E,

1) No pruning - just tie it off to your frame or adjust its growing direction yourself. The more arms, the faster to maturity/flowering/fruiting.

2) Yes

3) Prune just enough to get it inside. You may have to prune it again to get it outside, but that's not such a bad thing. If you can give it ideal conditions in the summer, this beast will easily double in size.

4) Lots of indirect light, heat, air movement, some fertilizer in a porous, humus-rich soil, and away you go.

I'd say your soil is not up for this plant - it needs to be more porous. The MG cactus soil is insufficiently draining, so add lots of pumice/Turface/other material to help that. I'd do at least 50/50.

Indirect light? Its currently getting full sun. Well, partial, doesn't get full direct morning sun, but it gets plenty of noon and afternoon sun. Hasn't seemed to be a problem. If anything, its been growing faster since I moved it out of the shade.

I went ahead and redid it's mix just now, poured 2/3's bag of perlite in there.

It took my plant in the ground in SoCal 3 years to start flowering which was in 2003. Now I have to cut down about 20 branches of about 1-2ft length (some even up to 5 ft) every year. Phew!

Jordi

Are you selling the prunings as cuttings? You could be getting $5-10 for a 10" fresh cutting (up to $25 or more for a larger rooted one).

No I don't sell them. For severals years I gave the cuttings away free for postage. The last 2 years I just dumped them in the garden trash.

Jordi

To each their own I guess. I'm definitely planning on ebaying anything I trim off for space reasons. No need wasting perfectly viable material. Little extra spending money on the side doesn't hurt either. ;)

I just bought another cutting off ebay the other night, actually. I'm not 100% sure the one I have is self fertilizing, so figured I should get another one just in case. If it turns out they're both self-fertile, then I'll still have twice as many plants. Most self-pollinating plants I've dealt with produce better with a partner anyway, so maybe it'll help.

Edymnion,

Let me assure you that Jordi fully knows what the value of plants are - he spends his time polishing the gold and not worrying about the iron.

Perhaps if you contacted him privately and offered to send him postage (in advance of sending a package of them) he's look favourably on your request.

E,

'...he'd..'

And yes, indirect light most of the time (IMO), but whatever works for you - the proof is in how well the plant grows. Personally, I think of this as a jungle cactus (on the floor of a jungle, and thus not getting much light). If it's not looking as lush (but still growing), yes, I'd give it less light. Mine grew on the north side of a building in central San Diego - it got direct light only two months of the year, but since the ambient conditions there were conducive to it growing, it flowered in three years and fruited in five.

I started one of these from seed this Spring, and it is growing very slowly.
Now that the first true "leaf" has appeared, I think it'll start growing faster.
What sort of fertilization schedule do you fellas recommend?

Josh

The regular MG or any balanced fertilizer, Josh, but I'd feed the beast often when it's in the growth season.

first time i heard or read anything about indirect sunlight for dragon fruit. i just started growing them last summer. did some research on the tropical forums here on GW, and on the web. all the pics i've seen on the tropical forums and on from plantations shows them being grown in full sun.

Edymnion,

Here is one of the pieces I had to cut off today. Going into the yard trash unless one asks for it and sends postage.
{{gwi:589935}}



Jordi

Edym,

Did I tell you that we call Jordi the Pizza Man, because he delivers the goods (as noted, with postage paid)?

Jordi, I will be glad to pay your postage on a cutting like that.I have a few epi's, but no dragon fruit.

Nightbloomers,
do you want the entire cutting which would cost pretty much postage or only 1 or 2 cuttings of this cutting?
Send me a PM.

Jordi

Anyone else interested in some cuttings for postage?

Jordi

I wish. It's just too darn hot/humid here in the summer it would undoubtedly rot. :( The little Zs would be so stoked though if we could grow one of these and actually have it fruit.

Well that should be the problem. They like heat and humidity coming originally from southern Mexico and nowadays growing everywhere in tropical and subtropical climate.

