Dragon Fruit Flower? Lets Talk About The Less Popular Part

Also known as ‘Pitaya,’ the dragon fruit is one of the most regal fruits ever to exist, but most people wonder: Does it flower?

But there is actually a lot more to the dragon fruit flower than it meets the eye. Let us look at the broader aspect in detail.

What is a Dragon Fruit Flower?

Dragon fruit is usually popular for its tasty fruit, so people do not talk much about the flower.

Its flower is large and can measure up to 12 inches in diameter.

Let us look at the structure of this flower in detail below:

The dragon fruit flowers do not have a unique structure and may vary according to the varieties and conditions.

The most common structure contains 5-8 petals sprawling upwards from the center of the flower.

Before the flower’s opening, the buds are tightly packed, which later open up in the evening to bloom for a short period.

Most flowers only wait till pollination occurs, after that, they begin to wither away and die.

Also Read: Do Green and Blue Dragon Fruits Really Exist?

Pollination in Dragon Fruit Flowers

We have already discussed how the dragon fruit flower opens up when the night starts befalling.

As the evening befalls, the dragon fruit emits out a strong scent that targets nocturnal animals like moths and bats.

Due to the large structure, the pollinators have no difficulty accessing the flower.

After the pollinators step on the flower, the pollen sticks to them, which they transfer to other flowers as they move from one to another.

Then, fertilization occurs, and that is how the ‘Dragon Fruit’ is created.

You can also hand pollinate the dragon fruit in the following steps:

• Wait for around 22:00 in the clock for the Dragon Fruit to fully open.
• Take a brush and rub the anthers of the flower to collect pollen.
• Make sure you collect enough pollen, as the more pollen you collect, the better pollination chance you have.
• Identify the flower’s stigma and rub the pollen into the stigma properly.
• Congratulations, you just pollinated a dragon fruit by yourself.

How to Make a Dragon Fruit Flower?

Well, if you want to make a dragon fruit flower, it would be because either you are too much into gardening, like me, or you can not wait for it to complete its natural pollination.

Anyways, if you want to hasten the process of your dragon fruit flowering, follow the steps below:

• First of all, you need to take care of the flowering the plant receives. Make sure it gets enough sunlight for flowering.
• Check for any signs of rotten, yellow foliage and prune off the parts you do not deem necessary.
• Make sure the watering, humidity, temperature, and other basic needs of the plant are fulfilled properly.
• If the plant has grown to the optimal height, ensure you have provided it with enough support to climb on.

If you successfully manage to induce flowering in dragon fruit, you can pick the flower and either cook it as a vegetable or make a tea out of it.