Dragon fruit cactus, how to cultivate that indoors.
Dragon Fruit Cactus is not just a beautiful and fast growing exotic houseplant but it is an edible fruit-bearing cactus which amazingly produces harmonious flowers, beautiful and sweet-salty tasting fruit.
Dragon Fruit Cactus – Inside You Can Grow It?
It is possible to create a dragon fruit plant indoor, if the premises has a place with sufficient sunlight. Such place may be a sun room or a big window, providing the plant with 6-8 hours sunshine.
Inside, an indoor dragon fruit cactus might need to people to do the work of hand pollination. Outdoors, this job is done by moths, bats, and bees which is very easy work for them.
The tree-like cactus of dragon fruit is capable of reaching 20 feet in length. There are lots of types of ‘Cacti’ that can be planted indoors such as ‘Edger’s Baby,’ ‘Alice,’ ‘Seoul Kitchen,’ ‘Yellow Dragon Fruit,’ and ‘Zamorano’.
How to Domesticate Indoor-Grown Dragon Fruit Cacti
The plant with its roots hanging off of the branches and clinging to supportive objects, in addition, necessitates a trellis to stand vertically. Ensure that the structure you choose can hold those possible with fruit, that can be quite heavy.
Sunlight
The bloom and fruit setting of dragon fruit cacti requires formal six to eight hours of sunlight every day. The orientation of a window, particularly one that is on the east and west sides is what you should go for. Scorching light directed by your window from south may be too intense sometimes and kill your plant in the summer. The workaround can be considered is the opposite of the movement that is to reorient it by rotating the plant 180 degrees at certain intervals.
Artificial Light
But you can turn to those supplemental grow lights which will help you to enjoy natural light for 6-8 hours a day year round. In order to reproduce the intensity of the strong sun, they should be full-spectrum LED lightning.
In a gradual manner introduce the plant to the light, particularly is it has undergone a long time in the dark during transit. Firstly, put the lamps at a distance of about 30 inches from the plant and adjust the position of the lamps gradually to the plant over the course of a few days.
Potting Soil and Drainage
As regard a cactus, dragon fruit cactus is a cactus only in name. It must be planted in the a potting soil, which is not cactus soil and is acidic that is rich in nutrients, as the latter is not nutrient-rich. To make drainage better, first, add some sand to the potting mix and then, place stones, pebbles, or bark at the bottom of the container.
Placing an indoor dragon cactus fruite outside for the summer might not be the smartest decision.
When you are sure that the frost danger is totally past and that the daytime temperatures go above 70 F, you can move the plant to the patio, porch, or balcony. Once temperatures dive below 65°F in the daytime hours, bring the plant back in inside and remove any hazard of the first frost.
Temperature
The appropriate room temperature is in between 65 and 85 F. This plant does not endure high temperatures and thus should not be in rooms that have excessive heat especially during summer.
The dragon fruit cactus, being a sensitive plant, can’t stand frost. Place it on a warm spot away from wintery cold windows.
Humidity
Typically, the range for humidity of 30% to 50% is suffice for the dragon fruit cactus. While the room heating period in winter, humidity tray can be placed there with pebbles, a room humidifier can be used, or misting can be done from above.
Watering
Water dragon fruit cactus carefully as the plant has very sensitive to the overwatering, but it can also be withstand some dried conditions because the phylloclades – the leaf-like branches, – retain the water. In the case of the spring, water every time the top of the soil feels dry.
Air Circulation
The dragon fruit cactus is a strong plant that requires to be pruned and rejuvenated at least once a year to allow airflow through it, otherwise it might be suffocated. The air that is not well circulated might cause fungi to grow.
Fertilizer
The fact that it is a tropical plant does not really help its growth as it only grows during the hot months. Nitrogen levels should be kept low when fertilizing it once a month. A plant experiences an explosive growth of vegetation and a large amount of nitrogen results in something that should be avoided.
Pruning and Maintenance
The purpose of pruning is to remove the plant and leave it with a singular stem or just few thicker stems as the main sword. As well as, shed out smaller shoots, on which, the flowers and fruit will grow. This not only promotes aeration but it also gives high quality and size of the fruit.
Pollination
If you have a hybrid that needs to be pollinated by hand, you should mix the pollen with the pollen from other dragon fruit flower of a cactus. Wrap the stamen up with a damp piece of paper and then press the stigma of the plant you wish to pollinate with it. Don’t forget to swap your cotton swabs for a fresh one after treating each plant. The dragon fruit cactus is a night bloomer, which means pollination is required to be done during the hours of dusk and dawn only.
Container and Size
Use at least ten to fifteen gallons of container depth, with drainage holes for your gardening needs. It’s a tall shrub. Instead of such plastic, you must choose a heavy material like ceramic or terracotta that can substitute it.
