasn’t sure).

    Anyways, I now have a two year old dragon fruit cactus that is really well, considering it’s spent its entire life in a west facing window. The thing is, I live in Eastern Ontario, Canada (Ottawa area for reference). We’re in a bit of a heat wave currently (+35 C) so I put it outside, just for the day. However most of the time, the temperature in the summer is usually around 25 C and in the winter can go right down to -30 C or more. Simply, do you have any advice how to grow successful dragon fruits in Canada? Most of the year it has to be inside but I would love to know if you had any hints!
    Thanks!!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Heather
      Thanks for the note.

      I am not aware of any GMO dragon fruit.
      However, there are definitely some varieties that need a separate variety for successful pollination.
      Most varieties sold to home gardeners are known cuttings(clones) of varieties that are self-fruitful (don’t need another varieties pollen to produce fruit).
      So… It may be hard to know if the little ones you guys have started from seed will need another variety flowering at the same time to be productive.

      Producing fruit in Canada will be tricky.
      The main factor for growing success is temperature. These guys dont like cold.
      They also dont like scorching dry-hot either.
      These plants are adapted for jungle living… but jungle living is also fairly moderate compared to the intense temperature and humidity shifts we get up in more Northern locations.

      When you think of “jungle” in this circumstance you will have year round humidity, and bright sunlight that is diffused by the moisture in the air.

      If I was in your position, I would try to keep them near a South facing window in the winter… and try to keep on top of the soil that wants to dry out really easy with the dry winter air.

      In the warmer months, gradually move them to an outdoor sunny location… Not so fast to shock or burn them and not against as hot South facing wall cuz that may bake them.

      Good luck!

  77. Melissa Pritchard

    Hi, It looks like I may need to spray copper on my not-yet-fruiting dragon plant. Ive had it for 5-6 years, never any fruit but lots of flowers. Im still working on trying to get it to fruit and will plant a new cactus with it BUT I noticed a problem after I weeded out the grass that had grown around it. Looks like a fungus you pictured. Here’s the question. My plant which I had several clippings of and all grew on my fence has this fungus on some of it. There are about 16 ‘buds’ growing, not close to the fungus. What parts do I spray? Thank you!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Melissa
      Great question. If your talking about the “spot” disease (Botryosphaeria dothidea), then I am not sure what would be the best treatment. I have been looking at various sources for some credible insight on the internet and it is all rather limited. The best I can tell now is that the disease is probably spread by sap sucking bug vectors. How systemic the disease is within the plant tissue is up for debate. Last year, I clipped off some new growth w/o overt signs of the spot disease and I grew them in isolation from the parent plants. Most of those clippings remain disease free today so there is hope that it is not completely systemic throughout the plant tissue None the less, not sure if a superficial spray would get into the tissues enough to illicit a cure. I am not in communication with a plant pathologist in the state agriculture department about that and a few other mysteries. I will keep you updated on progress.
      Thanks,
      T

  78. Most of the information you post is the most usefull compared to other sites. I really appreciate it.

  79. I’m having a really hard time finding plants online and no nursery around me Carrys or can get dragon fruit plants. I want something big enough to fruit. Is there any suggestions from you or do you take cuttings and sell or give them away?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thanks Jon
      What part of the world do u live in?
      I bet we could find someone to help.

      My dragons are currently dealing with a case of Botryosphaeria dothidea infection, and therefore would not want to spread the issue with cuttings.

      Best,

      • I’m in north California in Mendocino county.

      • Hi Thom,
        A lot of information in your site. I enjoyed it.
        I would like to buy some good varieties of Dragon fruit cuttings. Could you suggest any realisable nurseries in San Diego county / Southern California for this please. I would also like to visit some commercial Dragon fruit farms in San Diego county. Could you able to help me.
        Best Regards,
        Jebarajan

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Jebarajan
          Thanks for the note.
          Great to hear you have enjoyed the site.

          There are a growing number of nurseries that are carrying dragon fruit cactus.
          Some farmers market vendors occasionally have them.
          I have even occasionally stumbled upon them at random roadside nursery outlets.
          Have also seen them sporadically at big box stores like Home Depot and Lowes.

          However, they seem to be more reliability available at dedicated “tropical” nurseries.
          A google search for tropical fruit nursery and your area may potentially provide some more convenient options for you.
          The following list is not complete… it just represents some of the ones that come to mind at the top of my head.

          Ong Nursery:
          I have also seen several different varieties of dragon fruits at Ong nursery. I have been there many times. They have a great selection and very reasonably priced hard to find fruiting plants, but the place is basically the first generation owners yard. A very different buying experience… and only open on the weekends (at least for now).

          Bonita Creek Nursery:
          Bonita Creek Nursery has been on my list to visit for a while… just havent been there yet. Their website inventory page has pictures of dragon fruit.

          Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery:
          Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery has a large selection of tropical fruiting plants including dragon fruit. However, visiting the place is a bit of a trip.. literally… The vibe (the last I checked) was 1960s and a bit disorganized. Prices are a bit more than you would expect from such an informal layout but they have lots of hard to find trees. Again, worth a call if you are going to be nearby.

          California Tropical Fruit Trees:
          It has been a while, but I believe I have seen dragon fruit at “California Tropical Fruit Trees.” Not sure if it is part of their typical inventory. Overall, they are a bit more expensive than some other places but they have a pretty extensive selection of plants and in general seem to have healthy plants.

          Hope this helps.
          Best,
          Tom

        • Hey Jebarajan http://ediblelandscaping.com/careguide/DragonFruit/
          Edible landscapes is where I bought mine from shipped for cheap and they where cheap and came in with roots and multiple vines and I believe they are in either San Diego county or Santa Cruz. They even have 15 gallon pots you can buy from there store in person otherwise they ship ones that were from 5 gallon containers

  80. Greetings Dr. Osborne:

    Your article is about the most extensive piece of information I could find on the net regarding how to grow Dragonfruit. I have planted some in my backyard in Houston, TX, either from cuttings or garden center variety. Of the garden center variety, according to the tag, it should be the self fertile variety and should be the red color.

