Looking for guidance on growing Dragon Fruit

Hi,

I am interested in growing Dragon Fruit. I have spent a # of hours learning about growing Dragon Fruit. What I don’t know is how well does it grow in my climate and in my area. I am hoping that someone here can advise on whether it’s possible to grow Dragon Fruit in my area (Zone 9b, Bay Area, NorCal) in the pot.

Questions:

  1. During Fall/Winter (Dec-Mar), it rains here. Can I grow Dragon Fruit in the pot that will be in the yard getting all the rain during the winter season or will it rot? This is my biggest concern.

  2. It’s not as warm as SoCal here in the Bay Area (Moutain View/Santa Clara). Can Dragon Fruit be grown successfully in a large pot here?

  3. Even if it can be grown, does anyone actually get fruit from their Dragon Fruit [vine] grown here?

  4. Lastly, is it too late (mid-August, nights are already a bit cooling down) to repot 5’ tall store-bought Dragon Fruit vine in a large permanent pot for this year, or will cold in fall kill it before it gets a chance to establish?

Thanks.

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As far as the rain goes, as long as you have a good draining mix it should be ok. People grow Dragon Fruit along the Gulf Coast and we get in excess of 50 inches of rain a year.

It also cannot handle freezing temperatures. You would need it in a portable pot so you could bring it in during cold weather. Here cold weather only last 3 or 4 days usually, followed by warmer weather for a couple of weeks.

Can’t answer your other questions. Not sure how many people grow it in your area.

@garybeaumont, are you referring to people growing it in pots arlong the Gulf Coast? I can see not having root rot issues since Gulf Coast most likey has well draining sandy soil, so growing in the ground should not be a problem. Growing in pot is a different issue.

The Winter could feel cold here and with 2-4 frosty nights/yr, however, the temps rarely goes below 30F here and I hear that DF can handle upto 28F w/o damage, so I am not too concerned about the low temps. Thanks.

I was referring to growing in pots. We usually only get down to mid to upper 20’s but still to cold for Dragon Fruit. Spicy Exotics out of Louisiana has some good videos on making good containers. My area has clay soils but I do not know of anyone that grows dragon fruit, even in pots.