Dragon fruit — Sebastian, Florida

The dragon fruit grown in Sebastian yards is pitaya, a fast, vining cactus in the Hylocereus group whose species differ mainly in peel and pulp color, and it is already a farm crop one county north in Brevard.

For Sebastian growers, UF/IFAS EDIS publication HS303 describes pitayas as fast-growing, perennial, vine-like cacti with three-sided, jointed stems that form aerial roots and can reach about 20 ft long (UF/IFAS EDIS). The flowers are nocturnal, very fragrant and up to 14 inches long, and the fruit is a scaly berry about 4.5 inches thick. HS303 lists the species by color.

The crop is moving north along the coast. UF/IFAS News reported on July 31, 2024 that dragon fruit is grown on about 721 acres in five Florida counties, Palm Beach, Charlotte, Brevard, Lee and Miami-Dade, and that acreage appears to be expanding (UF/IFAS News). Brevard begins just across the county line from Sebastian, so the plant is not an experiment on the Treasure Coast.

Cultivar names are a weak guide. HS303 says information on the self-incompatibility of named cultivars is not well documented, which makes variety recommendations difficult. The UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County blog notes that the deep purple fleshed 'Halley's Comet', common at big box stores, tends to be less productive than other cultivars (UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County), a caution for Sebastian buyers choosing by looks.

Many dragon fruit cultivars cannot pollinate themselves, and their night pollinators are rarely seen in Florida, so Sebastian growers plant two or three different types or move pollen by hand.

HS303 reports self-incompatibility in several cultivars available from nurseries that supply Sebastian buyers and advises planting 2 or 3 different genetic types, not the same clone, because cross-pollination gives better fruit set and size (UF/IFAS EDIS). Moths and bats are good pollinators of the night flowers, it says, but their visits have not been commonly observed, while some cultivars stay open into mid-morning and may be visited by bees.

Hand pollination fills the gap. HS303 describes collecting pollen or whole stamens from one flower during the night or early morning and applying it to the stigma of another. For a Sebastian Highlands yard with two posts of different types, that is a short task with a soft brush on summer nights.

Flowering follows the season. The Sarasota County extension blog explains that dragon fruit is a long-day plant whose flowering is triggered by daylength, that fruit matures about one month after pollination, and that many flushes of flowers occur over a season (UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County). HS303 adds that a dry period in winter and early spring is required for abundant bloom, so Sebastian plants are watered sparingly in those months and regularly from flowering through harvest.

In Sebastian, a dragon fruit goes in as a rooted cutting beside a strong pressure-treated post with a metal grid on top, in full or nearly full sun, well away from the house and power lines.

Cuttings are the standard start in Sebastian. HS303 says 6 to 15 inch stem segments are cut at a slant, cured 7 to 8 days in a dry, shady place, and preferably rooted in pots for 4 to 6 months before planting, after which they grow about 1.2 inches a day and many produce fruit 6 to 9 months after planting (UF/IFAS EDIS). Plants grown from seed vary and may take up to 7 years to fruit.

The trellis in a Sebastian yard carries real weight. HS303 warns that a mature plant can put several hundred pounds of stems on its support, recommends a four to six inch pressure-treated post with a strong metal grid attached to the top, set 10 to 15 feet from other plants and structures, and says bare wire should be covered with plastic hose so it does not cut stems. It advises against planting beside homes or utility poles. The Charlotte County extension blog describes the result as a plant that branches over the post until it looks like a small shaggy palm tree (UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County).

Wind is the trellis test. HS303 says pitayas tolerate windy conditions, but very strong winds or hurricanes may badly damage trellises and the plants on them, a concern for any Sebastian yard during hurricane season. Dragon fruit cuttings and other fruit plants for Sebastian yards appear among the fruit trees on Digital Towns Market. Digital Towns Market is our marketplace.

Dragon fruit in Sebastian shrugs off light frost and some salt, but long freezes below 31 degrees F, standing water and too much soil moisture can damage or kill it.

Cold tolerance is moderate. HS303 says pitayas may be damaged by exposure to below freezing temperatures of 31 degrees F of long duration, but recover rapidly from light freezing injury (UF/IFAS EDIS). The Charlotte County extension blog records a backyard plant that froze to the ground in a cold winter (UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County), and the Sarasota County blog says yellow-skinned varieties seem particularly sensitive to cold, so red types are the safer bet for an Indian River County yard.

Salt is less of a problem than for most fruit. HS303 states that pitayas may tolerate saline soil conditions and that some references class them as moderately to highly salt tolerant. That sets dragon fruit apart from lychee or banana for lots near the Indian River Lagoon along Indian River Drive or on Orchid Island, where salt limits other fruit.

Water is the bigger risk. Although pitayas are cacti, HS303 says they have a fairly high water requirement, yet excessive soil moisture leads to bacterial and fungal diseases. It recommends a mound of native soil 2 to 3 ft high and 4 to 10 ft across where flooding occurs, which suits low Sebastian lots after summer rains, and says plants thrive with well-decomposed manure or compost mixed into the soil.

Thrips, leaf-footed bugs and stem canker are the main problems for Sebastian dragon fruit, and regular pruning, light feeding and the Sebastian city fertilizer rules shape care.

Thrips do the most visible damage. UF/IFAS EDIS IN1292 says several thrips species feed on pitaya flowers and young fruit, prefer the dry months from October to April, and in high-population years have left 20 to 80 percent of fruit unmarketable from scarring (UF/IFAS EDIS IN1292). Leaf-footed bugs puncture fruit and stems, and weeds near the plants shelter both pests, so weed control around a Sebastian trellis is part of pest control.

Disease follows dense growth. HS303 names stem and fruit canker, fruit and stem rots and a Xanthomonas bacterium, and says pruning to keep sunlight and air moving lets plants dry quickly after rain (UF/IFAS EDIS). Vigorous plants may need pruning one to three times a year, soon after harvest. UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County Master Gardeners diagnose plant problems, with a Wednesday clinic in Sebastian at the library branch on Sebastian Boulevard (UF/IFAS Extension).

Feeding is light and frequent. HS303 calls for 0.25 lb of fertilizer every two months in the first year, rising to 0.3 to 0.4 lb in years two and three. Section 50-5 of the Sebastian city code bars nitrogen or phosphorus fertilizer on landscape plants from June 1 through September 30 and exempts vegetable gardens and trees grown for their edible fruit (City of Sebastian), as Indian River County's ordinance does in unincorporated areas (Indian River County); because a vining cactus is neither, Sebastian-area growers can confirm summer feeding with UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County in Vero Beach, (772) 226-4330 (UF/IFAS Extension Indian River County).

The Sebastian harvest runs through hurricane season. HS303 says Hylocereus undatus ripens from June to November in Florida, that only well-colored fruit should be cut, and that fruit keeps 4 to 5 days at room temperature or several weeks in plastic bags in the refrigerator. A 3- to 4-year-old plant may produce about 220 lb of fruit a year, and a planting can last about 20 years.