    I can get them to grow to flower, but after the bloom and the petals turned brown and wilted, I see the entire thing falling off (or very similar to “aborted” as you pointed out in one of the images you had in your article). I have had series of successful flowering sessions, but eventually each one of the flower, after blooming will turn from green to pinkish/red at the base (as if they are turning into fruits, or so I thought) and fall off. The only difference was that your image showed the one aborted turn yellow.

    Long story short, I can get my plants to flower, but never have the fruit set. Could the answer be as simple as that they fell off because they were not pollinated (even if the variety is supposedly self fertile)? Too little water? Plant is too young?

    Would love to have some input from you, if possible.

    Thank you so much!

    Steven Liu

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Stephen
      Thank you so much for your kind feedback.

      Since you can get your dragon fruit cactus to grow and flower, it sounds like you are almost there.
      However, that last step of getting fruit can be elusive.

      If you have self pollinating varieties, than I dont think that poor pollination should be the issue.
      But, hey, I dont think it could hurt to try and augment some of the pollination yourself.

      These plants can be fickle when not grown in their native jungle conditions.
      Hot/dry summer air and intense sunlight are factors that they dont seem to enjoy and are not easily addressed in some places like TX and Southern California.

      Overall, unfavorable changes in weather during that critical flowering/fruiting time (temp, moisture, light) can throw them off.
      Of course, a young cactus may also have a more difficult time supporting fruit as well… which could potentially be a factor for you too.

      The best advice I can provide is try to follow the recommendations in the article all year long to support strong/healthy plants… However, things like moisture conditions are likely the most important factors you have control over at flowering time.

      Best,
      Tom

  81. Hi Tom,
    I have another question in my experience about their vines cactus on hot summer this year each vines close or look like pale and not green and not healthy,what’s the cause of that?Keeping me busy morning and afternoon to watch them and cultivate.

    Regard,
    Pete

  82. Hello Dr. Tom,
    I have read though almost all of the posts and did not see my question, which is . . . I had 7 flowers on one vine, (Halley’s Comet) hand pollinated all, just to make sure, but all dropped off after flowering. I had the same thing happen on American Beauty and Purple Haze. Have you ever had this problem or know why it happens?
    F.Y.I. I have successfully hand pollinated in the past. I live in Orange County about 3 miles from the ocean.
    Many thanks in advance,
    Kathi

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Kathi
      Thanks for the question and for reviewing the other comments.

      These cacti can be fickle
      Even if you hand pollinate perfectly they may not fruit if other factors are not in the right range.
      Main variables include; soil moisture, soil type, air temperature, and humidity.
      Some things we have control over and some we dont.
      Best advice I have for you is do your best to modify the things you have control over (details in article).

      Good luck,
      T

  83. Aloha Tom and mahalo for all of your work! I have been growing dragonfruit for about 1 year with pretty good results. But I was wondering if you had seen any information on what causes the vine segment length to vary? I have several cuttings that produce multiple short stubby segments ( 1-2″ ) rather than the mother plants 12+ inches segmentation.

    A hui hou
    Greg

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Greg
      Thats a great question that I have also been wondering about.
      I have a cutting experiment going on and the results are quite variable.
      Some have 3-4 new small off shoots about 1 foot long and another one has a 4 foot long off shoot.
      They were all cut and planted at the same time, growing in the same soil and in the same location.
      So my conclusion is they do whatever they want and dont seem to care.

  84. Hi Dr. Thom

    Can you tell me what kind of moth that can help pollinate flowers on a dragon fruit?
    Thank you for the information.

    Regards,
    Yuan

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Yuan
      Good question.
      Hawk moths, sphinx moths, hummingbird moths are known to pollinate dragon fruit flowers.
      But bees also do a good deal of pollinating in the early morning and early evening as well.
      Hand pollination is another option.

      Best,
      Tom

      • Thanks for your response and your answers. I live at Java, Indonesia. I am very interested about pollination in dragon fruit. Based on the references, honey bees visit flowers to these repeated contact may contribute to pollination. The result was the quality and quantity of fruit produced from such pollination is generally lower than cross-pollination by humans, so the role of bees as pollinators are less efficient on the dragon fruit, Bellec et al. (2006). So, I think an alternative to help pollinate with some moths. Can you tell me one type of moth pollinator dragon fruit can be used in Java?
        Tks.

        Bellec FL, Vaillant F, Imbert E. 2006. Pitahaya (Hylocereus spp.): A new crop, a market with future. Fruits 61: 237-250.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thanks Yuan
          Good question.
          I would think that you would have some nice native moths. However, I am not familiar with the local moth population in Java Indonesia. Perhaps another reader can help.

          Thanks for the article reference. Its nice verification to my suspicions about pollination.

          Thanks,
          T

  85. Hello! I love the amount of love and information you put in this article, thanks so much. I have a question, i’m about to plant my dragonfruit in a new spot, but it’s beside some plumbing, do you think the root system could get into the plumbing? i can’t find any information in regards to the dragon fruit root system anywhere, hope you can help 🙂 thanks again, Serena 🙂

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thank you for the great feedback Serena!
      That’s a great question about dragon fruit cactus roots.
      However, I really dont know how aggressive their roots are with adjacent structures such as pipes.
      In the absence of definitive information I would err on the side of caution.
      Perhaps another reader can add their insight.

