Dragon fruit support frame.

Director

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Well done.

I still have 3 stumps after six months........:dunno:

Our other plants are coming into bud around the place so hopefully the DF will soon follow.
 

Danie

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Well done.

I still have 3 stumps after six months........:dunno:

Our other plants are coming into bud around the place so hopefully the DF will soon follow.
Yah. I really hope that I get my first flower before I we get into the cooler months and then we get frost too. . So I really have to think about all that. And we're I am going to stor the plant in the winter time.
 

Mark

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And we're I am going to stor the plant in the winter time.
Would it be possible to cover it over winter like with some shade cloth or something justto protect the plant from frosts?
 

Danie

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Would it be possible to cover it over winter like with some shade cloth or something justto protect the plant from frosts?

I guess I could do that. I was just going to try and move it into the garage and it can still grow and be very happy
 

ClissAT

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I was tying up my dragon fruit vines yesterday & it made me remember how important it is to cause lots of branching to get more flowers & fruit.
I'll be doing mine again soon but here are some photos taken today from pruning them right before winter.
The idea is to cut the end off the most recent larger segments.
That might mean having to remove some much smaller thin segments as well.
It should then send out 2-3 shoots which each become new branches.
To get nice big thick segments, you need to stick a heap of fertilizer on them.
Foliar feeding every week with Powerfeed or similar will do it plus some longer term slow release around the root system.
A heap of nitrogen rich compost & wet mulch will also help develop large segments.
dragon fruit shoots 1.jpg dragon fruit shoots 2.jpg

My vines are tied to palm trees & I will do my best to keep them to around 2.5m high for ease of picking & maintenance. But I expect them to get thick with branches & hopefully the roots will adhere to the palm trunks in time so I don't have to keep tying them up.
 

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Well done, I still have three green stumps in the ground. :)
 

Mark

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I have a lot of work to do on my vines... one has broken its support post and fallen over in a storm - I should have grown them up bigger and stronger posts :oops: Surprisingly, I still have some fruit to pick we got about 25 last season off our 4 plants and I feel kind of guilty because I haven't given them much love but still they fruit for us.

My "things to do" list is growing by the day!
 

Danie

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Hey Mark,
Just last week I was dog sitting and I had my dragon fruit fall over for the very first time and the very top tip of my third branch broke off, I was so sad, but I made sure that I planted the tip of the dragon fruit right away. I hope that my other branch will make new branches. If you know what I mean.
Also my plant is staring to change color, I will show you pictures of what I am talking about.
Thanks for your help Mahalo
I have a lot of work to do on my vines... one has broken its support post and fallen over in a storm - I should have grown them up bigger and stronger posts :oops: Surprisingly, I still have some fruit to pick we got about 25 last season off our 4 plants and I feel kind of guilty because I haven't given them much love but still they fruit for us.

My "things to do" list is growing by the day!
 

Danie

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Hi mark,
I have something new that I found today and I am wanting to get your help with. I had gone to the store a few months ago and I had bought a dragon fruit to eat, the dragon fruit was pink with white inside, so I decided that I would try save some seeds from the dragonfruit that I got,
Well I am not sure how this one seed got into the pot but I looked today and I found this. I am not sure if it is a baby Dragonfruit! But I am thinking that it is a dragon fruit, I looked at my other dragon fruit plant that I have and it looks to be the same but this one is a lot smaller. If it wasn't a dragon fruit, about how long should u keep it in this pot??
 

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Mark

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I'm not sure - did it pop up overnight or something?

How big is it because it's hard to get perspective?

I would say if it's the only seed you had planted in the pot it's likely a dragon fruit seedling.

It's a shame your df fell over and broke a branch but don't worry about it too much because it shouldn't make a big difference to growing and as you're doing a new plant can be made with the broken piece.
 

ClissAT

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It certainly looks like a DF plant. Congratulations on propagating from seed.
Did you put both seeds & the tip cutting in the same pot?
Maybe it's a shoot from the tip cutting.
In anycase if it's anything like mine it will live happily enough in that pot for maybe up to a couple years if you fertilize it enough.
Being cactus they can get most nutrient from aerial roots that attach to posts or tree trunks.
So if you foliar fertilize it will grow even bigger & stronger.
I find if I use some sort of material that holds moisture to tie the plants to my palm trunks, roots will develop under the ties & also some trash lodges under the ties from the palm inflorescences providing a bit of compost for the roots.
I cut up my old trackie pants into wide ties because they are stretchy enough not to hurt the segments yet strong enough to hold the weight, last several years & hold moisture.
You could put some hay mulch under the ties that hold up your mature plants.
Put a stake into the pot with your new plant & sandwich some mulch lengthways down the segment under the tie.
Hopefully that will help your new plant develop roots & new branches.
 

