🐉 Dragon Fruit
Hylocereus undatus
A cactus that decided to be fabulous.
Sun
Full sun, but shade young plants — they sunburn like tourists
Days to harvest
1–2 years from cuttings to first flowers
Spacing
One plant per sturdy post; posts 8–10 ft apart
Soil pH
6.0–7.0
How to grow
Plant a cutting at the base of a stout post (concrete or pressure-treated wood) with a trellis top for the stems to cascade over — this is a climbing cactus, not a freestanding one. Use fast-draining cactus-style mix; wet feet rot it. South Florida is prime dragon fruit country.
Water & feeding
Soak deeply, then let it dry — treat it like the cactus it is, not the tropical fruit it pretends to be.
Common problems
- Stem rot from overwatering — the #1 killer
- Sunburn on young stems
- Flowers that drop unpollinated — some varieties need hand pollination at night
Harvest
Pick when the skin turns bright pink-red and the little 'wings' start to brown at the tips; the fruit should give slightly, like a ripe avocado.
Nerdy fact: Each flower blooms for exactly one night — one of the largest blooms in the plant kingdom — pollinated by night-flying bats and hawkmoths. Miss the night, miss the fruit.