Tips for growing dragon fruit on a balcony: one stem is all you need to fill a pot, and the fruit will be plentiful and large

Dragon fruit belongs to the cactus family as a climbing succulent shrub. Its fruit is rich in nutrients, and also contains plant albumin, which is rare in ordinary fruits, as well as abundant vitamins. It tastes excellent, sweet and juicy. In fact, in many regions, you can grow dragon fruit yourself at home on a balcony. You do not even need to buy seedlings; just find a section of stem and root it from a cutting.

Dragon fruit cutting propagation techniques

For the cutting time, both spring and autumn work, from May to September. Cut a healthy, plump stem section about 10 cm long from the mother plant.

Wipe the wound with a little plant ash, then dry it in the sun for five hours to one day. This helps prevent disease later on. If you have potassium permanganate, disinfect it too.

Prepare the soil medium for rooting the cutting. Ordinary river sand will usually do. First spray the sand thoroughly with water, but there should be no standing water, just a bit of moisture. After inserting the cutting, place it in a well-ventilated, relatively dry, shaded spot.

Dragon fruit is very easy to propagate from cuttings. After inserting it into the soil, it usually roots in about 20 days. It needs no special care; water it occasionally, and once new stems grow, it can be transplanted into a pot.

Key tips for caring for dragon fruit

The best soil for growing dragon fruit is leaf mold soil, plus garden soil and a small amount of river sand. The ratio is 5:4:1.

Dragon fruit needs plenty of sunlight. When dragon fruit grows new tender shoots, be sure to give it plenty of sun.

Fertilize more often. You can use organic fertilizer and NPK fertilizer, a small amount at a time, applying light fertilizer frequently.

Dragon fruit grows very quickly. As long as the potting soil is loose and fertile, and if it is grown on a balcony, the flower pot is large enough in diameter, the soil has sufficient nutrients, and watering is adequate, it can grow one or two cm a day.

About a year and a half after a gardening enthusiast took a cutting, it bloomed and produced red fruit. From planting to harvest, it grew almost naturally.

The fruit you grow yourself is very sweet and full of flavor.