Danie

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Mark,
I am not really sure when this baby dragonfruit popped up. Lol. And I measured the plant with the ruler. Hope that helps you. Do you think I will get fruit on it or no?? Do I need to put it in a bigger pot?

I'm not sure - did it pop up overnight or something?

How big is it because it's hard to get perspective?

I would say if it's the only seed you had planted in the pot it's likely a dragon fruit seedling.

It's a shame your df fell over and broke a branch but don't worry about it too much because it shouldn't make a big difference to growing and as you're doing a new plant can be made with the broken piece.
am
 

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Danie

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Hi Clissa,
No the tip that Broke off of my big dragonfruit rotted, not sure why, but anyway, this one that I have is a seedling, I am super excited, I was like whatever, not even sure you will take haha guess it fooled me wrong. Lol. Not sure what to do with it now, what other size pot I should put it in. I water it every now and again. Should I be supporting it with a stick now?? Any help with this baby would be awesome thanks.
It certainly looks like a DF plant. Congratulations on propagating from seed.
Did you put both seeds & the tip cutting in the same pot?
Maybe it's a shoot from the tip cutting.
In anycase if it's anything like mine it will live happily enough in that pot for maybe up to a couple years if you fertilize it enough.
Being cactus they can get most nutrient from aerial roots that attach to posts or tree trunks.
So if you foliar fertilize it will grow even bigger & stronger.
I find if I use some sort of material that holds moisture to tie the plants to my palm trunks, roots will develop under the ties & also some trash lodges under the ties from the palm inflorescences providing a bit of compost for the roots.
I cut up my old trackie pants into wide ties because they are stretchy enough not to hurt the segments yet strong enough to hold the weight, last several years & hold moisture.
You could put some hay mulch under the ties that hold up your mature plants.
Put a stake into the pot with your new plant & sandwich some mulch lengthways down the segment under the tie.
Hopefully that will help your new plant develop roots & new branches.
 

Mark

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Boy that dragon fruit seedling must have germinated and grown fast Danie!

I suppose you could stick a small stake in the pot to support it like a small bamboo or something...

Some people say that leaving the cutting or broken branch dry for a few weeks before planting helps combat rotting.
 

Danie

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Mark,
I know it's crazy! About How often should I be watering this baby dragonfruit?
 

Mark

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The pot shouldn't be left to dry out for extended periods causing signs of stress on the seedling like wilting ect so in standard conditions this would mean watering 2 or 3 times a week or if it's out in direct sunlight then watering might need to be done daily.
 

Director

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OK, time for update:





Yep that was it. In over 9 months I still have three green stumps, they don't seem to be dying but they aint growing either. Anyone have any ideas?
From what I've been reading these guys are a tropical cactus and don;t always appreciate full sun, particularly while they are young. So my next effort will be to put some shade cloth around them and dump a heap of cow poo on them.
 

Mark

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Even though they are really hardly plants dragon fruit vines do like a good feed I'm thinking your cow manure is a good idea.. maybe a little blood & bone plus lots of water.
 

ClissAT

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ETA Mark & I posted simultaneously!
The cow poo won't have enough nitrogen to make growth. As Mark suggested adding B&B is a good idea.
Below is my original post.
They do like a good regular feed & cool root run so perhaps direct sun might be too much for them in certain locations. I've seen fantastic plants that have thick grass growing around their roots & yes the did only get morning sun in summer.
If they are stumps perhaps they no longer have any growth points. Is there more than one segment per plant?
Traditionally new plants were struck in water, probably some cesspit of a duck hole that had a heap of fertilizer.
They like a good dose of foliar fert so perhaps place in a bucket with a few inches of half or even quarter strength PowerFeed & 'baste' daily all over the whole segment for a few weeks. You will have to make a fresh cut across the bottom so the plant can take the goodies up.
Which reminds me to ask (& it's not meant to be a silly question but can be an honest mistake), are the plants in the ground or growth medium the right way up?
You should definitely pull them up to be sure they have roots anyway. If no or very little roots then put them in the liquid feed for a few weeks to see what happens.
If they have a few roots just make new cuts into each corner so the feed can get in but not to kill the existing roots which may be working but not getting enough food to make growth.
If you do have success with the basting method, once they have a good root system in the powerfeed solution you can start adding some inert media such as perlite to begin the process of changing to oxygenated feed.
Once the full height of liquid feed is consumed by media, you can add potting mix & move each plant to a 9inch pot standing in 3inch deep solution until the plant is well growing with new shoots.
If all that fails I can perhaps send you some struck cuttings of red dragon fruit if you can provide the postage costs. Or maybe someone closer has some.
 
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