  86. Well, well. This is the closest to a Pitaya Forum, I have found, so far. Thanks much, Dear Doctor, for that.

    I just wanted to leave a note about a place I found in San Diego County, CA, for folks who are looking for Dragon Fruit cuttings. He does internet sales also. I just picked up 5 varieties. American Beauty, Viet Red, Rixford, Physical Graffitti, and Cebra. All are self pollinators.

    http://www.epicacti.com/ Fallbrook, CA is the walk in nursery (appt only)

    http://www.mattslandscape.com/ for internet sales.

    Happy Pitaya, everyone!

  87. Hey Evrybody !
    I am looking for dragon fruits cutting for the there variety Yellow . Red. Wihte 4 cutting each variety siz 8 inches minimum to be shiped to Sweden i want to plant IT indoors for experiment IF any one has them please conract me on
    chadli_ridha@hotmail.fr

    • Hi..I live in FL and have 12 varieties.. But no yellow. I have plenty of cuttings, rooted of red, pink, purple and white inside. All very healthy! Two year plants that produced over 200 fruits this year!!! I will be happy to ship my plants to anyone..for cost of shipping plus $5.00 for box and packing. Please contact me by email if interested.
      Thanks! Rose

  88. Hi, just found your site for the first time. Great stuff. I have several dragon fruit plants that produce and one of them is baffling. It was supposed to be a yellow dragon fruit. It flowers when a yellow normally flowers and the developing fruit looks like a yellow in that it reps thorny and pine-cone like but when the first one ripened it was magenta inside. All my other dragon fruit are the traditional look with no thorns and smooth sides. What do you think this is? Are people crossing yellows with other dragon fruit? Thanks

  89. I just rec’d/purchased 4 red fruit cuttings, it is sooo cold and rainy here in Murrieta Ca. right now, I will plant them in pots, at what point can I transplant them to my yard? do they need to be rooted first? How will I know? HELP

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Pamela
      Congrats on your new plants.
      Yea, Murrieta CA is a bit chilly for them. The big issue is frost, which they dont like… (at all). and can kill them regardless of their rooting stage.

      However, since rooting takes energy, the combo of cold weather, decreased sunlight in winter, and the extra energy rooting may put extra stress on them. I dont know of any research on this, but considering the current chilly weather you are having, I would think that starting them inside may be a safer option. Then in spring plant them outside.

      That being said, I have started them outside from cuttings in San Diego, at all times of the year, and I havent noticed any issues.

      When it is time to plant them outside, make sure you find the nicest warmest spot you have. You generally want to avoid depressions in the yard where cold air can settle. Sometimes the warmest place can be a South facing wall of a building. However, this can also be a danger in the summer because if it gets too hot, it can bake them. So finding the right spot is a bit of a balance based on the specific microclimates in your yard.

      Best,
      Tom

      • Ridha Chadli
        January 27, 2017 at 8:49 pm
        Can somone tell me (us) How long i Can save dragon fruit Selenicereus Megalanthus Yellow DF. Befor planting IT
        I AM having 3000 seeds still in the fruit 12 big fruit 400 gram each bought from Ecuador , question is
        IF i take the seeds now and save IT would they germinate after one year? People who has experience please help

        Ridha Chadli
        February 3, 2017 at 12:04 pm
        Your comment is awaiting moderation.
        Hey!
        Is there anyone Can tell me about Growing dragon fruit from seeds?
        I buaght giant Yellow pitahaya megalantous and normal white flesh dragon fruit and i AM planing to grow them from seeds
        My question Are
        Do they grow in zone 10 in africa exactely Algeria?
        Is there a risk to dont get same variety ?
        How long it takes considering that i an starting them in green house ?
        Thank you for your time all of you

    • The rule of thumb I’m working with goes like this.

      – make sure the cutting is between 8-12 inches I cut the bigger ones, and let them callus over.
      – make sure you know which end is down
      – put that end into rich potting mix, only as far as it takes for it to stand up. Too deep, it will rot.
      – I have mine outside, but don’t let them freeze.
      – keep in warm shade, until growth doubles the length to 20 inches or so.
      – then in full sun

      They actually need the winter period dormancy, and just sit there, sorta in green stasis.

      When the soil warms above 80F is when they grow. Else, they rest.

  90. Can somone tell me (us) How long i Can save dragon fruit Selenicereus Megalanthus Yellow DF. Befor planting IT
    I AM having 3000 seeds still in the fruit 12 big fruit 400 gram each bought from Ecuador , question is
    IF i take the seeds now and save IT would they germinate after one year? People who has experience please help

  91. Hey!
    Is there anyone Can tell me about Growing dragon fruit from seeds?
    I buaght giant Yellow pitahaya megalantous and normal white flesh dragon fruit and i AM planing to grow them from seeds
    My question Are
    Do they grow in zone 10 in africa exactely Algeria?
    Is there a risk to dont get same variety ?
    How long it takes considering that i an starting them in green house ?
    Thank you for your time all of you

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Ridha
      Thanks for the question.
      Growing from seed takes a lot longer and you dont always know what your going to get (as far as fruit).
      I am growing some from seed that are a few years old and they are still small.
      I have grown in different conditions and the rate of growth is highly dependent on variables such as moisture, sunlight and humidity.
      Many resources site that it takes about 7 years to get fruit from seedlings.
      While I have gotten fruit from cuttings in about a year.
      Snails have wiped out a nice crop, so watch out for those.

      On the plus side, when you grow from seeds you might get a new variety.

      Zone 10 should be great in most places.
      However, I would be concerned about desert growing because the extreme temps of cool nights and hot dray days is not optimal. Growing in a greenhouse, as you suggested, may help to augment some of that. However, as I am sure you know, it can get real hot fast in a greenhouse and you dont want to cook them in there. These cactus seem to like milder rain forest like climate. Not to say that you can’t do it, just that it will take some additional strategy to make sure the temps are right.

