How Many Years Until a Dragon Fruit Seed Grown as a Small Potted Plant Bears Fruit? Here Comes the Planting Guide

Dragon fruit is a tropical fruit, also called red dragon fruit or dragon pearl fruit. Because it tastes sweet and sour and is rich in nutrients, it is very popular with the public, and many people have started growing potted plants from dragon fruit seeds. So how do you grow a small potted plant from dragon fruit seeds? How many years until it bears fruit?

1. How do you grow a small potted plant from dragon fruit seeds?

1. Tools: flower pot, dragon fruit seeds, neutral or slightly acidic soil, plastic wrap, filter cloth

2. Steps

(1) Mash the dragon fruit flesh and put it into the filter cloth, then rinse and strain it several times to remove the excess flesh. You must separate the flesh from the seeds (small black granules), otherwise mold is likely to grow during germination.

(2) Use toilet paper to blot up the water on the seeds, take out the seeds and let them dry, so that the seeds are completely dry, and then you can start planting.

(3) Choose a flower pot with no drainage holes at the bottom, put in the soil, and spray water so that the soil surface is moist.

(4) Then evenly spread the dried seeds on top of the soil (note: no more soil needs to be placed on top), and the seeds should be spread fairly densely, especially around the edges, otherwise the plants will come out very sparse. Then gently spray some water with a spray bottle. The optimal germination temperature for dragon fruit seeds is around 25 degrees, so be sure to control the temperature.

(5) Then cover it with plastic wrap, lift it every other day and spray water once with a spray bottle. After 3-5 days, you will find that the seeds have begun to sprout. Only after new shoots have grown should the plastic wrap be completely removed.

(6) After about a week, the seedlings all grow to look like “cacti” with small spines. Once the seedlings have grown a little thicker and sturdier, they can be tipped out of the pot and planted separately, and finally the small dragon fruit potted plant is done.

2. Potted Dragon Fruit Planting Methods

Cuttings are the easiest way to successfully grow potted dragon fruit. As long as the cutting has grown roots and sent out new branches, it can be moved into a pot. So here is an introduction to the method of growing potted dragon fruit from cuttings:

1. Choosing a flower pot

Use a clay pot or wooden box with holes drilled in it, as long as it has good breathability. Then soak the pot in clean water for several hours. This is done to let the foul gases on the pot walls be released, which is beneficial to the growth of the plant roots.

2. Soil

Making a dragon fruit potted plant does not have strict soil requirements. It is best to use neutral or slightly acidic soil, but it must be loose and breathable. Alkaline soil is not good for cultivation. Alternatively, you can mix your own: mix leaf mold, manure soil, and coarse river sand in a 6:1:1 ratio, and let it sit for half a month before use.

3. Potting method

Put the prepared soil into the flower pot. You can first lay a layer of sand and gravel at the bottom of the pot, then add the soil. Insert the dragon fruit seedling diagonally into the potting soil to a depth of about 3-4 cm. Too deep will cause rooting to be slow; too shallow will cause the branches to lose water because the surface soil dries out. Finally, gently press the soil around the plant with your hand and water thoroughly.

4. Cultivation management

After the dragon fruit is inserted, apply a compound fertilizer once every week to promote robust plant growth. Later, apply calcium-magnesium-phosphate fertilizer and compound fertilizer according to the size of the plant. After the dragon fruit is planted, it can sprout and grow rapidly after 15-20 days. When the plant height reaches about 1 m, cut off about 3 cm of the stem tip at the top to encourage side branches to grow from the top. When the side branches exceed 80 cm, cut off about 3 cm of the stem tip at the top. If managed well in this way, it will bloom after 7-8 months.

5. Management during the flowering period

Dragon fruit also has high nutritional demands during the flowering period. In the half month before flowering, apply an organic liquid fertilizer containing phosphorus and potassium fertilizer once every 5-7 days. For potted dragon fruit, because there is little soil in the pot and the nutrient supply is limited, the side branches should not be left too long. It is recommended to leave only 1 fruit per branch.

3. How many years until a potted dragon fruit bears fruit?

This depends on two situations.

1. For a potted plant grown from dragon fruit seeds, it takes about 4-5 years from sowing to fruiting. Some bloom in the 3rd year, but the fruit does not hold, so the fruiting cycle of potted dragon fruit is somewhat long.

2. If it is a potted plant grown from cuttings, the fruiting cycle is much shorter. Potted dragon fruit from cuttings has a short fruit-bearing cycle, and if raised well, it can bear fruit in the second year.

That is all for the method of growing potted dragon fruit from seeds and the method of growing potted dragon fruit from cuttings. We hope it is helpful to everyone. The editor reminds you that dragon fruit contains relatively high amounts of protein and fiber, so you can eat a little more of it in daily life to balance nutrition.