Plant family: Cactaceae
Plant origin: Central and South America.
Fruit description: The fruit looks spectacular!
Red Dragon Fruit is bright deep pink in colour with overlapping green edged “scales”. Inside, the soft juicy sweet edible red flesh has tiny black edible seeds throughout, like a kiwi fruit. It tastes like melon. Fruit can be up to 1000 g in weight.
The skin of the Dragon Fruit is not usually eaten.
Flowers: The flowers open at night to early morning, from Spring to Autumn. They are huge (up to 200 mm long, 20 mm wide) and spectacular white with many petals - like fluffy water lily. Inside are many yellow or white stamens like a brush. The flowers have a lovely strong perfume. Sometimes called moonflowers.
Growing conditions: This cactus grows as a climber, whatever it touches it produces aerial roots to hang onto. It is easy to grow. It can tolerate light frost when mature but does not like cold weather! Grow the Dragon Fruit in compost, and keep it moist in Summer. It can grow in full sun or part shade. Give it support to climb on and protect it from the wind. Yellow Dragon fruit cactus has more spines than Red Dragon fruit.
Uses: Use the beautiful fruit cut in half to eat fresh, or use as a garnish to decorate a platter. You can spoon out and dice the flesh, maybe mix with another fruit say diced mango, and put back inside the skin for sensational presentation. Eat the flesh with a spoon out of the skin or with ice cream. Use in a fruit salad, make juice, sorbet or jam. Use slices of the fruit as a pretty and unusual garnish in drinks, cocktails.
Medicinal uses: Dragon Fruit is high in fibre. It also contains vitamin C, antioxidants, calcium and phosphorus.
Pollination requirements: Dragon Fruits are Self Pollinating. The flowers benefit by night insects pollinating them. Try turning a light onto the flowers when they open at night to attract insects for pollination.
Harvest time Harvest the fruit when fully coloured and with a slight give when gently pressed.
Plant relatives Yellow Dragon Fruit
Special features:
Grown by method: Cutting Grown Pot size: 140mm
Plant growing Height and Width for pots or in the ground planting: Grows to 2 metres high by 1.5 metres wide if Planted in a Pot. Grows 3 metres high by 2 metres wide if Planted in the Ground.
Shipping plant pot or planter bag size: 140mm