      Hope that helps,
      Tom

  92. I have seen dragon fruit blooming and setting fruit in large amounts ..
    This cluster of vines have NO GROUND CONTACT and NO FERTILIZER
    of any kind

    It is growing on an old WOODEN OLD GARDEN SHED and exposed to sun
    all day.. I understand that when plants Feel threatened they flower and fruit
    because they need to preserve themselves.

    I guess it obtain its energy from the sun…

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      hey Allan
      Interesting story
      Must be doing something right.
      Perhaps birds and/or rotting wood provide some fertilizer.
      What part of the world do you live in?

  93. Asked a friend for a cutting of her cactus which I now thnk it might be a dragon fruit plant but It has huge giant showy orange flowers that opens one on each side of the leaves at a time instead of white. The flowers last for days then dry up and another flower opens. Then I get this fruit that looks like a dragon fruit with white meat. For some reason the plant is now going thru a growing spurt and looks like there are going to be more flowers this year. All info I find on dragon fruit shows whit flowers. Could my cactus be a dragon fruit?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Gloria
      That sounds really interesting.
      Do you happen to have some pictures that our community may be able to evaluate?
      Thanks!
      Tom

      • Gloria davidson

        The plant finally bloomed and now the fruit is coming in. I actually have been knocking the fruit off not knowing it is part of the flower. But I am confused about this plant the leaves are flat like an epi cactus not three sided. Is this normal? Did take pictures but don’t know how to send it. Sorry.

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Hey Gloria
          Congratulations on your production success!

          So occasionally a dragon fruit plant will put out a stem that is flat.
          However, in my experience, this is relatively uncommon and I dont personally know of any dragon fruit cactus varieties that have all flat branches. Perhaps someone else knows.

          So an option is that you have a different cactus epiphyte plant.

          As a side: many would classify dragon fruit cactus as an epiphyte. (an epiphyte is a plant that grows harmlessly upon another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, and sometimes from debris accumulating around it). This is how they often grow in the jungles of their native central and South America.

          Best,
          Tom

        • here is how we post photos…. Give it a try. I’d love to see them.

          ————-
          http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/dizdog1010/library/

          Test for photobucket.com

          Upload your photo. Get the email code, (on lower right of photo page) by simply clicking, and it copies automatically. Then paste it here.

  94. hi,

    i am planing to grow dragon fruit red flesh and white flash in sri lanka. i just want to know is there any spesipic time to plant dragon fruit.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Good question Dinesh
      I do not know of a published optimal time to plant dragon fruit.
      However, I suspect the rainy season might be best.

  95. Hi Thomas,

    I am just starting my research on growing dragon fruits. My partner and I recently moved to a property where we have several plants thriving, but they are on old trellising that needs some renovating. So I’m looking up references for transplanting and also taking cuttings. I came across many photos of what seems to be a Vietnamese technique of growing the dragon fruits heavily pruned and in pots. There are many photos of them fruiting heavily and only growing at about one meter high. Do you happen to know anything about this technique? (the link I put in the “website” section of this comment is an example photo of what I’m talking about) I would be very interested to take some cuttings and give it a try. Thank you for all your insights!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Michelle
      I have seen these pictures before too.
      Fascinating.
      I dont know how they do it but from my experience growing Dragon Fruit, it seems a bit hard to believe.
      Perhaps the climate in SE ASIA is just so perfect… but hard to believe.
      Thanks,
      Tom

  96. Dr Tom,
    I’m ready to ship your plants😀 Just found new buds!!! So excited for my 3rd season!!!!! Email me your address and I will ship them right away!
    Cheers,
    Rose

  97. Hello Dear Sir.

    Thank you for your article! 😀 I live in England and am a newbie in planting tropical fruits and am considering planting the yellow variety from a seed and I have a couple of questions.

    1. Will it fruit when it’s inside a pot? If yes then how long does it take to do so?
    2. What type of soil would you recommend for it?
    3. Does it self-pollinate?

    Many thanks 🙂

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Jan
      Welcome to the group.
      Great questions.

      I have been growing some dragon fruit from seed. It takes a while.
      Some growing in bright shade outside were growing at a good pace until the snails ravaged them.
      Still a bunch growing in a pot in a shady window and they are growing very slow.
      We are talking about many years.
      The amount of sunlight plays a big part.
      Much easier to get some cuttings but I like to grow from seed anyhow too.

      Overall however, yes. These plants do very well in pots. Just follow the same instructions and keep a closer eye on soil moisture as it is harder to keep up with in containers.

      They dont like cold, or dry air, so need to keep that in mind for the winter.

      They like rich well draining soil.

      Some varieties of typical dragon fruit self pollinate and others do not. I believe less so with the yellow variety. Will depend on the nature of the mother plant that produced the seeds. All varieties (self pollinating or not), seem to produce better if they cross pollinate.

      Best of luck!

  98. Hi Dr. Tom,
    Well, Florida went from a week in the 50’s to a hot summer 80-90’s in May! My plants now have two flowers last week and around 60 buds!!!! It’s nuts!!! This will be my 2 1/2 yr plants. It’s going to be a great year!!!
    My comment is about planting dragonfruit seeds. Many ask how long it takes for them to produce. Your answers on temperature and soil is spot on. It took me months to get them to 6-8″ tall..morning sun only. Then I planted them in pots and slowly got them to full sun and climbing. They are now 2 yrs old..thick and 5′ tall with shoots. No buds yet..but I have a feeling this Florida sun will make it happen this year….maybe not. I will keep you up to date if they do.
    Thank you again for all your help for the past years. You’re spot on and know your stuff!!
    Cheers, Rosie from Florida🌞

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Awesome to hear about how great you are doing.
      Thank you so much of the great feedback Rosie! That made my day.
      Thanks!
      Tom

