Arizona Dragon Fruit

9 years ago

Hello,

I am attempting to grow a pink/red flesh dragon fruit from a cutting in a 25gal pot. The new growth is growing rapidly, but it is very skinny. I have realized that this is due to insufficient light and I have ordered a sun shade so I can move the plant to a better area and hopefully prevent sun scald. My question is if I should just let the plant continue growing or if I should cut the skinny branch. I should mention that I just added some slow release fertilizer as well.

I am thinking of moving it near the back wall in the picture once I get the sun shade. Let me know if that would be a good move or not. As of right now it receives morning sun and a little in the afternoon when the sun moves to the other side of the house. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Featured Answer

azbolt

9 years ago

I'd leave it as is, it will get bigger/wider. You were smart to move it to a slightly more sunny spot. Once it is acclimated it will be able to take a lot more sun, just not as much as a normal Arizona cactus.

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Comments (6)

User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I would trim it back to the thicker part of the plant. Otherwise it will not support anything, good luck!
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Jason (Zone 10b, San Diego)
9 years ago
I think that you have a good plan, set up a sun shade and then get it more sun. Mine has full exposure, but it does get scalded on some days. Next year I'll put up some sun screen that I have.

One recommendation for you is to increase the size of your central stake and put a horizontal spreader near the top. Dragon fruit need to get fairly big, about 20 pounds of plant material, to produce blossoms. You small stake will never support it or will fall over under the weight of the plant. I have a central 4x4 cemented into the ground, a couple of cross posts, and then another cross-beam securing it to a nearby fence. Do a quick image search on dragon fruit and you can get some ideas on what other people have done. Some are very elaborate....
stanofh 10a Hayward,Ca S.F. bay area
9 years ago
My neighbors today-
M SUJ
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the tips! Jason, I am in the process of building a trellis. The stake in the picture is just temporary. I got a 30% screen on Amazon but now I need to figure out how to get it above the plant without looking tacky. It's a pretty cheap looking shade in the first place
Jason (Zone 10b, San Diego)
9 years ago
Good luck with it, I do not think that there is any great way to put up shade and have it look nice.