Dragon fruit

Dragon fruits

Botanical name: Hylocereus undatus


Germination:

Dragon fruit's seeds are small and very fragile, so you have to handle it with care.Germination of dragon fruit seeds are usually easy but show variable germination rates. If the seeds are fresh then it will germinate quite rapidly, within just a few days. Dried seeds take longer germination periods and often germinate within 1-4 weeks, though some groups may need up to 8 weeks for germination. Plant seeds 1/4-1/2" deep in moist, sterile soil. As the seeds are very small, you have to take care in watering. Keep soil temperature consistent at 70-85F. Cool soil will significantly delay seed germination time and may inhibit germination completely.

Dragon Fruit Seeds information :

 Pitaya Fruit or Pitahaya Fruit is commonly known as the Dragon fruit, among the most nutritious and wonderful exotic fruits.It has rich antioxidants. It has a mouthwatering light sweet taste, an intense shape and colour. The thin rind encloses the large mass of sweetly flavoured white or red pulp and small black seeds. Dragon fruits have fleshy stems reaching from a few inches up to 20ft long (in mature plants). Flowers are ornate and beautiful, and many related species are propagated as ornamental. It is favourite to many a particular people of Asian origin. Pitahaya plants can have up to 4-6 fruiting cycles per year.It is something like a vine and therefore requires support. Dragon fruit plants raised from a cutting will start flowering within 18 months.  The seedlings plant will start bearing the fruits from the third year.The fruit has weight 300 – 500 gm each.

Dragon fruit cacti grown from seed can have varying stem and fruit characteristics.

Dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus), also commonly known as night-blooming cereus or red pitaya, is prized for its showy flowers and fleshy, edible fruits.  Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 and 11, is injured by prolonged freezes and features a fast growth rate and vining, green, fleshy, jointed stems that can grow up to 20 feet tall. Dragon fruits are potentially propagated using stem cuttings, grafting or seeds.

1.Scoop a pulpy, seeded portion out of the centre of a ripe, halved dragon fruit and wash all the gelatinous fruit pulp off the seeds.

2.Fill a flat or pots that have ample holes for drainage most of the way with a sterile germinating medium that offers excellent drainage and low fertility; purchase or create the medium by combining equal parts peat moss and sand, perlite or vermiculite.

3.Sow the dragon fruit seeds evenly over the surface of the medium.

4.Sprinkle a very light layer of germinating medium over the seeds, using just enough to barely cover the seeds.

5.Mist the seeds and medium gently but thoroughly at the time of sowing and whenever the medium is dry to the touch prior to germination.

6.Cover the flat or another container with a glass or plastic lid or enclose it in a polyethene or plastic bag to help maintain a high level of humidity around the seeds and minimize the need for misting.

7.Place the flat or another container with seeds in a spot that receives bright but indirect light and has a temperature between about 65 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The seeds should germinate within 14 to 28 days. Remove any plastic, glass or polyethene covering once germination occurs and allow the medium surface to dry out slightly between waterings.

Things You Will Need

• Dragon fruit seeds
• Flat or another container with drain holes
• Germinating medium (peat moss plus sand, perlite or vermiculite)
• Spray bottle with misting capacity

Glass or plastic lid or clear plastic or polyethene bag (optional)