  99. I need a help … i want to know is dragon fruit grow from it’s fruit … if then how to please help me give the information

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Shahadat
      The best advice I have about growing dragon fruit is in the article.
      You can also grow the fruit from seed but that takes much much longer.
      Best,
      Tom

  100. Dr. M. Ashraf Hossain

    Hi Dr. Thomas,

    Thank you for all your webpage insights! I have similar planting enthusiasm like you since my childhood, even if I am a Professor of Economics in Dhaka. Currently, I have 63 fruit types out of over 150 type trees in my tiny land including dragon fruit. Dragon is my 63rd fruit type. I have started my research on growing dragon fruit in early 2016, which is white dragon (inside) type but I want to plant also Read and Yellow types. I came across many photos of dragon plants to detect differences of three varieties but failed to get any clear idea. Would you please help me – whether there are any special characteristics in plants to detect 3 varieties (how to detect 3 dragons by seeing plant)? It will be helpful for me to collect remaining two varieties. Thanks in advance for your support.

    Dr. M. Ashraf
    1 July 2017

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Dr. M. Ashraf
      Thanks for the great question.

      I have also been wondering if it is possible to tell the differences between the different colored dragon fruit based on their external appearance. What I have found is that it is difficult. White fleshed and purple fleshed dragon fruit plants look so similar that I am not able to tell without opening up the fruit. Sometimes the external appearance of the fruit alone reveals slightly different between the internal flesh… however, there is also similar subtle differences between one purple fleshed fruit to another slightly different purple fleshed fruit. So you might be able to get to know a specific sub-variety but that has not helped me categorize large groups of dragon fruit.

      Bottom line, best bet is to buy from a seller that you know will give you what your looking for, and/or get a plant that is currently growing the specific fruit you are looking for.

      The yellow variety (yellow fruit skin and white flesh) is an easier exception. These are actually different plants and have thorns on the fruit.

      Best,
      Tom

  101. Hi Dr. Tom,
    We are husband and wife radiologists in South Florida and share your passion for plants. We were wanting to plant a pitaya and just discovered one growing on the side of our outdoor brickstone grill from the previous owner. It is attached to the stone and growing nicely but only has the only quart size pot and likely needs to be transplanted. How do we do this without killing it? It has been there for at least 5 years. We originally thought it was just a cactus. I can send you pictures, if that would help.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Bert
      Great to hear you guys are also plant loving radiologists! Its awesome to hear.

      Your in luck living in Florida, because pitaya grows super well in your state.
      Sounds like you might have a bit of a mystery pitaya growing on the side of your grill. Therefore, hard to know if it will be the self pollinating type… so you might have to get more dragon fruit anyways (for cross pollination).

      Transplantation should not be a problem. However, there are some things you can do to optimize your growing success. Some of the things you can do are pretty generic for dragon fruit cactus, but let me see the pics to see if you should consider anything specific.

      Thanks!
      Tom

      • Hi Dr Tom,
        Where do these folks live in Florida? I am in Sebastian, FL. You know I have many here, and can help them.😀 My 12 plants have produced more than 100 fruit already and it’s just the beginning of July!! It’s been very hot here..but I mist them and keep them happy!
        Thanks for all your great help over the past year..your truly a Blessing to us all!!!
        Cheers,
        Rose

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Thank you so much Rosie for your wonderful note. You are awesome! Congrats on your awesome growing success, generosity and kind words.
          Tom

  102. I purchased a home with an enormous Dragon plant growing up a large mature Palm. I’d never seen anything like it. The previous owner said the plant is 50 + years old. Its 30+ feet up this Palm at least.

    I fertilized twice last month simply because the garden was very neglected and I was fertilizing everything. The previous owner who had the plant almost 40 years herself and did not mention flowers or fruit ever occuring. But…

    I got blooms tonight!!!

    In will def water more often thanks to your article. Wish me luck on fruit!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Crystal
      How cool, its like finding gold burred in your backyard.
      Good luck with your new adventure.
      Look forward to hearing about your growing success.
      Tom

    • Wow! What a find!

      I have a small bit of contribution to the how to flower and fruit discussion.

      As I mentioned earlier, I have a tiny, commercial cultivation, startup. I got 5 varieties, which seemed bewildering to me, but the guy said you don’t know which will like it in my micro climate.

      It is just my first season. I planted last winter. I noticed when it got warm, I began to get a few blooms! Believe me, I didn’t expect anything from only 8 mature vines. But, I was surprised in several ways.

      – Vietnam Red bloomed 1st, but all 3 blooms fell off. No fruit .
      – I realized it was time to switch to Miracle Grow Bloom from MG Veg
      – Sure enough, the next bloom set is staying on the vines.
      – I now have 1 maturing fruit, and 8 blooms.

      I so want to eat one, but that will have to wait. 🙂

  103. hello dr. i have 3 plants that are approx. 4 yrs old and have fruited the last 2 yrs. This year I have counted 62. prior was 5 fruit max. My question is , is there a fruiting cycle of years as in some plants or is it something else? I usually fert. with 24-8-16 twice a year and just a month ago I did 10-30-20 and a few weeks later 62 buds quite a large jump.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Doug
      Good question.
      There seems to be a correlation but I am not sure it has been quantified.
      There is rarely flowers from one year old plants if grown in optimal conditions.
      The next few years seem to ramp up.
      Older cactus seem to slow down.
      Of course, this can all be augmented by optimal watering and fertilization (as you have noticed).
      Thanks,
      T

      • My dragonfruit (white flesh) is blooming tonight. I have Miracle Gro fertilizer 4-12-4. Should I use it tomorrow? Or should I get a stronger one like 10-50-10? I already had it bloom about a month ago, but the flowers fell off, so no fruit. I’m really hoping to get fruit from these five blooms from tonight. I still have a LOT of little buds – maybe 20. I decided to try to hand pollinate them tonight as well. Is there anything else I need to do? I have gotten fruit from my plants, but they were growing up a brick wall, and ended up being knocked off the wall by a neighbor. So I put them on a pedestal (too short – only 4 ft high). I’ve had to use ties to keep it off the ground. I need to build new taller pedestals. Since I started them on the pedestal, they haven’t fruited. What strength fertilizer should I use? I haven’t fertilized them since they were first transplanted in the miracle gro potting soil and placed on the 4 ft pedestal. Any advice you can give will be appreciated.

