I bought my first and only dragonfruit at a local Garden Fest five years ago. The Asian vendor knew everything about this unusual cactus, and easily convinced me to give it a try. She specifically told me to plant it next to a trellis, a tall post or a fence since it was a climber needing support. It would need full sun, and once the cactus grew tall enough and began to arch over, the blooming flowers would soon follow. While she did not tell me it would take about five years for this to happen, the rewarding patience of growing dragonfruit was well worth the long wait.

This wonderful climbing cactus species can grow up to 20 feet tall. Dragonfruit is also known as Pitaya, it is indigenous to southern Mexico as well as South and Central America, and found its way to southeast Asia courtesy of the French. There are several different varieties of pitaya that are distinguishable by the color of the skin, with the pink and yellow skins both having white pulp and the red skin having a red to purple pulp. Vietnam is one of the biggest producers of dragonfruit with the white pulp, and Ecuador and Nicaragua are large producers of the red pulp varieties. While I have eaten the white pulp variety many times, I had never tasted the red pitaya, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my planted dragonfruit was of the red variety, and that I was in for a real treat.

They say the dragonfruit flower only blooms at night. One early morning back in May of this year while I was sipping mushroom coffee on the north porch, I glanced  in the direction of the dragonfruit to see the signs of a large white flower. I jumped up and walked over to see one of the most exquisite blooming flowers I had ever seen. It was huge, magnificent and I was ecstatic! The long wait was over. By noon that day, the flower had wilted in the hot tropical sun. It had clearly bloomed overnight, and I was so lucky to have caught it still blooming in the early morning hours.

I checked in on the cactus every day, watching as the fruit slowly but surely began to form. After about five weeks, it suddenly dawned on me to research when the fruit would be ready. The fruit is ripe for harvest thirty days after it has flowered, and I was now a week late. I promptly got a knife to cut it off, went into the kitchen where I sliced it in half and I was in awe of the pulp’s red, purple and violet color. It’s sweet fragrance was wafting beneath my nose as I carefully cut the fruit out, placed it in a bowl and sat down to savor every bite.

It was unlike anything I had ever eaten, and the flavor was by far one of the best things I had ever tasted. It was no match for the white pulp varieties.  The texture was a mix between a kiwi and a watermelon, and the exotic flavor had a sweet hint of strawberry, a summer melon and a slight hint of tangy citrus. All the tiny seeds added a nutty flavor as each bite melted in my mouth. My patience for growing dragonfruit had been deliciously rewarded.

I later did some research on the health benefits of this unique tropical fruit, to find that it is steeped in antioxidant vitamins and minerals along with being rich in flavonoids and polyphenols for further cell protection. Dragonfruit helps to lower blood sugar levels, boosts the growth of prebiotics for gut health, builds immunity and lowers inflammation. It only makes sense that such an exotic flower and fruit would also be super good and healthy for you.

Just a few days ago after a big thunderstorm, I found my dragonfruit lying on the ground. The original post it was growing on had finally rotted, and come down in the storm. It was quite the hot, three hour job to rescue it. I had to carefully untangle it, separate it from the post, cut the top wire just enough to free the clumps of cascading pieces, dig a new hole for the new post, figure out how to secure the wire back on and then tie all the cactus strands back to the post. I was relieved to have succeeded in saving my dragonfruit.

Some small pieces of cactus broke off in the fall, which I promptly potted in a mix of sand and compost and placed them in the lath house.

I now begin another five year wait for these three cactus to grow, flower and fruit. Yet, I think if I get them planted in the perfect spot and become more diligent with my fertilization schedule, I might be able to shave some time off those five years. In the meantime, I am taking extra care of the mama plant I have, eagerly awaiting another bloom. While it surely takes patience for growing dragonfruit, the amazing flower and exotic, healthy fruit it finally gives you is truly worth every year it makes you wait for such divine gifts of beauty and healing.