Studying how to grow dragon fruit is de facto not that arduous! Dragon fruit is a cactus that’s truly fairly adaptive to its setting.
You’ve seen this unusual wanting fruit within the grocery retailer. The intense pink pores and skin with alien inexperienced spines is difficult to miss. However have you ever ever tried a dragon fruit?
Reading: How to grow a dragon fruit
This unique fruit is de facto distinctive and yummy! It’s tremendous hydrating and particularly satisfying when chilled, and the tiny black seeds add a good crunch to the candy and mushy flesh.
Apart from the deliciously delicate taste, the fruit of a dragon fruit tree is extraordinarily wholesome. It’s filled with antioxidants, straightforward to digest carbohydrates, and omega fatty acids within the seeds.
It’d look intimidating, however the pores and skin of this fruit is definitely fairly mushy and the spines on the surface gained’t stab you whenever you maintain the fruit.
There are a lot of methods to use dragon fruit together with sauces, salsas, and smoothies, but it surely’s truly fairly good sliced in half and eaten out of its pores and skin with a spoon.
Table of Contents
Who can grow dragon fruit?
If you’d like to grow dragon fruit cactus, I say go for it!
It’s particularly straightforward in heat environments, however if in case you have a greenhouse or solar porch, you may grow dragon fruit in colder environments.
Dragon fruit is an unique fruit, and in many of the southern US, you may grow a dragon fruit plant in pots in your patio in case you’re cautious to defend it from chilly climate. If you happen to stay in US Hardiness Zones 10-11, you’ll have the opportunity to grow dragon fruit outside 12 months spherical.
In different zones, you’ll need to grow your dragon fruit in a container so you may convey it indoors for the winter. The perfect rising temperatures for dragon fruit are between 65 and 85 levels Fahrenheit.
Something under 32F will kill your plant. Something over 100F will injury the fruit and trigger it to wilt.
Also Read: What are the best hardy perennials
How to grow dragon fruit in a container
Select a container that’s not less than 10 inches deep and 24 inches extensive. This equates to about a 10-gallon pot.
Dragon fruit, also referred to as Pitaya, is a vining cactus, so you will want to present a sturdy help in your container. In any other case, the cactus will grow over the perimeters of your container and sprawl alongside the bottom till it finds one thing to climb.
Be certain to use a sandy, nicely draining soil made for cactus crops. In case your container doesn’t have a number of drain holes, then you will want to add them so the roots of the plant by no means change into soggy.
Choose a sunny location in your dragon fruit plant. Not less than 6-8 hours of solar. The plant will tolerate some shade, and will even require it in very heat environments.
Keep in mind, something over 100 levels Fahrenheit will injury your dragon fruit.
Over watering will kill your dragon fruit. So give it a mild mist or drip when the soil is dry, however the plant just isn’t wilting. A drip line or mister from above works nicely for these crops.
To perform this, set up a drip line and fix it to the middle help in your container. Place the drip nozzle on the prime of the help line and let it run down the pole.
That is the best approach to water your dragon fruit and can preserve it very pleased.
Rising dragon fruit from cuttings
You can begin dragon fruit seedlings from the seeds contained in the fruit, however it’s endorsed that you simply grow dragon fruit from cuttings.
There are a lot of forms of dragon fruit that vary in shade, taste, and manufacturing. Some dragon fruit want to be hand pollinated, some not often set fruit even when pollinated. Some take longer to ripen, and a few take a very quick interval to ripen.
Also Read: How to start an orchid
One of the best ways to know what you might be getting is to grow your dragon fruit from cuttings provided from a nursery or good good friend.
Be light with the roots of your slicing, and check out not to disturb them an excessive amount of. Light loosening of the small roots on the floor of the rootball is sufficient. Plant your dragon fruit in fertile, sandy soil degree with the rootball.
Fertilizing dragon fruit
Cacti are low upkeep crops. They’re NOT heavy feeders and don’t require a lot of fertilizer. The truth is, over fertilization will hurt your plant. Select an natural, low nitrogen fertilizer and apply at planting after which each different month…or much less.
Find out how to inform in case your fertilizer is low in nitrogen with these fertilizer fundamentals.
Dragon fruit flowering and pollination
One of many coolest issues concerning the dragon fruit is its flowers. They’re beautiful white blooms that solely open for one night time! Some, however not all forms of dragon fruit are self-pollinating.
If you happen to select a selection that isn’t self-pollinating, then you will want to depend on pollinators like bees or get out early within the morning and pollinate the crops your self. For finest outcomes, select a self-pollinating plant.
How to inform when dragon fruit is ripe
As soon as your dragon fruit plant units fruit, wait to harvest it till it turns shade. Most dragon fruit will flip a beautiful vibrant pink magenta shade, however some are vibrant yellow.
Basically, the longer it stays on the plant, the sweeter it will get. Usually, a dragon fruit takes about 30 days to ripen.
Ants will generally eat your fruit earlier than you may harvest it, so be careful for these nasty pests!
If you happen to do discover you’re having hassle with ants, strive considered one of these 57 all-natural methods to eliminate ants.
Dragon fruit recipes
Consuming your dragon fruit is one of the best half!
A calming fruit tastes a lot better, in my view. Slice your fruit in half and eat it out of its shell with a spoon. So amazingly scrumptious!
Dragon fruit tastes nice in all types of recipes. Strive considered one of these!
