Saturday, September 16, 2023

Dragon Fruit ready for harvesting

 


Dragon Fruit looking good. I'll pick them today. The top left, dark variety is a Zamorano and the the pink/red ones are Delight. The first one flowered on the 1st August, so it's been 46 days - I might have left it two days too long. (As they ripen, the fruits start to be wiggleable, like a kid's loose tooth, get softer and redder, and may get a split in the dark area where the flower used to be attached.)
I don't want to whinge too much, but it's about time! They've been a lot of work. I've spent all day today repotting and staking the cuttings to get ready for fall, about the fourth of fifth full day this year. They grow like weeds, and it's important to keep them pruned or they branch out everywhere. (The rootstock should only have to support one stem until the cactus is old enough to flower, when you can let it branch out.)
The ones at the back (common or garden Lowe's or Home Depot variety) grew well but didn't flower this year so I have to make a decision whether to discard them and plant the cuttings of the varieties that did flower or leave them another year to see.

Delight is supposedly delicious while people mostly just describe Zamorano as average. I'll do a taste test in the next few days.

I owe a lot to Richard at Grafting Dragon Fruit. Not that we've ever met, but his videos are so informative and he's so cheerful and enthusiastic it really makes me want to succeed!


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