Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 14/11/07 11:07, in article gum-uwief,
"Zhang DaWei" wrote:

On Wednesday 14 Nov 2007 10:11, Sacha
) wrote:

Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate
it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

snip

We have a number growing which we planted ourselves from seed from one of
the shop bought plants. Very easy to germinate in our experience. I'm not
sure how easy it would be to get fruit. It grows reasonably quickly and you
need to give it plenty of room as it is a kind of climbing cactus or cactus
vine. For more information, you could use some of the more rigorous
references found in these wikipedia articles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_fruit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylocereus_undatus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylocereus_costaricensis

I hope that helps.

Very many thanks - it's enormously helpful and it's interesting, too. I can
imagine it being cactus-y. I got one that hadn't been trimmed quite enough
and got a nasty tiny thorn in my finger! This was the pink with white
flesh one, so I'll try it again, this time putting it in the fridge first.
I can see it would be refreshing on a hot day but it was just quite bland.
I might be able to persuade Ray to try it in one of the green houses, just
to see what it will do here. I suspect we won't get enough sun for long
enough to make it fruit but the Passiflora mollissima is fruiting - ripening
might be another matter altogether.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 14/11/07 10:55, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:11:33 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

Book

http://wchow.home.znet.com/book.htm

I recognise that! We saw the plant sans fruits growing in the gardens of
Lotusland in Santa Barbara!

Grow your own in ... San Diego

and website
http://www.geocities.com/wenjin92014...001/dragon.htm

Interesting they say thornless but perhaps that's referring to another
variety. The one I bought definitely had one sharp little thorn left on it.


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

In article ,
Sacha writes:
| Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate it
| this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
| tried growing it from the seeds?

Wallpaper paste with little black bits in.

Yes. I grew quite a few seedlings, and gave them away, because we
don't have space for anything so large and thorny. They seemed to
germinate quite readily.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 14/11/07 16:03, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:00:29 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

Very many thanks - it's enormously helpful and it's interesting, too. I can
imagine it being cactus-y. I got one that hadn't been trimmed quite enough
and got a nasty tiny thorn in my finger! This was the pink with white
flesh one,

Your pinky? :-)

Oh........go and prune something! ;-)
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 14/11/07 16:05, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:03:11 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

On 14/11/07 10:55, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:11:33 +0000, Sacha
wrote:

Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

Book

http://wchow.home.znet.com/book.htm

I recognise that! We saw the plant sans fruits growing in the gardens of
Lotusland in Santa Barbara!

Grow your own in ... San Diego

and website
http://www.geocities.com/wenjin92014...001/dragon.htm

Interesting they say thornless but perhaps that's referring to another
variety. The one I bought definitely had one sharp little thorn left on it.

Was it you who told us how to avoid the thorns in prickly pears?

No!
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 14/11/07 16:10, in article , "Nick
Maclaren" wrote:


In article ,
Sacha writes:
| Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate it
| this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
| tried growing it from the seeds?

Wallpaper paste with little black bits in.

Rather like 'poi' in Hawaii but not with black bits.

Yes. I grew quite a few seedlings, and gave them away, because we
don't have space for anything so large and thorny. They seemed to
germinate quite readily.

I must lead a sheltered life - I don't even remember seeing them before!

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

On 14/11/07 16:29, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:15:31 +0000, Sacha
wrote:
snip

Was it you who told us how to avoid the thorns in prickly pears?

No!

In case you don't know.
You pick them wearing thorn proof gloves, drop them on the ground and roll
each
one under your foot until there are no more thorns.

Do you know, I can't imagine how I've got this far without knowing that.
;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:15:31 +0000, Sacha

wrote:

On 14/11/07 16:05, in article ,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:03:11 +0000, Sacha

wrote:

On 14/11/07 10:55, in article
,
"Martin" wrote:

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:11:33 +0000, Sacha

wrote:

Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we
ate it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if
anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

Book

http://wchow.home.znet.com/book.htm

I recognise that! We saw the plant sans fruits growing in the gardens
of
Lotusland in Santa Barbara!

Grow your own in ... San Diego

and website
http://www.geocities.com/wenjin92014...001/dragon.htm

Interesting they say thornless but perhaps that's referring to another
variety. The one I bought definitely had one sharp little thorn left
on it.

Was it you who told us how to avoid the thorns in prickly pears?

No!

