Dragon fruit jungle cacti

[Troppofoodgardener]

Yep.. I do! I believe I have the pink variety. No fruit as yet though. It's a young plant.

A search under "dragonfruit" may yield some other threads in this forum as well.

[lorax]

I grow the yellow kind (Hylocereus undatus). Like Troppo, I seem to recall that there's a fairly comprehensive thread on Pitahayas around here somewhere....

[loayanm]

we are planting the yellow one for already 3 years. it bears fruit.sweeter than the other varieties. really high nutritional value.

[Intriguedbybonsai]

I bought some pitaya (dragon fruit) cuttings from a seller online. My only problem is, and I know this sounds silly, but I do not know which end of the cutting is up or down. Example; which end goes in soil?

[Kisal]

Look for little stem buds. They should point upward. You can see them in this image. I don't know if they do pitaya cuttings this way or not, but with cane cuttings, the top end is sometimes coated with wax. I have also had cactus cuttings that were cut at an angle on the bottom and straight across on the top (if the top was cut at all). Both of these are methods of helping the purchaser tell the top from the bottom. I get a lot of holiday cacti cuttings from friends, and I determine which end is the bottom by examining the little buds, such as are shown in the pic.

[img]https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_kZyrg6JUUwA/R0LmVq0PiSI/AAAAAAAAALg/ADJ9GWEfXjE/s400/pete_2stem_noroots_071107.jpg[/img]

[Intriguedbybonsai]

Thankyou. I've been searching everywhere online, but no one gives a "how to plant" guide with pictures. This will be my first time planting this. I hope it turns out well.

[Kisal]

Please keep us posted, including any pictures you might want to share of how the plant progresses. I'm fascinated by all cacti!

[adobo]

hi

I'm kinda new here and I'm glad to found a thread for pitayas.

is it normal for the stems to produce roots?

how do I propagate it by cuttings? I mean do I have to cut it along the stem or by the node?

thanks

[Kisal]

Yes, it's perfectly normal for epiphytes to grow aerial roots on the stems. Dragon fruit plants are actually climbers, and the aerial roots provide them with additional support as they climb.

I believe the entire branch is cut from the plant, and then cut into sections about 6" long. The cut ends should be allowed to callus over before each section is planted. Plant each cutting about 1 to 2 inches deep, in a light, sandy, gritty mix, such as is used for all cacti. Be sure that the end of the cutting you place in the soil is the end that was closest to the soil ... if that makes sense. I posted a pic above in this thread about how to tell one end from the other, but you can also just use a marker to draw a little line on one side near at the bottom end when you cut it. That helps prevent any confusion later on. Some people tie a string at either the bottom end or the top end as the sections are cut. Whichever method you use, be consistent.

[applestar]

Did I say it somewhere already? I want one!
I have a night flowering cereus that finally flowered for me -- last summer, wasn't it? And that was GREAT! But now I'm getting greedy and want edible fruit after the flower.

[adobo]

Yes, it's perfectly normal for epiphytes to grow aerial roots on the stems. Dragon fruit plants are actually climbers, and the aerial roots provide them with additional support as they climb.

I believe the entire branch is cut from the plant, and then cut into sections about 6" long. The cut ends should be allowed to callus over before each section is planted. Plant each cutting about 1 to 2 inches deep, in a light, sandy, gritty mix, such as is used for all cacti. Be sure that the end of the cutting you place in the soil is the end that was closest to the soil ... if that makes sense. I posted a pic above in this thread about how to tell one end from the other, but you can also just use a marker to draw a little line on one side near at the bottom end when you cut it. That helps prevent any confusion later on. Some people tie a string at either the bottom end or the top end as the sections are cut. Whichever method you use, be consistent.

Thanks for the reply. I have another question but I need to take a picture first so I could express my question more.

[adobo]

guys,

my dragon fruit got a flower bud forming after more than 1 year of growing it from stem cutting.

will I be able to get fruit from a single dragon cactus plant or does it required X-pollination from other plants?

[Kisal]

My understanding is that the flowers are perfect, which means they contain both male and female organs. However, they are usually pollinated by certain bats, so you'll probably have to go out at night with an artist's paintbrush and pollinate the flower by hand. Even self-fertile flowers need a little help to move the pollen from the stamen to the pistil.

Congratulations on getting a flower!

[adobo]

thanks Kisai. Now I'm more excited.

[adobo]

Sad to say that my budding dragon flower dried off because of the hot dry weather we had last week...

here are some pics from a dragon fruit farm located in Cavite

[img]https://img30.imageshack.us/img30/4708/img1230tr.jpg[/img]

[img]https://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2953/img1233jo.jpg[/img]

[img]https://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7474/img1234js.jpg[/img]

[applestar]

Sorry to hear about your plant, but WOW fantasic photos!
Thanks for posting them.

[adobo]

I have a budding dragon flower again! I'm crossing my fingers hoping that this bud will continue to grow.

[img]https://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l580/undergroundchef/IMG_1161.jpg[/img]

[adobo]

as a result of 2 weeks nonstop rain. my dragon cacti's base is rotting.

can I cut the main stem and let the wound dry for a days then apply fungicide then plant it again into fresh dirt?

would that be a better idea or divide the stems into several pieces then plant them all?

[Kisal]

Either way would probably work fine, but I think I would take several cuttings, to get as many plants as possible.

Is there any way you could provide protection against heavy rain like that?

[FistulinaHepatica]

Yummmm dragon fruit makes my mouth water!

I read somewhere that Pitaya are self-sterile eventhough their flowers have both sexes. They need to cross pollinate with another pitaya to bear fruit; otherwise you'll get plenty of flowers but no nomnoms.

Would love to grow one here but I think trying for jungle/subtropical cacti in USDA zone 3A is pushing it a bit I wish Father Christmas or the Great Pumpkin would let me have a huge tropical greenhouse set-up!

[adobo]

here is the pic of the rotting base

[img]https://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l580/undergroundchef/IMG_1723.jpg[/img]

I could move the plant to a roofed area. I just really didn't expect that the 2 weeks rain will cause this problem for that cacti.

[Kisal]

I wonder if planting them in a raised bed filled with a very rapidly draining soil might help. That way, even if there was heavy rainfall, it would drain away rapidly. That might help prevent rot from setting in.

I have to use raised beds for many plants, especially those that are sensitive to too much water, simply because my yard is heavy clay soil with poor drainage. Also, the water table is high where I live. I hit water whenever I dig down about 12".

[lorax]

I think Kisal's on to something here - Dragonfruits in their natural environment are epiphytes and as such where they grow doesn't really hold a whole lot of water (although it does rain quite heavily). I think a raised bed with a very fast-draining medium might help them a lot.

[Troppofoodgardener]

How often do you have to water dragonfruit? As it's a cacti, I assume not very often.. but it also fruits. So does one increase the watering when the plant is in fruit only?

[adobo]

I think I have successfully saved my cacti by cutting it into 3 segments then planted it after the wounds healed. one segment already have a new growth bud. will post pics on weekend..

[FistulinaHepatica]

Oh, happy news indeed! Hope it grows strong

[PunkRotten]

What zones are these hardy to?

[adobo]

Oh, happy news indeed! Hope it grows strong

here is the new growth on my recovered dragon cactus cuttings.
[img]https://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l580/undergroundchef/IMG_2213.jpg[/img]

glad to know that the cutting is now stable.