Pitahaya plants are easy to grow from seeds or cuttings. Just a few weeks after sowing, the two cotyledons are visible, with a small main shoot growing from the middle. Healthy plants develop within a few months.
Pitahaya belongs to the cactus family and is also called dragon fruit. It owes its name to its scaly appearance and the unusually bright color of its shell. If you want to grow pitahaya plants yourself, you have two options:
- sowing the seeds or
- planting cuttings.
location
Plants do well in tropical conditions. Her homeland is Central America. However, they are also successfully cultivated in the tropical regions of Asia. They do extremely well in a greenhouse climate that is not permanently damp. Pitahayas need sufficient light and warmth to grow well. They tolerate drought, heavy rainfall, but not standing water.
substrate and care
A mixture of soil and sand in a ratio of 1:1 is suitable as a substrate. The cactus soil is also suitable. The soil in the pot is allowed to dry out completely before you water the plants vigorously again. When sowing the young plants, however, care must be taken to ensure that the substrate is kept evenly moist.
The climbing cacti grow quickly and branch out strongly, so they need support in the form of scaffolding, a wall or trees that they can climb up with the help of their adhesive roots. If necessary, cactus fertilizer can be administered. A hibernation period also proves advantageous for this type of cactus. Optimal are temperatures between 10° and 15° C in a bright room and very economical water addition.
sowing
You get the seeds yourself from a ripe fruit that contains them in large numbers, or you can buy them in seed shops. Sowing takes place all year round. The seeds germinate in the light and with sufficient light and warmth (18°-25° C) the results can be expected after 1-3 weeks. From a size of approx. 5 cm, the seedlings are separated.
Propagation by cuttings
You get the new dragon fruit plants a little faster through cuttings. A leaf segment cut off from any part of the cactus is suitable as a cutting. It is planted upright and a few inches deep in sandy soil. A warm and bright location as well as occasional watering means that the cutting takes root after a short time and forms the first side shoots.
flower and fruit
If you succeed in making the pitahaya plants you have grown yourself bloom, you will be able to enjoy the most beautiful flowers that bloom and smell one night. The ripe fruits of the pitahaya also look very exotic and eye-catching with their bright color and scaly skin.
tips and tricks
In order for a flower to develop into a fruit, pollination would have to occur within a short period of one night. It is therefore more than uncertain whether one will ever reap fruit under house conditions.