        • Hey, these are the big questions of Botany, for some. So, everyone will have an opinion. For me, I just learned over time to keep it simple.

          1st – 5-10-5 is the same as 20-40-20. These are proportions. 20-40-20 is 4 times more concentrated, but the same proportion of minerals.

          2nd – this plant has three feeding phases
          – Growth in the Spring
          – Flower in the Summer – Fall
          – Dormant in the Winter

          3rd – Feed appropriately
          – higher N (1st number) in the Spring
          – Higher P 2nd number) in the Summer-Fall
          – no food in Winter

          4th – How much how often is simple choice (of the plant)
          – smaller plants need less, too much is bad
          – less can be less often, to feed them
          – or less can be feed them every day but only a tiny bit
          – as they grow, you increase to to more food
          – as they grow they need more food, like us 🙂
          – don’t over feed

    • NPK !! These macro-nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) or NPK for short. The higher the number, the more concentrated the nutrient is in the fertilizer. For example, numbers on fertilizer listed as 20-5-5 has four times more nitrogen in it than phosphorus and potassium.

      The cycle for flowering plants have different mechanisms. Pataya waits until complete dark, here in CA to flower, for example Some plants flower when the daylight reduces to 12 hr, signaling that Autumn in approaching.

      Some desert plants bloom every 100 years or so. Yikes!

      But, whatever the cycle, the food need is very different for flowering plants when they are in flower.

      What you did what increase the very mineral needed for flowers, at the very time it needed it. Phosphorus (P) the middle number, you went from 8 to 30, almost 4x. I am feeding 10-50-10 right now, and getting fruit bodies, after the blooms.

      Good job! 🙂

  104. Hi Thomas,

    what about tissue culture for dragon fruit Propagation, is that successful?
    it has been tried?

    what is the time is expected to fruit if the plant source is tissue culture? is that short like cuttings or long like seedlings ?

    finally i wanna thank for your great effort in that blog

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Tissue culture for dragon fruit cactus is an interesting idea. However, I have no experience with it. What do you think the advantages would be?
      Thanks,
      Tom

  105. I have 7 blooms on one plant and have been trying to hand fertilze. FYI, I also live in San Diego. So far, I have been using a clean paint brush. Do you have any tricks to get fruit to grow.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Tara
      Thanks for the note and congrats on your dragon fruit cactus flowers.

      A clean soft small paintbrush is a great way to pollinate dragon fruit flowers.
      Aside from manual pollination, it is important to attend to all of the plants other needs. Basically make it happy. The best advice I have for that is outlined in the article.

      However, sometimes, the weather changes (like now being extra hot), which may freak them out. So sometimes it is a bit out of our control. We just do the best we can.

      Best of luck.
      Tom

  106. You are adorable. I couldn’t stop reading your blog about Dragon fruit. Loved the videos too. I’m going to start my first organic garden this month, here in Nicaragua so I’m so glad I found you! I subscribed and I look forward to learning more from you. Thank you 😊

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thank you Danarae!
      Thank you for your kind words.
      Nicaragua has amazing beauty, congrats on your first organic garden.
      Look forward to hearing about your growing success.

  107. Hi! I’ve been growing my dragon fruit for a while now, maybe 5 years. It started out as a little tiny thing smaller than the tip of my pinky finger. I live in North Texas so it spends time outside most of the year but I move it into the garage near a window in the winter for those few random freezes we’ll get. It seems to be doing pretty well and is on its 5th round of flower buds this year. The problem is that none have fruited. I tried hand pollinating and doing nothing, but all the same results. The other problem is I have absolutely no idea which type of dragon fruit it is which makes it harder trying to figure out why it won’t fruit. I only have the one plant so I’m starting to think it might need the cross pollination. Any thoughts?

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Melanie
      Thanks for your note.
      I was thinking the same thing.
      Might be cool to get cutting of another dragon fruit and do some cross pollination.

  108. Hello. Is it possible for the roots to break inside the soil if I add wood supports to my cactus growth. I bought wood supports from Home Depot and stuck it inside the soil to make it more sturdy and ever since then, I feel like the plants have stopped growing. Might just be coincidence. Or do I have to replant WITH a wooden support.

    How long does it take to start blooming? I’ve only had my dragon fruit planted for under a year… maybe I need to be more patient. 🙂

    Any help you can give on how I can make my plants a little stronger and more sturdy and how to make them bloom would be great! I’m happy to send pics of when I planted them to now. I’m NO green thumb, so any advice would be great!

    Your page is awesome. Thank you!!

    • Hi Sharon,
      I am not sure where you live or how you planted your posts. Make sure you use a post that is not chemically treated. The plants will send out roots that attach to anything. You dont want to feed your plants and fruit bad stuff! How tall are your plants? Are you keeping just one main stem to desired height (4′-5′)? Your plants will start producing flowers once they are mature..usually a year old. Follow Dr. Toms advice on your soil, feeding, sun, and trimming. You will have flowers soon!😀
      Good luck! Rose

  109. Hello,
    I have few plants from seed of dragon fruit. I was wondering if they can give fruit by cross pollination if it comes from the same fruit. The specie is the white one (probably not self-pollination).
    Do i need another fruit or it will be good?
    Thanks,
    Yohan

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Yohan
      Thanks for the question.

