Has anyone tried growing this? Dragon Fruit

stephenprudence

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by stephenprudence »

Funny you should say this, I have a seedling popping up in a pot, I put the seedling in not long ago and I already germinated!
Andy P

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by Andy P »

Thanks for the update Callin. They`re coming along nicely and look very healthy. Also very interesting because they look like a totally different plant to mine.
Here`s a pic of my biggest plant that i took about a month ago.
2012-02-19 23.35.34.jpg
I had a bit of a problem with this plant in the Autumn as i noticed something was eating away at it. On close inspection i discovered a caterpillar living inside it. Seems to be making a good recovery though.
I`ve also noticed a shoot growing off the top of one of the stems that looks totally different from any of the other stems so am wondering what this is. Thought at first that it might be the start of a flower forming but i think the plants way too small yet to flower. Maybe someone can shed some light. Am hoping Sean will pop by and give some advice as i know he has quite a lot of experience in growing these.
Attachments
2012-02-19 23.35.34.jpg
callin

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by callin »

Yes Andy, they look different. Maybe they will change and eventually look like yours. Like you noticed mine are totally branchless. :? I m sure is dragon fruit because I ate the fruit and sow the seeds.
Will see this summer how they will grow.
By the way... yours looks great.
Cheers icon_thumleft
Andy P

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by Andy P »

Cheers Callin icon_thumleft Keep us updated as to how they get on. I doubt yours will multi-stem like mine has. There must be very different types of this species and i think the type you are growing just grow very long single stems but i`m not sure. Still don`t know that much about them yet.
Troppoz

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by Troppoz »

Callin your plant looks a lot like an Opuntia, prickly pear to me, not a dragon fruit at all. Do you think it might have been mislabelled at the supermarket? Il find a pic of the fruit and you can judge from memory.

Andy your plant looks great! Dont know about the shoot, I doubt its a flower at that size, could be a new branch? Hard to tell from that pic youll have to update us when it grows larger. icon_thumright
Attachments
White dragon fruit
White dragon fruit
Pitaya white.jpg (8.79 KiB) Viewed 3225 times
Red dragon fruit
Red dragon fruit
Pitaya red.jpg (8.08 KiB) Viewed 3225 times
Yellow dragon fruit
Yellow dragon fruit
Pitaya yellow.jpg (6.55 KiB) Viewed 3225 times
callin

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by callin »

Thank you Troppoz,
Certainly they mislabelled the fruit, though the fruit looked exactly like the one in your first picture. On mine the seeds was a little bigger as far as i remember.
Soo... i have an Opuntia Monacantha Maverick :? Found this picture of it and yes ...definitely i have an Opuntia
Opuntia Monacantha 'Maverick'.png
i was so convinced that I have a dragon fruit :(
Thank you again Troppoz
icon_cheers icon_thumleft
Attachments
Opuntia Monacantha 'Maverick'.png
callin

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by callin »

So... people ... in the light of my new discovery, anyone tried to grow this opuntia plant? :lol:
Yes ... I m a plant grower so experienced :><: :lol:
Vagetarian

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by Vagetarian »

They're quite similar callin. Prickly pear;

Image

I think the biggest difference is in the size. Dragon fruit is papaya size and prickly pear is well, pear sized. :)
Last edited by Vagetarian on Wed Apr 04, 2012 7:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
JoelR
Posts: 990
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:38 pm
Location: West Yorkshire

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by JoelR »

callin wrote:So... people ... in the light of my new discovery, anyone tried to grow this opuntia plant? :lol:
Yes ... I m a plant grower so experienced :><: :lol:
Intriguing that you were able to buy prickly pear at the supermarket :D . Not sure which species it be will but among the "tuna" types O. ficus indica seems to be the most likely candidate. Watch out for the glochids which may well develop as your plants get bigger. These are the tiny spines which grow out of the areoles and seem to jump into human skin at the slightest opportunity. That said you may have a form which has had spines and glochids bred out.

I'm growing dozens of opuntias, mainly the hardy ones among which O. ficus indica sadly isn't. Plants from seed can take 10 years to flower and fruit but you can save time if you can get a pad from a plant of flowering age. Opuntia seed can be tricky to germinate. I've get several species which were sown before xmas and not one has germinated yet but I'm sure they will eventually.
Vagetarian

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by Vagetarian »

Joel, I recently picked up a couple at my local Budgens. I was shocked to say the least! They also had star fruit which I'd never seen in the flesh before!
User avatar
JoelR
Posts: 990
Joined: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:38 pm
Location: West Yorkshire

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?

Post by JoelR »

I've left the fruit on a couple of opuntias that flowered last year but they are much smaller and covered in glochids. Some opuntia fruit even have glochids inside the fruit which create a shower when broken open. Wouldn't want those in my eyes :o
Andy P

Re: Has anyone tried growing this?- Dragon Fruit.

Post by Andy P »

Just thought i`d update this thread as my Dragon fruit Cactus is going from strength to strength. I was really chuffed to notice that it`s started to push out aerial roots from everywhere. I now know it`s ready to start climbing on it`s own. I`ve been doing a lot of research lately about how these are farmed in Vietnam and Thailand and have decided to do it the way THEY do it. So i`ve started to cut off the largest stems that have aerial roots on them,from the mother plant, and have put a wooden pole in a largish pot for these stems to climb up. Eventually , If they survive and reach the top of the pole, i`ll attach a square wooden structure, to the top, for them to hang down from. Hoping to eventually get fruit from these. Does anyone else know of anyone that`s managed to get these to fruit in the uk?
Attachments
2012-08-18 20.39.13.jpg
Pic showing the aerial roots emerging
Pic showing the aerial roots emerging
2012-08-18 20.12.58.jpg
First cutting planted
First cutting planted
first of 4 or 5 cuttings to go in this pot
first of 4 or 5 cuttings to go in this pot
Andy P

Re: Has anyone tried growing this? Dragon Fruit

Post by Andy P »

This is what i`m aiming for
Attachments
Dragonfruit_03.jpg
Troppoz

Re: Has anyone tried growing this? Dragon Fruit

Post by Troppoz »

Coming along well Andy icon_thumright Im surprised that youve had such good growth as I always thought of these as strictly tropical. Will be interesting to see how it progresses so keep us updated.
Andy P

Re: Has anyone tried growing this? Dragon Fruit

Post by Andy P »

Thanks Sean. icon_thumleft Any Input you have on this is very welcome, as i know you have some knowledge with these plants. To be honest, initially, i didn`t really hold up much hope of growing Pitaya here in the UK. To start with it was just an experiment. And they`ve been difficult to get through our long,horrible Winter months. But i`ve managed it, and during the few sunny days in Summer that we do have ( where Temps inside my conservatory reach 40 degrees) the growth rate on them has been astonishing! So onwards and upwards.Maybe another year or two before they are big enough to Flower and bear fruit , but so far this little project is going well. I`ll have to make sure my conservatory is heated on the coldest nights this winter to ensure their survival but i also have to juggle the low light levels with the watering regime ( or dampness of the soil) to avoid rot etc. If i can get them through a few more Winters then i`d think a Dragon fruit might be a possibility.
In Wales!!! :lol:
Post Reply