OT: how old is this Dragon Fruit plant?

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greenfig

Registered:1359790036
Posts: 3,182

Posted 1403420817	Reply with quote #1

Just curious, for how long should I wait before my cutting becomes this large? __________________ wish list: Violeta, Calderona. USDA z 10a, SoCal

aaa

Registered:1377344072
Posts: 75

Posted 1403438796	Reply with quote #2

Hi Greenfig if you keep them watered and fertilized it sould only take a couple of seasons. __________________ aaa

greenfig

Registered:1359790036
Posts: 3,182

Posted 1403450492	Reply with quote #3

Thanks, aaa. So you are saying 3-4 years? Do they grow as fast as figs then? I realized I have not seen many Dragons in the SoCal. Why would that be? __________________ wish list: Violeta, Calderona. USDA z 10a, SoCal

HarveyC

Registered:1212433117
Posts: 3,294

Posted 1403457262	Reply with quote #4

Igor, that is three plants. In your climate, they can maybe get that large in one growing season. They can easily grow a foot a month. I had over 30 varieties at one time but cold winters did some drastic reductions for me. I hope to build a greenhouse and keep at least a half dozen plants in it. In August there is a pitaya festival/seminar in Irvine. I think it maybe costs about $125 for a two day event but you do get lunch and free cuttings. __________________ Harvey - Correia Farms Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14 http://www.figaholics.com https://www.facebook.com/Figaholics

greenfig

Registered:1359790036
Posts: 3,182

Posted 1403458002	Reply with quote #5

Wow, Harvey, I didn’t notice it was more than one :) Yes, I can see at least 3 in the picture. We have no cold winters as in your case, I hope mine will grow freely. I’ll check the pitaya festival, may go if it fits the schedule (have some travel planned). __________________ wish list: Violeta, Calderona. USDA z 10a, SoCal

Aaron4USA

Registered:1375832059
Posts: 2,969

Posted 1403458337	Reply with quote #6

Igor, a friend of mine who has a property in DownTown LA on the hills has a Dragon Fruit plant that is taking over his hillside end fences... after 3 years he just saw the first flower finally that is developing into fruit. they do really well in LA

Hershell

Registered:1396922438
Posts: 650

Posted 1403460021	Reply with quote #7

Thanks for pointing that out Harvey. So if I wanted to grow them like That I would need 4 cuttings and plant it in ground in a greenhouse and weight how long before I had how much fruit?Is anyone getting a significant amount of fruit? __________________ Hershell Zone 8. Ray City, Ga.

Figaro

Registered:1360799941
Posts: 436

Posted 1403461216	Reply with quote #8

Quote: Originally Posted by Hershell Thanks for pointing that out Harvey. So if I wanted to grow them like That I would need 4 cuttings and plant it in ground in a greenhouse and weight how long before I had how much fruit?Is anyone getting a significant amount of fruit? Hershell, I'm gowing 4 pitayas in a very similar manner as to the pic above. They are just starting their 3rd year now and I'm just seeing the first flower, although, it appears three of the four have stalled in growth the last few months. They should flower, in a warm climate, in 2-3 seasons and I've read a mature pitaya can produce something like 300lbs. of fruit per year on a single plant. __________________ ============================ [B]Figaro Zone 10b - South Florida[/I] Growing: Black Mission, Strawberry Verte, LSU Hollier, LSU Purple, LSU Scotts Black, Cajun Gold, Panachee, Excel, UCR 291-4, UCR 143-36, Violette de Bordeaux, Ronde de Bordeaux, Calvert, Black Madeira, Col De Dame Blanc Wish List: CdDN, CdDG, Ischia Black, Galicia Negra ============================

greenfig

Registered:1359790036
Posts: 3,182

Posted 1403470919	Reply with quote #9

How much sun do the pitayas need? Is 4 hours a day enough or full day is much better? How about the water requirements? What soil is better? __________________ wish list: Violeta, Calderona. USDA z 10a, SoCal

aaa

Registered:1377344072
Posts: 75

Posted 1403477698	Reply with quote #10

i was saying two years to fruiting, sometimes less. any free draing soil is ok. although a cactus they like the water. some of mine get irrigated 6 times a day during summer. 5 mins. a time half of mine are full sun and the rest under shade cloth. __________________ aaa

HarveyC

Registered:1212433117
Posts: 3,294

Posted 1403500664	Reply with quote #11

I would recommend just planting 1 or 2 plants per post. Plants need to attain a some mass to them before they fruit, it sees (and based on reports of very experienced folks), so planting too many together has them all competing for the same resources. I've gone to the pitaya festival two or three times. It's a very good event. Many or nearly all pitaya seem to either require cross-pollination or fruit better if cross-pollinated. Most growers hand pollinate flowers every night. A friend of mine who is a commercial grower in north San Diego County has been breeding his own varieties to attain ones which are self fertile. He has a long history in breeding (an avocado carries his intials, GEM) and has worked with thousands of seedlings. Pitaya fruit more prolifically if grown in more sunlight. Some varieties, particularly those from Guatemala, are more sensitive to sunburn and growers often grow them under 15% shade cloth. However, even this low amount of shading greatly reduces fruiting. Another husband and wife grower team (near the other one mentioned above) use shadecloth over their "G2" plants. Plants on the border of the shade structure have a lot of sunburn but maybe 50% more fruit than the same plant which is shaded on the other side. I think something like the Surround product I suggested previously for protecting fig trees growing in very hot regions may be helpful for such pitaya. Some, such as those that originate from Nicaragua, can tolerate full sun much more easily. These plants usually have a dusty white appearance. Some people like the Nicaragua varieties. Even though I have a close connection to Nicaragua (my wife and I sponsor three children and their families there and have been there four times in the past four years), I don't like them as well as they are not sweet enough for my taste. I don't have cuttings to share because of cold damage but would suggest growing ones such as Halley's Comet, Delight, Physical Graffiti, American Beauty, Purple Haze, Natural Mystic. Some of these might be available on eBay or other sources. Pine Island Nursery sells them also. Many of these varieties were developed by Paul Thomson, the late co-founder of the California Rare Fruit Growers and big advocate of pitaya. Delight is the only one he named. The others were left with designations such as 1S (S for seedling) and then Pine Island came up with rock music themed names for them without giving credit to the person that developed them which I think stinks. Dirty rotten scoundrels! :) At Irvine no hand pollination is performed and it seems that, for the most part, production is still pretty good with bees cross-pollinating the plants pretty well because of the sheer number of plants being grown. Bees do eat the pollen, however, so there needs to be plenty of pollen available. Pitaya flowers are beautiful but open one evening and are wilted up by late morning the following day. Most have a very nice fragrance. Here is a GIF I created from a series of time-lapse photos a couple of years ago. Now, knock off this distraction from figs now, okay??!! LOL __________________ Harvey - Correia Farms Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14 http://www.figaholics.com https://www.facebook.com/Figaholics

HarveyC

Registered:1212433117
Posts: 3,294

Posted 1403501051	Reply with quote #12

oh, and regarding the quantity of water needed. Pitaya can survive for a long time with little to no water but require regular watering in fairly good quantities to be productive. __________________ Harvey - Correia Farms Isleton, CA (Sacramento County) USDA zone 9b, Sunset zone 14 http://www.figaholics.com https://www.facebook.com/Figaholics

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