      Unless you get really lucky (I mean really lucky)… you will get plants that need cross pollination when grown from plants that need cross pollination. Best bet is to get a cutting from a friend and get another variety going. The bonus is that you will get more fruit from more plants!

      Best,
      Tom

  110. This article is a wonderful gift, thank you. With that said is there a way to tell what kind of DF I have? Meaning self pollinating or not. My wife and kids bought me two cuttings (6 in. approx) on fathers day. Now they are 4 ft propped up with two tomato stake kits in a 30 gal tote. I plan on planting in ground maybe this coming spring. Also the stalks are larger then the cutting i planted, but no thickness. How can i help thicken them up? Growing them in North Houston area.

    • Hello J.R., you found the best site and Dr. for the care if your plants!!! I live in Florida and have a nicely sized arrangement of dragon fruits. Dr. Tom has posted some of my pics. I have 12 varieties and they are 3 yrs. old ( from 6″-10″ cuttings) this month. You need to grow your two cuttings on a strong post. I use a cedar post dug into the ground with a raised 3’x3′ base..and trellis like top. You can keep your plants in a big pot too. Just don’t let the roots get soggy! They will get very heavy when full of fruit in two years! This year I have picked over 400 fruit on 24 plants!! And they are still blooming!! I have 4 cuttings per post, growing 5′ tall each.
      As for your questions, I pollinate by hand, all of my flowers. I have tried not doing do, and they fell off. I am found often by neighbors, pollinating at 11pm with my flashlight 😀 Please follow Dr. Toms advice on soil, sun, watering and feeding. He has helped me along the way with many problems.. He’s the best!! Good luck with your plants!!! Rose

  111. Dear sir, Great work. Very useful even for a tiny farmer. Clears so many doubts. Almighty blesses you for this contribution, which is very useful for down trending farming community. Farmer, Rao.P.Ganta, a farmer of Karnataka state, India

  112. When is it safe to cut off a df start. The start is now almost 8 in in length.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi J.R
      Great question.
      I have done some experimenting with cuttings but my main variable has been length of the cutting.
      I have only utilized cuttings that have a mature diameter (similar to slightly smaller than the mother plant). Have not tried to start cuttings that are really thin.

      So overall, they seem to do best when they are at least 8 inches long, but sometimes as small as 6 inches long.

      Hope this helps.

  113. My dragon fruit plant has just begun to grow some small leaves out of one of its main stems, around which droplets of a clear sugary liquid have formed. They’re not solidified as they feel squishy when touched, but have a smooth exterior. A curious friend tasted them and said they were sweet. Is this a normal occurrence?

  114. Has anyone have orange spots that show up on the dragonfruit? I have several plants that got these orange spots that are about the size of a lady bug and then grow spreading out the whole plant and the plants starts to die or rot. I am thinking this may be a infection but the I have notice a couple of times the soil’s moisture was very dry so could be a lack of water. I have used a mixture of regular potting soil and cactus soil having read else were that suggested cactus soil. Have been watering more but the orange color decay still continues. Suggestions? Thanks.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Dale
      Yea, I have had spots grow on my dragon fruit too.
      Check out my earlier article on dragon fruit diseases for more info.
      Thanks!
      Tom

      • Hi, I have had a few spots too. But, I scrap the pea size spot away and it doesn’t return. Our Florida water isn’t the best…so, I was thinking it’s our water.
        Dr. Tom….how was you move to your new home? We are moving too and I hate to leave my beautiful dragonfruit plants!!! They are 3 1/2 years old now and last year I had over 300 fruits!!! Sold some to a local organic market. I hope to take some cuttings and start over…did you do that too?
        Thank you for all your help with my plants over the years!! Your help has made my 12 plants and varieties so healthy!!! You’re the BEST!!!
        Cheers,
        Rosie from Florida

        • Thomas Osborne, MD

          Rose!
          Always wonderful to hear from you.
          Thank you for your kind words and wisdom.

          Yes, we have moved to the Bay area in Northern California. Have been super busy with the new job, but going great. Thank you.

          You have done so awesome with your plants. Such a great success story. Wonderful to hear. Where are you moving to?

          Leaving the garden was very hard, (as you know). I had grafted and cloned many plants that were lined up for planting in the yard. However, because so much was going on with the move and new job, I wasnt sure I could give all the potted plants the care they needed.. In addition, the house sale transition-timing was a moving target and was not sure about how long they would go without watering. Therefore, to best optimize their chance for success, I gave most of them away.

          It is hard not to miss what has been nurtured with so much effort, time, care, and love… Trying not to cling on to what is behind and be grateful for the gift of time we had to spend in the garden, and the efforts will be appreciated by others. Hopeful that a part of the earth is a little bit better than when we came there… and then on to the next adventure.

          Thanks!
          Tom

          • Thanks Rose for the suggestion. I will give that a try on my dragon fruit and see if that works. What kind of dragon fruit do you have? I just bought one with the red interior. I have a few from a cutting that a friend gave me but doesn’t know what type. I tried both the red and the white flesh. Both good but I like the tangy-ness that the red offers. Good luck with your move and to you too Tom. I can only imagine how hard it is to move and leave your plants behind.

          • Hi Dr. Tom,
            It’s been crazy here!! We sold our home in one day!! And just this week, I have over 40 buds all over my 16 plants!! So exciting!!! I am taking cuttings with me.😀 We are retiring to O’ahu , Hawaii..a dream come true!! 🤙 What makes me happy, is the new owners love dragonfruit and all the other 200+ plants and fruit in our yard.
            Thank you for all your help over the past 3 years!! Mahalo! Rose🌺

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            Rose!
            Congratulations on selling your house so fast. That is fantastic!
            I am sure it will be difficult to leave your dragons behind… but O’ahu… wow, that is awesome. such an amazing/wonderful place.
            As you know, dragon fruit grow great in Hawaii.

