When do dragon fruits generally ripen?
Dragon fruit, also known as red dragon fruit, green dragon fruit, fairy honey fruit, jade dragon fruit, etc., is a perennial climbing succulent plant of the genus Hylocereus in the cactus family. The fruit is oval-shaped, nutritionally rich, and has unique properties, containing plant albumin and anthocyanins rarely found in ordinary plants, as well as abundant vitamins and water-soluble dietary fiber. Let's take a look together below at when dragon fruits ripen!
When do dragon fruits ripen?
The ripening period of dragon fruit is fromMay to Novembereach year. Dragon fruit is a high-yielding fruit. After planting, it begins to flower and bear fruit in 12 to 14 months, and can flower 12 to 15 times per year. The fruit-bearing period is from April to November, and the fruit ripens 30 to 40 days after the flowers fade. When the fruit gradually turns from green to purplish red, it can be harvested. A single fruit weighs 500 to 1000 grams. In the second year after planting, each column produces more than 20 fruits, and in the third year it enters the full fruiting period.
Where is the place of origin of dragon fruit?
Dragon fruit originated in Central America, in places such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Cuba, and Colombia, and was later introduced to Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Thailand, as well as Taiwan, China. It is cultivated in the Chinese mainland provinces and regions of Hainan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, and Guizhou.
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 optimal growth 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 wide 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 Hylocereus undatus, 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 deep green, and there will be many flowers and large, high-yielding fruit. Conversely, the fruit yield will decrease significantly.
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 tall and strong 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.