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Called Red Dragon fruit because of the intensely red and healthy fruit. Needs a mate to pollinate, we suggest the White Dragon Fruit. The plant is tropical, can be used as a house plant. Needs support because its vine like in habit. Blooms large white flowers at night like its relative the night blooming cereus, a popular house plant. Space outside @ 8-10' apart depending on what it grows on. Zones 9 - 10.

Where the plant can grow outside it is an important addition for its easy care and beauty and delicious fruit. Potted plants can be graduated from small to larger pots through the years with an umbrella type trellis. A material like burlap is a good medium for the air roots to cling to as they climb the trellis. Dragon fruit grows up trees where it grows naturally. Outdoors, Dragon fruit can grow over walls or fences or pergolas. The large colorful fruits will stop any passerby with curious interest. When Better Homes and Gardens comes over for a photo shoot, make sure it's part of the tour.

Plant Characteristics
Disease Resistance	Excellent
Drought Tolerance	Very Good
Heat Tolerance	Excellent
Humidity Tolerance	Excellent
Sun Tolerance	Excellent
Wet Soil Tolerance	Good
Shade Tolerance	Fair
No Spray	Very Good
Salt Tolerance	Good
Fun for Kids	Very Good
Deer Resistance	Good
Thorns	Yes
Plant Type	Vine
Soil Type	Well Drained
Edible Type	Fruit
Self Fertile	No
this information is accurate to the best of our knowledge, comments/opinions are always welcome

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Related plants;
The Chinese cereus, commonly called night blooming cereus, has the same nocturnal bloom and the flowers fade the next morning. There are two obvious differences: 1, the Chinese cereus never set any fruit and 2, the vines are flat, whereas the pitahaya vines are typically 3-pointed star shape.

Can you grow dragon fruit in the backyard?
Anywhere you can grow avocado or pineapple should be suitable for the dragon fruit. If your winter weather is to cold, try to grow the plant in a 10 gallon pot. In Thailand, commercial plantings are made in 25 gallon ceramic pots.

It is also a good idea to get at least one each of the Hylocereus undatus and Hylocerus Polyrhizus (red flesh) so that cross pollination is possible. The soil should be sandy with good drainage. You can add compost, organic matter, pearlite or vermiculite to improve drainage.



Care
Once the vine is established in the soil, it will grow additional vines and cling to walls or trees. If there is not enough sunlight the vines are skinny and almost like a thick pencil. The general reaction of plants is to climb higher to get to the sunlight.

The plant should be supported or trained into a suitable form. Under a good growing condition, there are usually a lot more vines than needed. Some vine that grows out of control or in a poor angle can be cut off. The pruned-off pieces are good material to start another plant. Let it dry for 2 weeks in a shaded area. Then plant 1" deep in soil with good drainage. Push a stake deep into the soil for support. Suppose the vine is 12" long, tie it to the stake with 1" below the soil and 11" above.

Flower production can also be stimulated by using "super bloom" fertilizer. Many pitahaya will need cross pollination to produce fruit. Because the flowers only last 12 hours, you need to have two flowers open up on the same night. To avoid this problem get a self-fruiting vine. This is the white flesh dragon fruit from Vietnam.

The fruit will split after it is fully developed. Fruit split can be caused by irregular water or wet season in the last few weeks of the fruit.

You can train your plant to different shapes. The traditional Vietnamese way is to train the plant into a 'fountain'. This consists of a vertical center trunk usually 5' to 6' tall. This trunk is thick and is maintained by cutting off all buds lower than 4'. It is tied to a vertical 4x4 or a tree with filtered shade. At the top of this vertical trunk is a spray of new growth that hangs down like weeping willow. Something like a wagon wheel can be placed at the top of the vertical pole to better support the bushy growth at the top. The downward hanging stimulates production of flowers at the tip of the branch. The fruits are mostly hanging at the tip of these flexible young branches.

Commercial growers in Israel train the dragon fruit like grape vines. In a backyard, the easiest way is to grow the dragon fruit is against a wall. As the plant gets tall, it tends to reach over the wall and hang from the other side. A brick wall will retain heat and is good for warning the plant in winter.

Container planting will make the dragon fruit suitable for any location in the US. By moving the pot indoors, freezing can be avoided. The day lengths in the North may cause different growth patterns. A typical support is a trellis that is 4' high and 3' wide. The pitahaya is trained to a flat fan shape on the trellis.

Flowers & Fruits

Under good conditions, a plant can flower 18 months from cutting and bear fruit in the 2nd or 3rd year of planting.

The flower buds of pitahaya are so large they are hard to miss. When you see a flower ready to open in the evening, always try to hand pollinate to increase fruit harvest. The flower has hundreds of pollen-bearing stamens and a single pistil which is taller and located in the middle. Cut off some stamens and spread that over the tip of the pistil (like finger) on another flower. Even cross-pollination between 2 flowers on the same plant can help the pitahaya to produce fruit. There are self-fruiting dragon fruits from Vietnam that requires no human intervention. Our white fruiting dragon fruit is self-fertile.

Once the flowers set fruit, maintain the soil moisture by frequent watering. The fruit will be full size in @ 7 weeks. If the soil cycles from dry to wet, the fruit can split open. If the fruit at the base of the flower stays green 2 weeks after the flower dropped, then there is promise of harvest. The fruits are usually picked when they are fully colored on the plant. Cut with a sharp knife at the green tissues that connect the fruit to the plant. Sometimes it is easier to cut a piece of the vine connected to the fruit.

The fruits are commonly cut in half (east & west hemisphere) and scooped out with a spoon. Some people like to chill the fruit and add a little lemon or lime juice. If you like to use whip cream with strawberry, you can do the same with a dragon fruit.

The fruit can be kept in a cool place for 2 weeks. The fins will turn brown & the fruit gradually shrinks and gets soft.