What Does a Dragon Fruit Tree Look Like? A Detailed Analysis of Its Physical Characteristics
Dragon fruit is also known as red dragon fruit, dragon pearl fruit, immortal honey fruit, and so on. It gets its name because its exterior looks like a ball of angry red fire, while the flesh inside is like sweet cream, yet filled with small black seeds. Its texture is mild, its flavor is delicate and refreshing, and it is rich in nutrients, containing plant albumin and anthocyanins that are rare in ordinary plants. Let us take a look below at what a dragon fruit tree looks like!
What does a dragon fruit tree look like?
Dragon fruit is a perennial climbing succulent plant. The plant has no main root; lateral roots are distributed in large numbers in the shallow surface soil, and there are also many aerial roots that allow it to climb and grow. The stems and roots are dark green, thick and sturdy, reaching up to 7 m in length and 10 to 12 cm in thickness, with 3 ridges. The ridges are flat with wavy edges, and climbing roots grow at the stem nodes, allowing it to attach to other plants as it grows. There are mostly 3 ribs, and small spines grow in the depressions of each stem node. The leaves have degenerated, and the function of photosynthesis is carried out by the stems. The flowers are white, with a huge inferior ovary, and the fruit is oblong or ovate.
When does dragon fruit ripen?
The ripening period of dragon fruit is from May to November each year. Dragon fruit is a fruit with a very high yield. It begins to flower and bear fruit 12 to 14 months after planting, and can flower 12 to 15 times each year. The fruiting period is from April to November. The fruit ripens 30 to 40 days after the flowers fade. It can be harvested when the fruit gradually turns from green to purplish red. A single fruit weighs 500 to 1000 grams. In the second year after planting, each column produces more than 20 fruits, and by the third year it enters the full fruiting period.
What conditions are needed to grow dragon fruit?
1. Temperature: Dragon fruit is not afraid of high temperatures but is afraid of low temperatures. It requires an annual average temperature of no less than 18°C, an average January temperature of no less than 8°C, and an extreme low temperature of -3°C with a duration not exceeding 6 hours. The most suitable growing temperature is 25 to 35°C. Growth stops when the temperature is below 10°C or above 38°C.
2. Soil: Dragon fruit has extremely broad adaptability to soil and can grow well in mountainous land, dry land, semi-dry land, rocky mountain land, wasteland, and waterlogged low-lying land. This is especially true for dragon fruit grafted onto local night-blooming cereus, which has even broader adaptability.
3. Water: Dragon fruit is a drought-tolerant plant, but its growth requires fairly abundant water. If the dragon fruit planting site lacks water for a long time, it will cause the growth of dragon fruit to stagnate, and even the original thick fleshy stems will gradually wither.
4. Light: Dragon fruit is a typical sun plant and likes warm, direct sunlight. If the light duration is long and sunlight is sufficient, photosynthesis will be especially vigorous, the fleshy stems will be thick and sturdy with a deep green color, and there will be many flowers and large fruits with high yield. Conversely, the amount of fruit produced will decrease noticeably.
5. Fertilizer: Dragon fruit grows quickly, and the fertilizer needed throughout its entire growth cycle must be sufficient. In the early growth stage, enough nitrogen fertilizer should be supplied to help the plant grow taller and stronger quickly. In the middle and late stages of plant growth, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers should be applied in a more balanced way to increase the plant's photosynthesis.