Growing Dragonfruit(pitaya) from seed: an experiment

Dragonfruit has got to be the most interesting fruit I've ever seen. While it may not have a very strong flavor, it is still very juicy and is a great add in to any fruit salad, smoothie, or even cocktail. Now, anyone who's gone to their local grocer to try and buy a dragonfruit can attest that they're not cheap.

Locally, they're only stocked in one grocery store, where they're sold at a whopping $9/lb. That's right. $9/LB. A good sized dragonfruit is usually about 1.5-2lbs from what I've seen them have in stock. Luckily I was only purchasing one to get seeds, so I grabbed one that was about the size of my fist (and I have small hands!) and it was still a 1lb fruit.

I can't pay $9-18 every time I want a single dragonfruit, so I decided to try and grow some myself from seed.

I did slice it up so I could share some with my coworkers, but I kept the top and bottom portions I cut to keep for seeds. I've seen online where people pulp a whole HALF of a dragonfruit to get the seeds, but I really don't think you need that many.

So let's start there shall we? How to get the seeds from your dragonfruit. Well, like I mentioned before dragonfruit is juicy, and where there's juice, there's pulp.

1. Pull your seeds out from the rest of the flesh of the fruit.
2. Each little seed is coated in it's own pulp, so you'll need to pop it to get the juice out and then clean off the remaining pulp. (this takes the longest!)
3. Set each seed on a paper towel and leave out overnight to dry. 

Some of the seeds may still be stuck to the towel in the morning, but that's okay. From what I've seen so far, that's not that big of a deal. 

Now that you have your seeds, it's time to decide how you want to grow them!

I've decided to try 4 methods for growing them, and my results so far may surprise you!

• Method 1: improvised green house:
• Take a small Tupperware container and place the lid upside down. 
• Cover with a damp paper towel
• Sprinkle seeds on paper towel
• Cover container lid and contents with the main portion of the container and leave in window.
• Check regularly and keep the towel damp.
• Method 2: baggy method (This is how I do most of my seeds! )
• Place a few seeds in a damp paper towel
• seal paper towel in a baggie
• place in window for a couple weeks
• Method 3: water only 
• take a small container, fill half way with water.
• sprinkle seeds on top of container
• close lid and wait
• Method 4: good ol' dirt!
• fill a container 3/4 way with soil.
• sprinkle seeds on this layer
• lightly coat seeds with more soil
• water regularly, but carefully so as not to disturb the seeds.

Now I know that most of these methods seem pretty normal, except maybe the water only. A coworker has several plants that do well in water only, and when I was reading up on the dragonfruit, I thought it was worthwhile!

Despite being a cactus, the dragonfruit cactus actually needs a lot of water, which is why it's usually grown in tropical regions instead of deserts. 

Shockingly enough, my seeds in water only have done exceptionally well considering they've only been in there a few days!

Aren't they weird looking? 

Here's what the ones in Method 1 look like (they had a few extra days)

They sure are weird looking, ain't they?

You can see my toothpick and tweezers I needed to plant these little guys! They're super tiny!

Well here's to hoping they continue to grow! I also planted a few extra seeds in that soil to see if they'll sprout as well!