How to Grow a Potted Dragon Fruit

The pitaya plant, or Hylocereus undatus, is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, and also thrives in the tropics of Southeast Asia. This tropical cactus, also called night-blooming cereus, strawberry pear and dragon fruit, bears long fingerlike stems and bright pink fruit. It grows only in warm, humid areas and will not survive outdoor plantings in cool to cold areas of the country. The plant thrives, though, in careful potting and indoor placements.

10-gallon pot
Organic compost
Garden loam

Instructions

- 1
  Plant dragon fruit plants as nursery seedlings or cuttings in spring to take advantage of the natural summer growing season. Use heavy 10-gallon pots with drainage holes for initial potting to avoid immediate transplant.
- 2
  Mix a rich organic soil of one part organic compost to one part garden loam. These plants thrive in crumbly, quick-draining soils with good moisture and fail in tight or poor soil. Fill the pots three-quarters full of soil mixture.
- 3
  Plant cuttings or seedlings with their bases 2 to 3 inches below the surface and water them with 2 to 3 inches of water. Put the pots in sites with moderate temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees. The plants fail in hot, dry weather and freezing weather but do well with moderate warmth. They prefer full to partial shade or indirect sun. Keep the plants in rooms with good air movement, and turn fans on in the area for pollination.
- 4
  Water the plants with 1/2 inch of water every three days; the plants do best with generous and consistent moisture, and produce split, unhealthy fruit without consistent watering.

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