Thread: Dragon Fruit
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Old 09-15-2011, 12:20 PM   #433 (permalink)
harveyc
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Default Re: H. polyrhizus.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Want Them All View Post
I planted this in June 2010. This week, I saw flower buds for the 1st time. According to the label, Hylocereus polyrhizus does NOT need a pollinator. Does that mean I don't have to do anything, and these flowers will become fruits on their own? How does this "red" variety taste? I've never had one to eat.

On a related note, when you guys hand pollinate, do you take pollens from anthers in different flowers and stick them on stigmas from different flowers?
I wouldn't trust those labels but suspect it may be self-fertile but the pollen still needs to get from the anthers to the stigma. Until you know from experience that the flower will self-pollinate (i.e., flower has a stigma close to the anthers) or you have some form of wildlife that will spread the pollen to the stigma, you should hand-pollinate. It appears likely that it is best to use pollen from another variety but, if it's a self fertile variety, you can pollinate with anthers from the same flower (it makes no difference if you pollinate from another flower on the same plant as the pollen is identical).

There are different selections of polyrhizus but some are sweet and tasty but some consider them to have an "earthy" taste. Report what you think after you have yours!
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