Gorgeous! -Giving me lots of ideas!

Thanks for sharing!

Beautiful plants and yard. I'm guessing its a Vietnamese white just because they get large, fruit very well and are self fruitful.

Very nice, congrats. Thanks for the pic

Anyone here know if you take one of the dragon fruit cuttings and stick them in the ground, how long will it take to show some growth? I've had mine in the ground for 2 months and no signs of growth. They are still green. I don't know if they have rooted, did not want to dig them up.

Stu:

It'll grow fine. Some take longer than other to begin rooting...that's why I prefer now to just leave them out on a bench or table in the elements after they are cut. You can wet them down daily and they will root in a few weeks. Once the roots begin to form I stick them where I want them....as in, a tree, a fence, a pot, etc.

Harry

Hi Harry,

Thanks for the info. From when you root them in the elements, then put them in the ground/pot, how many years from that point have you experienced before it fruits? This assumes the right type of trellis, sun, etc to allow it to grow up, then hang down from the top. Just curious if this is in the 2/3 year range, or greater than 5 years

Stu

I thought it was the Vietnamese variety too, but the fruits aren't as big though. Lacking nutrients?

Stu -
I haven't tried them with Harry's approach but much of it is similar. I planted mine straight into the ground where I intended it to be without placing them in pots. But instead of plain dirt, I used 50:50 native soil & compost. Mine took a LONG time to put out new growth too, but as long as yours are green & firm they should be ok, even a bit yellow is still fine. You should only worry when it's dry, wrinkled or shriveled looking. Unlike other cactus plant, these things love water and respond very well to it. At least for me they do.

Quick question for other DF growers:
I don't use coco fiber mat or fertilize my DF at all. The only thing it gets is water & plenty of it. But as soon as it's in full bloom, I cut off the water completely. This result in smaller fruits, but much sweeter and more aromatic compared to anything else. Has anyone tried this or have a more successful method they'd want to share?

Tim

As far as I can see, dragonfruit will grow just about anywhere where it is warm and wet. It will gorw in and on anything and they especially likes trees, both living and dead. I have had them bloom within 1 year after taking a cutting, but it usually takes a bit longer to actually set fruit. Seems the first blooms, at least at my house, didn't set any fruit. That could have been as a result of lack of cross pollination (including pollen available from other blooms on the same plant). The larger the plant is and the more blooms open simultaneously, the more fruit seems to set. Also fruit size is dependent on the size of the plant. Some varieties seem to produce sweeter fruits as the fruit size increases. At least this has been my experience with American Beauty.

Harry

I've had cuttings with a few small branches grow and fruit within a year, it really depends on the time of year, the amount of TLC you give it and also fertilizer. I use organic fish/kelp meal as fertilizer and it appears to spur growth.

If you want your DF to root faster you can give it bottom heat by purchasing a plant heating mat. The roots will grow very fast if you give it some bottom heat and a little organic fertilizer.

I would say that on average, most my DF cuttings started producing more than a single fruit after two years. I water consistently when the plants are holding fruit and I've noticed that if my plants have been getting lots of sun, they fruit is sweeter. Also of course, the longer I leave it on the plant, the sweeter it is. I usually leave the fruit on for at least 5-7 days after they show color.

trellising dragonfruit horizontally like in the original post tends to be more productive then letting them climb a tree or pole vertically.

i think the weight of the overhanging plant helps induce blooming instead of growing vertically which it would do up a tree, also its probably easier for pollinators to reach the blooms in a low horizontal row

Awesome! I had a rough summer with mine, too many days above 110 degrees, and not enough shade. I learned my lesson, got new plants shaded from afternoon sun and more foliage planted in front of the other ones. Hoping for some good growth!