Dragon Fruit Flowering time again!

[ClissAT]

It's been so darned dry in most parts of Australia this spring summer 2019!
But I was absolutely thrilled to see 7!! flowers on two plants which all opened on this phase of the moon.
I'm sure all my other plants are only weeks behind those first two.

How are everyone else's DFs doing?

During winter I ordered a pearl and an Aussie gold DF which got planted last Monday.
So I now have many dark reds, a pink, some yellows, the pearl and the gold.
I also have around 50 rooted cuttings off my plants just waiting for me to gather strength to put in posts to grow them on. One good thing about DFs is that the cuttings never die. They just get bigger while they lay under a bush waiting to be planted!

 

[Mark]

We've had some wonderful yellow spiny ones already over the past month and about 6 still ripe for picking now on the vines. No new flowers or buds as yet on any of ours including the red-fleshed or pink ones but they are all doing well despite the horrible dry weather!

Edit: I should add I'm in a sub-tropical climate...

 

[col]

It's been so darned dry in most parts of Australia this spring summer 2019!
But I was absolutely thrilled to see 7!! flowers on two plants which all opened on this phase of the moon.
I'm sure all my other plants are only weeks behind those first two.

How are everyone else's DFs doing?

During winter I ordered a pearl and an Aussie gold DF which got planted last Monday.
So I now have many dark reds, a pink, some yellows, the pearl and the gold.
I also have around 50 rooted cuttings off my plants just waiting for me to gather strength to put in posts to grow them on. One good thing about DFs is that the cuttings never die. They just get bigger while they lay under a bush waiting to be planted!

Hi ClissAT, just added my 1st post this morning regards DF's where I wrote that the recent drop in humidity past month or so have affected my flowering resulting in many buds ready to flower but still not committing to do so, only had 3 flower over night/early morning.
I asked the question if anyone else had buds not opening due to the drier than normal conditions all over, where I was boldly suggesting that this may be caused by the lack of humid days this season.
And then I've gone thru your post about you having flowers in November?
Now I'm completely stumped, ha!
I don't normally have buds on my DF vines until hallway thru December.

So, I've just checked your weather and its really not that much different from me here in Hervey Bay for Nov '19 where I found 29max- 21min and approx. 60-65% Humidity for Pomona.
Up here it may have been a wee bit warmer but I wouldn't have thought it would be enough to change fruiting schedules as much as a 2 months delay.
And I've read on Marks reply he has fruit ready to go? Think I'm a bit more than stumped truth be told.

I first saw Dragon Fruit back in 2000 when working up in Vietnam where it was muggy, sticky & rainy every minute of the day, and they grew them all over. So, instead of treating them as a cacti, I have been trying to simulate the watering schedule the same as up in Asia where they grow in abundance, you can see my photos where I have poles wrapped in Jute for the feeders to grow up and through and I also have drippers at the top which then allows the Jute strapping to become completely soaked after a few minutes of the tank pump on.
My season here in HB starts with the 1st bud mid December and the last fruit picked around end April.
Although I was told by a neighbour whom is also now growing DF from cuttings I gave them, they have a friend in HB who had flowers mid December, but not anywhere near you or Mark in the areas you all live.
I compost and fertilise a few times a year and water every 3 days where my soil is now dark underneath and teaming with worms. The vines become very thick and dark green and produce beautiful fruit.
It may be that I'm pampering them a bit too much, no?
Then again, my neighbours hardly water their DF's and theirs are at the same stage as mine, go figure.
cheers, col.

 

[ClissAT]

Col, you may need to add a bit of potash via some foliar bloom booster.
Perhaps you've got an abundance of nitrogen in your compost bit as a usually the case it will be short of potassium.

 

[col]

Col, you may need to add a bit of potash via some foliar bloom booster.
Perhaps you've got an abundance of nitrogen in your compost bit as a usually the case it will be short of potassium.

Hi ClissAT, added liquid Yates Citrus & Fruit (8% Potash) 25th Oct. Then added Yates Thrive Flower and Fruit (Potash 21.0) on 16th Nov.
It may be I just got excited and added a bit too much fertiliser, but in all honesty my first flush of the season is always around this time.
cheers, col.

 

[ClissAT]

Ah! Yes Col, it's easy to get excited about DF!
Getting them to fruit well at these lower latitudes is sometimes hard work.
I discovered as my vines have aged they just give more fruit each year.
My oldest vine has about 15 flowers coming on it now.
Also new flowers coming on segments that previously bore a fruit already this year which is new for me.
When the first flowers peek out right after winter, they take 2moon cycles to mature to being open ready.
But now at this time of the season when they have had more hot nights, humidity, food, light, everything on them, the flowers are maturing to open ready in one moon cycle.
The fruit will mature quicker now also.
DF haven't been fiddled with as much by humans, therefore still retain their ancient wildness.
Around the Equatorial regions the growers don't have these issues because their vines fruit all year.

 

[col]

Ah! Yes Col, it's easy to get excited about DF!
Getting them to fruit well at these lower latitudes is sometimes hard work.
I discovered as my vines have aged they just give more fruit each year.
My oldest vine has about 15 flowers coming on it now.
Also new flowers coming on segments that previously bore a fruit already this year which is new for me.
When the first flowers peek out right after winter, they take 2moon cycles to mature to being open ready.
But now at this time of the season when they have had more hot nights, humidity, food, light, everything on them, the flowers are maturing to open ready in one moon cycle.
The fruit will mature quicker now also.
DF haven't been fiddled with as much by humans, therefore still retain their ancient wildness.
Around the Equatorial regions the growers don't have these issues because their vines fruit all year.

I agree, it easy to get excited about DF's, I was also growing anything that sprouted up from the compost as well, such as Water melon, Rock melon and Tomatoes, but then I got swamped by the dreaded Fruit Fly and ended up binning about 15 kilos of massive green tomatoes. I had such a fruit fly problem 2 summers ago that whenever I see anything else starting to grow, I pull it.
So, I just concentrate on the DF's mainly but did plant a small Lady Finger last Christmas which is in fruit now, but will pull that as well when it finishes, just uses too much water.
I've also planted some cuttings from this same mother plant in the opposite corner of my patch, but they too will be pulled once they fruit. Again, for water reasons.
Almost forgot, I also have some chillies, Rosemarie and a bunch of other Indonesian herbs and some great Passionfruit vines that are producing beautiful sweet balls of goodness.
cheers, col.

 

[DTK]

I note suggestions for DF maintenance but what initial soil preparation is recommended. Also position, full sun etc. ? Apologies if I have missed this elsewhere .