Jordi

Of course I meant, 'that should NOT be the problem'

Jordi

I should like some delivered by you, CJ - we'll celebrate your arrival with bannock and Grade A maple syrup.

Do I understand that right, you don't even want to pay the postage? Shame on you!
And furthermore, going that close to the North Pole is not my desire, even when I could meat with you only up there.
Jordi

Impressive pruning. Too bad I lost the thread until now. Oh well, c'est la vis.

I just planted some seeds as well, they just started sprouting yesterday. Still no clue what varieties I have. Silly me, thought there was just Pink/White, Pink/Red, and Yellow/White, didn't know there were a dozen sub-strains of each with varying flavors and degrees of self fertilization. They're all pink/white, but God only knows what they are specifically.

No problem, I can go on pruning if you like cuttings.

Jordi

Nah, I should really stick to what I've got. Two cuttings growing in their big pots, and potentially two dozen seedlings.

I'm too far north to keep them outside, so best to keep it limited.

Thanks though.

Bah, the temptation to ask for a cutting is getting to me.

What types do you have, Jordi? I'm particularly interested in getting a Zomorano or a Natural Mystic. Those dark reds are just calling to me.

Still no idea what my big one is yet (I've resorted to going through the seller's website to ask just what exactly I bought from them), but I went through my ebay records and found that my second cutting is actually a Guyute.

I'm happy about that, as PIN lists the Guyute very highly across the board.

I don't know what type (= cultivar?) I have. I just call it Hylocereus undatus.

{{gwi:589936}}



Jordi

The major pitaya varieties:
http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/dragon/index.htm

Comparing your picture to theirs, it looks like either a Costa Rican Sunset or a Zomorano. Is the pulp red, white, or pink?

Okay, got a question here.

June 20th I got a pitaya cutting. Put it in the same soil mix as the other one I have happily growing. Didn't see any growth, but it stayed nice and firm (no shrivelling or shrinking), so I figured it was just rooting and would grow when it was ready.

Well, last night the curiosity finally got to me, and I dug it up. No rooting at all. Cutting still looks as fresh as the day I got it, which is rather surprising after a month and a half.

Anyway, I repotted it up like it was, gave it a water, and I guess I have no choice but to keep waiting.

That normal for these things? First one I got was already rooted, so not sure how long it should take.

What sort of medium are you using?

I wouldn't formally water until the cutting has roots.

Josh

Amen to that, Josh.

E,

I suspect you don't have enough bottom heat. Either that, or force it to root by cutting it and putting rooting hormone on the end. Put it in your medium and give it a daily spritz.

There are at least two reasons to NOT water plants when they don't have roots - first would be they don't need it (they don't have roots), second would be that it promotes rot.

Soil is a mix of 50% perlite, 25% cactus mix, 25% potting soil in a large container, propped up on casters (for easy transport) with holes drilled in the bottom for drainage.

Highly doubt that its not rooting from lack of heat though, its been 95-100 degrees for pretty much the past month. If it got any warmer I'm pretty sure I could serve it with butter and some garnish.

I've seen a place or two that talked about these things trying to root even without a medium, maybe I'll try that. Cut it like an emo kid, powder it with hormone, and let it sit on a nice dry shelf in the shade until I see it put forth some effort to root.

Biggest question at the moment then would be that the cutting's base is the new growth sprout end (aka the pencil thin section where it budded off another branch). Should I just lop off a milimeter or two there, or would I get better results scoring the side of the cutting (or do both)?

'Cut it like an emo kid' - not sure what it means, but I like the sound of it.

Can you show me a picture of it? I wouldn't cut at a joint, if that's what you're asking.

Just be patient! That stuff always roots and hardly ever rots: dry or moist, with or without rooting hormone, in, on or without substrate. And it can survive for at least 3 years without water when in a shady place. It IS a cactus!

