scashaggy

Noticed some new growth on one of my HC dragon fruit cuttings.

Richard

It appears we will have an "Indian summer".

HC (Haley's Comet) is definitely an improvement on white-fleshed dragon fruits. For my taste buds, I agree with Pine Island Nursery's statement that it is equivalent to Physical Graffiti.

I recommend you try American Beauty -- which is really just the species Hylocereus guatemalensis. There are several online sources for cuttings but be careful of the source.

The only improvement I've tasted (for my taste) on that is Hylocereus ocamponis. You'll need room for this plant: it's "pods" are typically 4' to 8' long and in comparison to other Hylocereus it has serious spines. It's stalk color is often slightly blueish. The sepals are wildly colored but it has the typical white blossom. It can be a shy bearer -- typically at the tips in the first couple of years. For these reasons it is not in commercial production but as a backyard plant has a lot of potential.

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scashaggy

Here is my lone DF fruit.

kubali

after trying several times I got 2 fruits by hand pollinating them.
now I just need to learn how to spot them when they are ripe and ready.

Richard

Congratulations! Hand pollination works well when they are young. It also helps to have a perennial flowering plant nearby that blooms incessantly so that the bees are already there on a daily basis. For your climate (USDA 9B), "Tuscan Blue" Rosemary, or African Blue Basil in full sun in a pot would probably work. Kubali - you are a very experienced gardener in your climate so perhaps you've other ideas about worthwhile bee-attracting perennial plants.

Hey so, how to know when they're ripe?! It's kind of trial and error in each microclimate and each Hylocereus species. I wait until the tips of the sepals start to brown and then check for softness of the fruit. The "springiness" of a ripe orange is about right. Use clippers to remove it. Over time you'll become an expert in yet another plant!!

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kubali

Thank-you very much Richard for your words of wisdom.They are such beautiful looking fruits, cant wait to be able to taste my first fruit of my labor
As for the bees I love them, they do so much work for me.My wife says I'm nuts to grab them and let them sting my fingers, but I tell her it's like wd-40 for my joints....lol I put out bowls of sugar water for them around my fruit trees as a offering of thanks for all their work......

Richard

Cane sugar is so-so for bees in the long run, the inexpensive aloe syrup sold by CostCo would be better ...

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bengal tiger nanas

Thank-you very much Richard for your words of wisdom.They are such beautiful looking fruits, cant wait to be able to taste my first fruit of my labor
As for the bees I love them, they do so much work for me.My wife says I'm nuts to grab them and let them sting my fingers, but I tell her it's like wd-40 for my joints....lol I put out bowls of sugar water for them around my fruit trees as a offering of thanks for all their work............................................................ ................................................................ ......... wow, i had gone twenty years without being stung, till last month.it sure eased my joint pain.i wish i had found out sooner. thanks

Funkthulhu

So, I finally ate my first Dragon Fruit this week. They were "on sale" (ie actually available in Nebraska) for $6.99 each.

This was a hefty fruit, about a pound and a half with white flesh inside. The flavor was. . . vague. Kind of like superdense watermelon texture with mini crunchy seeds and a taste like kiwi and pear, but less sweet. I have no way of knowing if I had a "ripe" specimen, but the experience was pleasurable.

I now have several dozen seeds from said fruit. Is there anything special I need to do to get them to sprout?

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Richard

Toss them. If you are going through the trouble of growing DF in Nebraska, then get the "American Beauty" cultivar. Someone here might offer you cuttings, or you can buy them rooted from the Pine Island Nursery website.

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Hammocked Banana

I can ship you some AB cuttings in the spring, as well as purple haze, and physical grafitti. Although u can probably get really cheap shipping from some in the US.

scashaggy

Nothing special to grow DF from seeds.

As an experiment I put some white DF seeds on a paper towel, put it in a plastic container and added water.

I did this on 10/24, below are the seeds today. Granted, it would probably take forever for the plants to grow or get fruit, but I just wanted to see what would happen.

Dangermouse01

I am with Richard on this. White DF are bland whether store bought or home grown. Much better tasting varieties available.

You could probably get somebody to send you cuttings for the price of shipping (or have something to trade), and you just might be able to get somebody to throw in one of their last fruits of the season.

Medium size flat rate box is $12.65

DM

kubali

Well, I just picked my df and I must say amazing taste kinda like apple pear taste with a hint of kiwi sweet and very juicy.
over all I really enjoyed it. I have white, red, purple, and yellow dragon fruit
having read the white was the least tasty of them all, will be great to see next year what the others taste like in comparison to the white.

scashaggy

merce3

pollinated these bad boys last night

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Mark Dragt

I'm jealous. Just started my dragon fruit a week and a half ago. Got some cuttings off eBay. Red,white,and purple. Can't waite for my plants to look as good as yours.
Mark

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kubali

Last year I got 2 fruit, This year so far I have a total of 16 fruits on this one Haley's comet. And 2 of them are just a few days from being ready to eat.





I think these plants and fruit are so cool and love to grow them.

RRedBBeard

I'm in the exact same boat as you Mark, just bought the same colors, same time, expecting rooted cuttings to arrive here on Tuesday, maybe Monday. Here I sit with big pots and my potting material...typical newbie!

Happy growing!
Rick in CT
banana wrangler

Richard

There are large differences in taste, even among the same "color". What cultivars did you purchase?

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