Last night my Dragon Fruit plant had the first flowers of the summer, this year I decided to pollinate the flowers myself. This flowers open at night and by morning they are done, so the chances that a moth or bat pollinates the flowers, is slim to none.
Over the years I had hundreds of flowers and only 3 fruits. This year while taking a back tour of the land exhibit at Epcot center I saw a dragon fruit plant with many fruits. The tour guide told me that Disney employees come out the night the flowers open and using Q-tips they pollinate each flower.
The dragon fruit plant is a native of the American southwest, a Hylocereus climbing cactus. The common name comes from the short green fins that grow on the bright, pinkish-red skin reminiscent of the scales of a dragon.
The fruit is consider a delicacy, sweet, low on calories and high in lycopene an antioxidant. The proper way to eat it is chilled and cut in half so the flesh may be spooned out.
4 comments:
Way to go Rusty!
Those flowers are gorgeous enough that I wouldn't need fruit. But, I do hope you get a lot of fruit for your efforts.
That flower is spectacular!
In Thailand I had dragon fruit juice bought at street venders carts. They just cut up the fruit and put it in a blender. Very nice. Will be interested to hear how the fruiting goes on your dragon fruit.
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