Jordi

There is some circulating around that has been tissued cultured. These are inferior fruiting and many have floral defects that may reduce fruiting. The best are those grown from cuttings. There is about three different kinds. The white flesh, a hot pink flesh and a pale lavender-pink fleshed variety. All have the red skin and taste about the same. I have seen variegated clones (not sure about their fruiting ability if they do as well or not, but usually variegated stuff grows slower and less productive). It might be like my marginated vanilla, which flowers but not productive (if at all) making fewer and inferior pods than the wild green form).
The first image shows a huge media for this plant. My suggestion is to grow it in a tight snug pot as flowering and fruiting occurs best when the plants are root bound (at any size). Like ALL plants (bromeliads, orchids, succulents, etc.) a root bound plant flowers sooner and more often than an overly potted plant in a large swimming pool pot. Once the plant is matured and growing, they fruit almost the year around, but with heavier emphasis during the moon phases.
I have learned that a spineless form exists and this may change the way this plant is grown, but am unaware if it is as productive or even tasty as the spined form. Anyone knows about this?
A yellow pitaya is different than the dragon fruit and grows lankily over a fence or wall. The weight of the dragon fruit Hylocereus can get quite heavy, I have seen them use just the old fashioned clothesline poles for support.

The source of the tissue cultured inferior clone comes from Agristarts in Florida. Not sure if all their clones are inferior or just the original one.

Still no love on rooting that one cutting, so I ordered a replacement (natural mystic this time), which came rooted. It got the big pot that I had prepared for the other one.

Came wrapped in moist toilet paper with a plastic bag around the base to keep it happy. Figured what the heck, might as well try that with the older cutting, see if that jumpstarts it any. Been a week since then, still no luck.

At least the natural mystic should start branching soon, seeing as it actually has roots.

Do you still have any cuttings available? I would be very interested in giving one of these a try. I have one large cactus in my back yard (about 15' tall) I could post a pic and if you want a piece I would be happy to lop one off for you in exchange. I have a fedex accnt for my business so I get pretty cheap shipping on most things.

Garrett

Garrett,
if you ask me, yes I have. And the PM-postage would be $ 5.20.
Send me an e-mail to cactusjordi(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Jordi

Garrett,

Not to rain or your parade, but it would be a very rare cactus indeed which Jordi doesn't already have 3 forms (at least) of. He's a cactus Jedi, so most of the time he sends cuttings for postage only.

Since he Priority Mailed me my 20lb. box of cuttings, no plant has died on me, all of my cats have behaved, and I've been awarded the Order of Canada for promoting cross-border succulentism, and he's on the level with his offer, too, so there are no worries there.

Why do people tie a rubber band at the node of the flower?

Can someone clarify the notion of letting multiple stems from a single base grow to full size? I just purchased a few dragon fruit from Lowes and Home Depot to add to my edible landscape project and Im really trying to find the proper method to care for and train this plant. Its my first cactus of any sort so Im starting from scratch.
Ive read up on multiple websites that the commercial growers run a single "Stalk" of pitaya up the support structure, from each plant, and then allow that stem to branch out once its reached the top point. First, is this ideal or even proper for a home garden? Second, does a single stalk constitute one solid shaft or can it be jointed from multiple buddings? Third, on average, how tall should I let my stalks grow upwards before I consider working on the fruit bearing arms. Lastly, and I guess least important, do these plants have a working lifespan or number of years before they fizzle out or stop bearing fruit or just croak?
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.
p.s. I live in Ontario, California. Fairly temperate area. Purchased White pink and red pitaya varieties, but dont have and more specific info on their type than that and Im growing them up a standard 6" grid trellis and tying them off as they go up. Only had the plants for about 2 weeks.

Hi all!
Just bought my first ever dragon fruit, and decided to keep some seeds. Any hints for getting these started? It's bene hard getting the pulp off the sedds, should I let them dry a bit? From everything I've read, they tend to start easily. It's a pink skinned white fleshed type, naturally not labelled in the store, but the taste was like a watery pear and I liked it. :) Do these seeds germinate true to the parent plant? Will they like an east window that gets about 3-6 hours of sunlight daily?

Oh dear - sorry for the typos! I must be going blind in my old age...

Plant a bunch of seeds...I'm sure a few will sprout.

Josh