Jul 05

How to Grow Dragon Fruit

By Richard Barrow Email

Sunday 5th July, 2009 | 295 words | Category: Enjoy Thai Food | 2 feedbacks »

Last year, I wrote a short blog with pictures about How to Eat Dragon Fruit. It proved to be quite popular with people searching on Google. The bright pink fruit is not native to Thailand and can be found in other regions of the world. I enjoy eating this fruit though in the supermarkets of Bangkok it can be expensive at about 40 to 60 baht a kilo depending on the time of year. The main season is May to October when you will find it at a cheaper price.

One of the main growing regions for dragon fruit in Thailand is Chanthaburi where I am now. We were driving down the road yesterday when I spotted this dragon fruit orachard. The fruit doesn't grow on a tree but on a cactus that likes to grow up a wall or a pillar as in this picture.

The cactus has a bright yellow flower that I am told only fully flowers at night-time. By morning it starts to wilt as you can see here. This then develops into the green fruit which you can see in the picture below. Finally it turns red when it is nearly ready to harvest. In town I saw them selling this fruit for 10-15 baht a kilo.

I haven't made an effort to grow one yet though I will try when I get back. There are apparently two options. One is to grow from a cutting of the cactus. The second way is to use the black seeds inside the fruit. It should be fairly easy to find this plant in town but I will also try growing from seed. Check out our Thai Food Forums for updates and also the latest pictures of my effort to grow pineapple and lemon grass.

Do you have any questions about Thailand? Maybe you are planning a holiday or just want to learn more about Thai culture. Have all of your questions answered for free at ThailandQA.com. These forums are part of the family friendly Paknam Web Network.

Tags: thai fruit

« Making Merit at 4 Temples in ChanthaburiThai Website: Life in Samut Prakan Province »
Comment from: Betti Email
my school was next to a cactus plantation like this in Taiwan :-) my favourite fruit this time of the year. it is around 15 baht per kilo at the market now. I don't like the white ones though, they don't have any taste. the red ones are great with ice cream.
05/07/2009 @ 18:34
Comment from: mangomike
*****
I have 4 dragon fruit plants that were grown from cuttings. It took about 4 years to bear fruit. I don't know if this is normal or perhaps the soil is not ideal to grow dragon fruit. There are a few dragon fruit orchards near my home but, I have not seen anybody tending to them to ask questions on how to best grow them. This article helps.
09/07/2009 @ 05:00

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