How to Grow (or Tame) Your Dragon Fruit

Dragon Fruit. Having gardened in places other than Hawaii, I assumed this was a gentle euphemism for red dye No. 40, from the folks selling sports and vitamin waters. I was wrong, wrong, wrong.

We got a flat of these delightful monsters in the store a few weeks ago, and I can't get enough of them. Grown from cuttings, they are just starting to push new blush-colored growth from their broad blades.

The effect is sweet and reptilian -- of dragon tails undulating from the soil. It feels prehistoric, and I imagine the conversation between my existing plants, when I brought one home.

Cute little succulents: "Oh, hello. Welcome to the sill, as we call it. Cup of tea?"
Dragon Fruit: "GWAR!"

They seemed to say.

Dinosaur, included for scale.

Native to tropical regions, rather than the desert, these succulent-like plants prefer decent moisture, rather than total aridity, and regular potting soil or compost enriched soil. Dragon Fruit seems to have realized that bearing its own weight is a total waste of energy, what with the tropical abundance of tree trunks, or entire villages to languidly drape oneself over. In cultivated orchards that would make Dr. Seuss giggle, these plants are staked and trained into mini Medusas -- er-- trees, and their pink, melon flavored fruit is harvested 2-3 times a year.

Photo courtesy of Creative Commons

In my humid bright bathroom, I have full intentions of letting it dangle, with abandon. I am aiming for flowers. Its unlikely I'll get fruit, this far north of the equator.

Heads up: as typical of plants fertilized by nocturnal insects, Dragon Fruit flowers fragrantly, fleetingly, at night. So I gently suggest you get your life priorities in line and set an alarm clock for 2 AM so you don't miss them.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons

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