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Here is a link that might be useful: Here's a link that might be helpful

The dragon fruit are beautiful! What kind of growing environment do you have for them? I'd love to try growing some!

Very nice! Keep us posted on how they continue to thrive for you. :)

I just harvested my first dragon fruit fruit (lol) this week. Here's two pics--it was smaller than I had hoped for, but tasty.

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I've got a few other named varieties so I hope there are more and more as time goes by. Thanks for the fun photographs of yours!

Take care,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: August 2011 pics from my garden

Grant, do you know what variety your dragon fruit is? Named? Can we get a pic of the plant? Please please?? :-)

Thanks,
Kevin

My growing enviroment is very dry, and hot. How old is your dragon fruit grant?

Hiya Kevin and all,

I bought my fruiting dragon fruit as an unlabeled cutting at a garage sale in Scottsdale, so I don't have the variety name. I must admit, I was surprised it was a red-fleshed variety. I have some labeled ones that are supposed to be red fruited, but I was surprised that the garage sale one was as well.

I'll get some pics this long weekend. The digital camera I've been using for 11 years is not compatible with the new computer (or any computer made after, um, 2002, LOLOL) I purchased this week, so it'll be a day or three but I'm on the case, LOL.

I'm here in Scottsdale aridgardener, so it's hot and dry here too, so I'm really pleased to see this thing fruiting. By the way, only the blooms that I hand pollinated early in the morning (with the same flower's pollen since I didn't have any other varieties blooming) produced fruit. I left some unpollinated by me and none of those made fruit. The fruited ripened really quickly too--it only took about a month. The gila woodpeckers and the flickers were starting to eat them so I brought them inside when they just started showing red on half the fruit.

I'll snap a pic of the plant this weekend. Must go bargain camera shopping first, LOL. I love my old digital camera (everything I've ever posted here in GW has been from that camera), but it's larger than a regular 35mm camera, so I'm looking forward to finding something that fits in a pocket!

Happy gardening everyone,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden blog, just a post or two a month

Okay, here are two bad (cell phone instead of camera--I ordered a new camera but it won't be here until mid-week) of my largest dragon fruit, that has begun fruiting.

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The plant has another flower bud this week which I plan to pollinate, so I'll be checking it each morning this week. You can mostly see it at the top far right of the second pic.

Sorry the pics aren't great, but hopefully I'll be back to my old self when the new camera arrives this week (that will be compatible with my new computer). Lemme know what you think. :)

Take care and happy gardening all,
Grant

ps: I did plant seeds from the fruit and so far have one tiny seedling, LOL.

Az Rare Fruit Growers is hosting the Festival of Fruit at ASU Nov. 3 thru 6, they will have classes all day Sat. Nov 5 including one taught by Al Falkenstein on growing Pitahaya or dragon fruit in Az. I've visited his garden and his dragon fruits were very impressive, he knows what he's talking about. I have several in pots and plan to attend his class on growing them. I've also seen the garden of Doug Jones who have probably 500 tropicals on his property, he's also teaching a couple of classes and would be well worth the time and expense of going. Information here: http://www.azrfg.org/festivalOfFruit/fof.html

The theme is The Year of the Pomegranate, ticket price includes the classes, pom tasting, a tour of the arboretum and lunch.

I nearly killed a few of mine by not covering them up in the mid summer and they got burned a bit. But, what is amazing is how quickly a plant will recover and put out new arms! One just put out 8 or nine of them. I had one plant that was just dying in a bad spot in the yard, I potted it up, put it under my porch and it put out 12 new arms instantly. I still have no flowers on my oldest plant, but its now in a good shaded spot between a Mulberry tree and a Bamboo, and its starting to climb both of them. I love dragon fruit, when they want to grow..they grow fast!

My best ones are on the north side of a wall, or on the east side of a wall, so they are protected from afternoon sun. You're right euqruob that they burn easily in too much sun.

Love the link to the Festival of Fruits, sun drop! Thanks for posting it. I keep the AZRFG page as my home page on my iPhone, but didn't see or notice a link for the festival of fruits. I'll take a look for sure. I don't grow TOO many rare fruits, so I may not be the best candidate, but I do love seeing and hearing about them. I've got a small variegated lime tree that I'd like to graft onto another root stalk as insurance, so the winter citrus grafting class looks especially interesting.

Take care all,
Grant

Do any of you fertilize your dragon fruits? Because my larger plants dont put out nearly as many arms.

Thanks for the pics Grant, your dragon fruit is interesting, doesn't look quite like a regular hylocereus undatus (flower is very different). I wonder what the heck it is! At least it is giving you fruit! I've been growing them for several years now and not a single fruit. I can't seem to get them to bloom at a time where I can cross polinate them, come to think of it they don't bloom buch at all. I have one called Haley's Comet that will bloom tomorrow night, but nothing else to polinate it with and I've tried many times to get it to polinate itself, it does not cooperate.

I've fertilized mine several times this year with a super bloom type fertilizer, but I don't see that's it's done much good. Maybe we'll get more blooms as it cools down.

Kevin

Yes, I fertilize my plants with an acidic (yes, acidic, following Elton Robert's constant mentioning in his newsletter and articles for the Cactus and Succulent Society of America journal) spring through autumn.

Bolt, your'e right of course, the fruit on my plant doesn't have the neat flyaway ridges etc of the real dragon fruit. I've got several named cultivars of true dragon fruit, but no blooms yet. We'll see! If nothing else, they're enjoying a flush of growth at this time of year.

Take care,
Grant

A good named cultivar is halleys comet. I recently purchased one and it has 6 new growths, and 1 possible bloom. Sadly a landscaper knocked of a 12 inch growth. :(

I have Haley's Comet as well, it currently has 10 buds on it, it is my faithful bloomer. If ONLY it were self fruitful! I can't get another variety to bloom when my Haley's does. I had a bud on my Alice and one on Vietnamese White, both of which fell off...I thought I was going to be able to collect some pollen from them for my Haley's Comet....oh well...I guess I can enjoy the nice flowers....

Kevin

I thought halleys comet was a self pollinating variety.

My Haley's Comet is not self fruitful, I've tried many times to polinate them with their own pollen and with other cactus pollen. I just can't get my other DF varieties to bloom, so I can cross pollinate. Infact Haley's Comet had two blooms on it it this morning, nice BIG blooms....sigh. Either Haleys Comet is NOT self fruitful or *I* do not have Haley's Comet (but I got it from a fairly reputable source...) I hope you have better luck than I am!

Kevin

I hope so to! After slot of research I concluded it was a superior variety...