In case you don't know.
You pick them wearing thorn proof gloves, drop them on the ground and roll
each
one under your foot until there are no more thorns.
--

Martin


Cooking Hedgehogs is easier :-)

Mike


--
www.rnshipmates.co.uk for ALL Royal Navy Association matters
www.rneba.org.uk. The Royal Naval Electrical Branch Association.
'THE' Association to find your ex-Greenie mess mates.
www.iowtours.com for all ex-Service Reunions. More being added regularly
"Navy Days" Portsmouth 25th - 27th July 2008. RN Shipmates will be there.

Dragon fruit/ red pitaya/ pitahaya/ strawberry pear is the fruit of a
rather stunning, albeit rampant vining cactus - Hylocereus undatus
native to Central America. It develops 40 - 120 cms. long fleshy
stems usually triangular in cross-section that are reminiscent of
Epiphyllum, but on a considerably more massive scale. New growth
arises from the tip of the previously formed stem so you can get a
'chain' many metres long. The flowers are usually borne in late
summer and are almost the size of dinner-plates, typically white
ageing yellowish, with a strong heady fragrance. They last for just a
day or two and open at night. It's a fast and easy cactus to grow
provided it is given enough room, a bright situation and minimum
temperatures above 5C. I can easily imagine one spanning the roof of
the big double at H.H. so its well worth a try. Seeds germinate very
easily if sown on the surface of compost and maintained at around 23 -
25C.

On 14/11/07 17:04, in article
, "Dave Poole"
wrote:

Dragon fruit/ red pitaya/ pitahaya/ strawberry pear is the fruit of a
rather stunning, albeit rampant vining cactus - Hylocereus undatus
native to Central America. It develops 40 - 120 cms. long fleshy
stems usually triangular in cross-section that are reminiscent of
Epiphyllum, but on a considerably more massive scale. New growth
arises from the tip of the previously formed stem so you can get a
'chain' many metres long. The flowers are usually borne in late
summer and are almost the size of dinner-plates, typically white
ageing yellowish, with a strong heady fragrance. They last for just a
day or two and open at night. It's a fast and easy cactus to grow
provided it is given enough room, a bright situation and minimum
temperatures above 5C. I can easily imagine one spanning the roof of
the big double at H.H. so its well worth a try. Seeds germinate very
easily if sown on the surface of compost and maintained at around 23 -
25C.


Thanks, David. It does sound worth a try so I'll see if I can persuade Him
Outdoors to let me have a go!


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate
it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone had
tried growing it from the seeds?

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

For such a magnificent looking fruit it has to be verging on one of the
most insipid tasting.
The seed germinates easily and mine at the moment look like small succulent
cacti.

Sacha wrote:
Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we
ate it this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered
if anyone had tried growing it from the seeds?

They romp away from seeds. Got a pot of 20 plants on the windowsill. Must
seperate them and pot them up properly...

Les

--
Remove Frontal Lobes to reply direct.

"These people believe the souls of fried space aliens inhabit their
bodies and hold soup cans to get rid of them. I should care what they
think?"...Valerie Emmanuel

Les Hemmings a.a #2251 SA

"Zhang DaWei" wrote in message
-uwief...
On Wednesday 14 Nov 2007 10:11, Sacha
) wrote:

Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we ate
it
this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered if anyone
had
tried growing it from the seeds?

We know it as the huo lóng guo (Pinyin) and it is also called the Pitaya.
The flavour is quite subtle, and much better eaten cooled or even slightly
frozen.

I agree. We found it very pleasant, a change from the 'in your face'
flavours of most exotic fruit - which we still enjoy!


We have a number growing which we planted ourselves from seed from one of
the shop bought plants. Very easy to germinate in our experience.

That's interesting, thanks. I'll try next year.

Mary

On 14/11/07 18:28, in article , "Les
Hemmings" wrote:

Sacha wrote:
Captivated by the colour, I bought one of these the other day and we
ate it this morning. Doesn't taste of anything much but I wondered
if anyone had tried growing it from the seeds?

They romp away from seeds. Got a pot of 20 plants on the windowsill. Must
seperate them and pot them up properly...

Les

Obviously things take a bit longer to filter down to the west country. ;-)
What do you do to the seeds before sowing them? By that, I mean do you just
scoop them out of the fruit, gloop and all and plant them, or do you rinse
them in cold water to get rid of the gloop and then plant them?


--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'