Be aware if you let it grow up the oak tree you will never get any fruit. It will just hang way up on the tree mocking you with its pretty pinkness. I have experience with this problem:)

I planted mine along a 6 foot high fence. It will HAVE to grow horizontally!

I would love to give dragon fruit a try in my backyard. Is it self-pollinating or do I need two different varieties to grow fruit?

I don't know for sure, but mine produced fruit and I don't see any other dragonfruit in my neighborhood.

BILLBRANDI, I have a young dragon fruit I will give you. I don't know what kind it is because the mother plant never got a chance to fruit. Either squirrels or cats knocked it over and suddenly I had a bunch of dragonettes! It was a leftover from a local plant swap and I took it because it looked interesting.
If you'll email me your snailmail address, I will get it off to you within a few days.
cora

sooooo....do i plant it by itself,no tree? have a bunch. in groups? really growing fast, potted ones are growing like crazy.

corar - thanks for your kind offer-I emailed you my address (you get the first fruit to come off the plant, whenever that is)....Bill

billbrandi, I would be honored to accept first fruit.

wallisadie - I've seen photos of dragon fruit grown on wires in the same way grapes are grown. Think clothes lines or Napa Valley. ;o)

Check out the link below for info.
HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: Pine Island Nursery

Hey guys, I have a bunch of seedlings that I started from a fruit last year and was wondering about their cold tolerance. All the literature says "no way" for zone 9, but you guys seem to be doing fine...

thanks for the ifo, use to deal with pine island.....going to just plant them and see what happens....

I planted a dragonfruit at the stump of a green buttonwood tree over a year and maybe 4 inches of growth...very disappointed :(

jaxtropix, my dragon fruit was small enough to bring it into the lanai during the winter. I'm hoping to have it in a greenhouse by the time I can't haul it around.
cora

I kept my dragonfruit, other cactus, and all my epiphyllum cuttings on the screenpatio last year. It was sheltered by the house on two sides and has a roof. I covered the other 2 sides with 6 mil plastic that I folded in half so it was doubled. On the nights we hit into the teens, I ran a small space heater out there. They all made it okay.
I think I read somewhere that seedlings of epiphyllums can take 7 years to bloom- not sure about the dragonfruit specifically.
I have 7 different kinds of dragonfruit, most of them I got last year so aren't real big yet. They really need to be repotted and trellised. They have been doing better since I put them in afternoon shade.

Dragonfruit don't like it hardly under freezing, some are self pollinating, some aren't. They are not a desert cactus, so they like regular watering. Usually 3 or 4 years to fruit generally from a cutting. Grows good up a pole where it can sprawl down after about 5' high.

Gary

dragon fruit on tree....original cutting.

Wow! Deland isn't too far from me so maybe this will work! I'll have to wait til my seedlings get bigger and then plant it against my live oak and underneath the bromeliads. A neighbor left her little potted night blooming cereus out this winter and it got burnt but still survived. She threw it away though... darn.

we covered this one, plus always plant anything semi tender on the south east side of the tree. have tons of cereus if you want some. also that other one "queen of the night" climbing cactus.

Are you guys ignoring the fact that you probably won't get any fruit under an oak tree?

dghays, assume you mean because it won't be getting enough sun under the canopy of an oak tree? I see them growing up trees all over the place, but I don't think I've ever seen one with fruit or flower.

To the people that would like to grow the Dragon Fruit (Pitaya) in zones that would have frosts, I suggest and use this method. I nail a 5 gallon plastic pot (4 gallons actual)to the base of a 4X4 post using the long roofing nails. The post length I use is 5 foot (a 10 foot 4X4 cut in half). You can cut whatever length you choose to make your 'tree' the height you'd like. On the top of the post I nail a 3 or 4 foot long board or a 2X4 to make a 'T' post to support the branches. Plant your Pitaya in your soil mix and let it grow up the timber pole, when it gets to the top, trim it so it will send side branches out and look like a palm tree fronds hanging from the upper cross member. This also makes the fruits easy to reach. In the pot at the bottom you can put small flowering annuals to dress up your pole bucket. When you get frost warnings the pot & post can be brought inside for the night to protect it(if you didn't make it too tall). I cannot take a picture because a cat climbed the pole and knocked the whole dang thing over. I'm in process of a do-over with a Christmas tree stand type X under my pot to firm it up better.

Lou

going to try and plant the other pots out in the open....see what happens. what the heck is a dragon fruit anyway? looks cool on the tree!

Wow... that's a really great idea! I think I'll try it with my more tender bromeliads at the bottom since they don't take up much root space. Of course if its done with a structure like that I could even construct a cover for it when it freezes so I can do it directly in the ground...

Jaxtropix,

Now you've given me the idea to also build this outdoors in the ground too. I have some thin metal strapping that came from some crates that I can cut, drill, and screw to the upper cross piece like a bow with wood spacers so I can drape a plastic bag type protection over the whole setup. The strapping will keep the plastic from touching the plants. I'm also thinking of screwing salvaged little light fixtures with 'flame flicker' type bulbs up the pole for some cool looking lighting and also for heat later in the winter when it's covered up with plastic. Maybe some little hanging pots too. I will have to see how 'busy' it looks.

Lou

Its fun to invent stuff! This same setup could be used for a vertical bromeliad garden too! I have a long hanging branch of driftwood with tillandsias that hangs from my balcony, only going inside on the coldest nights. I rigged it with an eye hook so it easily stays in place during heavy winds but is still easy to detach when it gets cold.
I can't wait to see your solution!

Most of what you might see growing around the neighborhood is likely snake cactus, related, but not pitaya. No doubt, in frost prone areas, something mobile or protectable would be the solution.

Gary

hi i am from queensland australia i am new to growing dragon fruit i bought a couple of cuttings off ebay a week ago and i left it out in the sun to try and get it to root and it got sunburnt i now have it sitting on my kitchen bench still no roots i would like any suggestions please

Disabledgardener,
Just stick it vertically in potting soil or in the ground, it will root up on it's own. Make sure it has a post or something a meter tall or more to climb up on.

Lou

I think I'd like to try it in a few containers, look at the picture at this link of it growing that way. Anybody going to Silvia's or Lori's parties that could bring me a few cuttings?

Tom

i am expecting some rooting hormone in the mail will give that a try

I live in the DeLand area and grew dragon fruit with the same design structures that Pine Island Nursery uses. After three years of protecting them from freezes, I gave up this winter and let them freeze to the ground. Two of the varieties are sprouting. (The yellow variety proved to be much more cold sensitive.) American beauty bloomed nicely last year but none of the flowers set fruit. I planted some of Silvia's Black Jungle lima beans near the base so I can use the structure for something useful.

Christine

After tasting the fruit in Excalibur I bought that particular variety that I liked. I had it for a year in a pot and thought it was a good idea to plant it in the ground. Last winter it was killed. Too cold sensitive for my area.

Tom you probably do well in the pot, you are warmer than Christine and I.

Silvia

That's what I'm thinking Silvia, I honestly think it will do well over here....

Tom