Premise
When is a good time to prune dragon fruit for growing another cutting? How long does the cutting take to grow roots and sprouts? How to take care the cutting? You will get the answers from this article.
YOU WILL NEED
1. One section of dragon fruit
2. A small plant pot 12-15 cm deep.
3. Good soil (well-drained, well-aerated and has a pH that is close to neutral)
Practice
If your friends or yourself already have a dragon fruit, and you would like another plant, you can make a cutting. Quite a lot of people will ask when is a good time to prune it? Normally I suggest you prune the plant after they fruiting. Especially, you should not do it while they are blooming with some small buds, as they do start a bud from a small spur. It’s hard to identify whether it is a bud or sprout in the beginning. Also, after fruiting it is the right moment for the next growth cycle.
From picture-2, there are 3 branches close to each other, which branch is good to cut off? I will suggest you cut the middle one. The reason is:
1. They are too close to each other to grow well.
2. The middle branch is looking healthier to be planted for another new cutting.
Once you have a section of a branch, and you are going to grow it. You don’t need to prepare a big plant pot. See tips 1, as the new growth roots won’t need much space and soil. Place the branch into 1/3 soil depth of the pot.
Fill up the soil and add some water, about 2-3 times per week. Place it in the shade. See tips 2 to tell you to be aware of sun burn of cuttings.
The cutting plants are able to have morning sun for a couple of hours a day. It will be good to let them stay under the shade for a while till they have strong sprouts.
Payoff
When you see the cutting plant starts growing a sprout, it can have 4 hours sun maximum. However, you still need to prevent the harsh afternoon sun that will make it sunburned.
Give the cutting plant enough water, also be careful they are fragile at this moment. Take it away from your pets to prevent them breaking it accidentally.
When the sprout has grown big enough, you are able to replace it into a big plant pot 30 cm deep at least. More details about how to take care it, please see Grow edible plants on a balcony dragon fruit.
Tips
When you cut a section off the dragon fruit from a mature plant, it will need about one and half months to grow the new roots. In fact, it depends on the weather. If it's winter, it might take longer to start growing roots and a sprout.
You might think the dragon fruit are a cactus, and you can place it under the sun. That won't be the case. As the moment for a new cutting to grow its roots, we will need to protect them from the full sun till they have more branches. Otherwise, it will get sunburned as you see in the picture.
Michael Gersak says:
Australia is the biggest desert island in the world & perfect for growing cacti.
Dragon fruits are a diabetics best friend.
Content team says:
Australia is a great place for growing Dragon Fruit. Thank you.