            However, I would strongly suggest that you check with the Hawaii Dept of Agriculture before taking plant material into the state. Hawaii is such a special and fragile ecosystem… and like many islands, they have been negatively impacted by invasive plants and pests… often brought in with good intentions. As a result, the state has been working diligently to protect their unique land. Therefore, Hawaii is one of the most strict places in the world in regards to imported plants and animals. They have little hesitation destroying any kind of plant material found in luggage… which would be a shame for your cuttings. They also impose hefty fines. However, I believe there is a process for bringing in plants, and if you follow their guidelines, you could avoid potential heartache.

            For more information, try the State of Hawaii Department of Agriculture website below:
            http://hdoa.hawaii.gov/

            Thanks!
            Tom

      • Thanks Tom. Nice to have a site with info on this. Dragon fruits are a new plant for me. With any sort of luck I will have some healthy dragon fruits and perhaps fruit one day.

        • Hi Dale,
          You found the right man to help!! You asked what kind I have..well I have 12 varieties!! Red, pink and purple kinds. Love them all!! My plants are going into their 4 th year. Last year was crazy..I lost count after 350 fruits!!! Some nights I’d have 40 buds!! I hand pollinate all around 10pm.
          Best of luck!! Rose

  115. We started growing Dragon Fruit about a year ago so can you tell me how long does it take to product fruit

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Jeff
      Great question and the answer is that it depends.
      It depends on growing conditions, the age of the plant and the specific variety of the plant.
      If everything is moving perfectly/optimally, I have been able to get a new cutting to flower in one year and then hold fruit the 2nd year.
      Best, Tom

  116. we have lots of small dragon fruit that we grew from seeds and now the are about maybe 6 or 8″ tall so my question is do I need to cut them at young or wait until they get bigger

    Thanks

    Jeff

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hey Jeff
      There is a lot of different talk about cutting dragon fruit vines. Some say you have to for one reason or another. However, I have not found that to be the case. The only reason why I trim or cut dragon fruit vines is to manage the optimal support/weight and shape of the vine for how I want to train them to grow.
      Best,
      Tom

    • Hi Jeff and Dr Tom,
      Jeff..if I read your question right, you started plants from seed and they are now 6-8” tall. You need to let them continue to grow on one stock to 4-5’ tall, before you cut the top to umbrella the plant. If any new growth come out from the sides, punch them off. You only want one stem. Seeded plants take a while to fruit. Cuttings are best and fruit in 1-2 years. Just don’t let your plants get below 50 degrees and give as much sun as possible for your growing location. Good luck!!
      Dr Tom…moving to Oahu first of October. So excited!!! Got my cutting growing there already!!👍
      Mahalo,
      Rose

      • Thomas Osborne, MD

        Absolutely agree with Rose. She is a dragon fruit superstar.
        Rose, hope you stay safe during this severe Hawaii storm. Best of luck.
        Tom

        • Aloha Dr. Tom🌺
          Thank you for caring..just wind n rain..tropical storm now.👍 I wanted to tell you..I took cuttings from my plants and I have a foot tall cutting rooted with two buds!!! Getting bigger and should bloom before we leave..so excited!! These are two year old plant cuttings..so I’m so excited to see if they fruit. Most of the cutting grew new branches..but this one has no new growth..just buds!
          You have taught me everything I know!! I sold many cuttings at my yard sale to share the healthy fruit with others.👍😎
          I’ll stay in touch and let you know how my Dragonfruit’s do in Oahu..hoping for a garden full of them soon!!
          Mahalo!
          Rose 🤙🌺

          • Thomas Osborne, MD

            So great to hear that you have weathered the storm so well.
            Also awesome to hear about how well your plants are doing.
            I suspect you will be having huge harvests again soon.
            Looking forward to hearing all about your success.
            Thanks!
            Tom

  117. Just a quick note. I am a small time “Misplaced Farmer”. I have a farm in the Philippines and I live for the moment in the United States. I actually grow Dragon Fruit as a houseplant here in the States but of course outdoors in the Philippines. In the Philippines, small bats are the primary pollinators of Dragon Fruit cactus. Here in the States, I just started getting fruit on my indoor cactus. Your “UFO” is 99% chance a small bat.

  118. Wow, you’ve really done a lot of work on this page – Thank you. I just ordered some Valdivia Pink from Rolling River Nursery – a great nursery with great prices – only $15 for their Dragonfruit. I have been looking for more plants to keep my Sphinx moths happy, and I didn’t miss your comment about the bees loving it. I keep bees so I may get more of these – they do the same thing with all my cactus blossoms. Their pollen sacks get so full they often look like drunken sailors when taking off and I’ve seen more than a few go crashing to the ground – just like kids in a candy store.

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Thank you so much for your kind feedback Davilyn!
      And thanks for the fun story about you pollen-rich bees; your paint a awesome picture of them stumbling around their favorite place.
      Thanks!
      Tom

  119. hi,

    After how long will i know if the hand pollination has been successful?
    Thanks

  120. Hi Dr Osborne,

    I would like to know after how many days will i know that the hand pollination is successful?
    Thanks

  121. Hi Dr. Osborne,
    Have you heard of using Organic Steer manure when planting into the ground? Thank you!

    • Thomas Osborne, MD

      Hi Amy
      Yes, there are many people who have used it.
      The plus for it is that it cam be cheap, esp if you live near a farm.
      The negative is that there can be lots of organic salts in it that can hurt plants.

      I try to steer away from it (pun intended). Chicken manure tends to be much safer.

      Thanks!
      Tom

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