In this article, you will learn how to grow dragon fruit from cuttings. For growing dragon fruit from cuttings, you have to take and prepare the cuttings correctly and then plant them in the rooting medium at correct depth. The dragon fruit cuttings propagated will produce fruits after 1-2 years of planting. I have easily grown dragon fruit from cuttings in Sydney, Australia.
The dragon fruit propagated from cuttings will produce fruits true to type of the parent plant including its flavor, sweetness, and color information. |
| Dragon Fruit or Pitaya Plant |
The dragon fruit plant is a cactus plant which produce beautiful flowers and colorful fruit packed with nutrition.
Dragon Fruit Propagation From Cuttings
While dragon fruit is can be propagated from seeds (growing dragon fruit from seeds), growing it from cuttings is the most common method of propagation. Dragon fruit can be easily grown from cuttings at home. Growing dragon fruit plant from stem cuttings is quite straightforward. Following is a step-by-step guide for rooting dragon fruit cuttings faster.
Step 1: Taking and Preparing Cuttings
Select a mature dragon fruit plant and take a healthy cutting. Ensure that the cutting is disease-free and has no signs of rot.
Prepare Cuttings For Planting
Make 8 to 12 inch (15 to 30 cm) long cuttings using a disinfected knife or pruning shears. The roots will grow at the cut end from the center core at the middle of the cutting.
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| Dragon Fruit Cutting |
You can remove about 1 inch outer portion of the triangular stem with 45 degree angle cuts on the three sides at the cut end to expose the inner core of the stem to increase the chances of rooting.
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| Dragon Fruit Cutting For Rooting |
dry out completely before we plant them. This is important to reduce the risk of rot when planting.
The natural question is whether the dragon fruit cuttings be rooted in water. The fastest way to root dragon fruit cuttings is by placing them directly into water. Place the prepared cuttings in water to root them faster, and then plant the rooted cuttings in soil to produce flowers and fruits.
The following picture shows the growth of strong roots on dragon fruit cutting in water in a few weeks time.
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| Dragon Fruits Cuttinged Roots in Water |
Step 2: Planting the Cuttings in Soil
You can plant dragon fruit cuttings directly in ground or pot. But it is better to first plant is a small pot and then transplant the rooted cuttings in ground or a larger pot.
Step 3: Choosing the Right Container
Choose a pot with drainage holes to freely drain the excess water, waterlogging will rot the cutting.
Step 4 : Rooting Medium
Use a well-draining potting mix specially formulated for cacti or succulents. Make your own soil mix by adding some river sand and some compost or composted manure to make the soil to make it slightly acidic, nutrition rich, sandy and free-draining.
Fill the container with this well-draining potting mix.
As a general rule, plant with the spikes pointing upwards. Apply some rooting hormone on the dried 1 cut end of the cutting to promote roots. This step is optional. I use an aloe vera leaf and rub its gel on the cut end.
Make a hole in soil and Insert the cutting into the soil, about 2 inches deep. Firm the soil around the cutting.
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| Dragon fruit Cuttings Planted in Soil |
Watering
- Water the cutting sparingly in the beginning to avoid rot.
- Place the container in shade at a location with bright, indirect sunlight.
- Allow the soil to dry out between watering. Overwatering can cause the cutting to rot.
When Cuttings will root?
The cuttings will root in a few weeks depending on temperature. The picture below shows the new leaves on two rooted dragon fruit cuttings, 4 weeks after planting in soil, in Sydney, Australia. These cuttings will produce flowers and fruit in 1-2 years.
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| Rooted Dragon fruit Cuttings |
Care of Rooted Cuttings
- When new growth begins, expose the cuttings in morning sun. Then gradually increase the sun duration.
- Once roots are established, move the plant into full sun.