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Planting and support structures
How do you plant dragon fruit and what support does it need?
Planting techniques
When planting dragon fruit:
- Space plants 6-9 foot apart for commercial plantings.
- For container growing, use a large pot (at least 5-7 gallons, for a single mature plant. Use 25-50 gallons for 4 mature plants).
- Plant during the warmer months for best results.
- Position the plant in a location that receives plenty of sunlight.
- Consider planting 4 plants per post for commercial settings, or using a railing style trellis for efficiency.
Support structures
Dragon fruit is an epiphyte (climbing cactus) that grows on the surface of other plants or structures. They can grow quite big, and as a result, they require sturdy support:
- Traditional support: A vertical central tree trunk about 5ft tall with a horizontal structure on top (like a wagon wheel or motorcycle tire) to support horizontal branches.
- DIY support: Can be made using wood or PVC posts arranged in a cross pattern with a horizontal box (or ring) to support branches.
- Commercial support: Concrete or wooden posts with a horizontal support system.
- Container support: For potted plants, use a heavy duty coated or galvanized 54" tomato cage (reinforced with steel rods) for a small to medium sized plant. For a large sized dragon, use a 4×4 wooden four sided post, a concrete filled 4" PVC pipe, or a 4×4 four sided concrete post. A horizontal box frame constructed of either 2×4 wood, rebar reinforced 2" PVC, or a motorcycle tire, are often used as a pole topper to help spread the canopy out evenly.
The support structure is crucial as downward hanging or horizontal branches stimulate flower production at the tips. For both indoor and outdoor growing, ensure the support is strong enough to hold the weight of fruit-bearing branches, as some dragonfruit varieties can produce very large fruit, and some dragons can weigh as much as hundreds of pounds!