WATCH: Growing Dragon Fruit

WATCH: How to grow Dragon Fruit

Thai True Purple ( Hylocereus costaricensis ) is a superb variety and is slightly more cold tolerant than most other Dragon Fruit varieties. In addition, this variety is also more sun-burn resistant. This is mainly due to the thicker 'wings' that allow it to overcome these two most common issues when growing Dragon Fruit..

Unlike many of the red or pink varieties, Thai True Purple has a bright magenta purple colour that holds fast and does not fade in processing, particularly if the pH is kept below 5.5. This makes it superb for juices, gins, food colouring etc.

The purple in Thai True Purple is created by a cocktail of the potent super-antioxidants betanin, indicaxanthin, phyllocactin and hylocerenin and their related compounds.

As always on live plant matter, we have limited stocks, this will only be available for a short window. If you want to harvest your own Thai True Purple Dragoon fruit in March/April next year, this is your chance.

Thai True Purple is sold as an approximately 30cm long cutting with a pre-whittled planting spike.
These cuttings come from mature growth so there are a few points that need to be taken into account.

• Planting from mature plant material gives you the fastest fruit harvest. (5-7 years from seed or 2-3 years from immature cuttings)
• It is cold resistant meaning that it can take a light frost once or twice in a season. It is not frost hardy. If you are concerned rather put it into a large pot so you can move it indoors over really cold periods.
• Mature plant matter often has blemishes, these are of no concern as once they grow away they will produce beautiful, vigorous growth.
• If grown well, you could harvest fruit in the first season.
• Fruits from Thai True Purple get to a good 500g in weight.
• The flowers are the size of a dinner plate, are white, stunningly scented and only open for a single evening.
• This variety is self-fertile, so you only need a single plant.

The dragon fruit is a cactus that occurs in Costa Rica and Nicaragua in Central America, where it naturally scrambles over the forest floor and clambers onto trees and rocks, fences and walls, eventually forming a vine.

Its brilliant white flowers are dinner plate sized and very fragrant, but open only for one night, giving way to a large, purplish pink skinned, bright magenta purple fleshed fruit weighing up to 500g.

The fruit are sweet and reminiscent of Kiwi in flavour. The purple colour of the fruit is from a cocktail of super-antioxidants, many only found in cacti fruit, The bright pink colour of the fruit is from a cocktail of super-antioxidants, many only found in cacti fruit, making dragon fruit a functional food everyone should be eating!

Cultivation:
H. costaricensis grows fast and easily in sun or semi-shade.  
Soil should be nutrient rich but well draining, dragon fruit in general need a fair amount of moisture, despite being cacti, but the soil should be allowed to dry out before watered again.
Plants grow very fast when fertilised and can produce fruit in their second season. Do not over-fertilise with Nitrogen!
Dragon fruit need strong support, and you can provide this with a classic dragon fruit pole, or trellis, or tree, or sturdy fence or wall.
Prefers higher temperatures and will not withstand frost.
Flowering takes place in a cycle in summer (normally between end December and May) with fruit harvested from end January onwards, dragon fruit flower and fruit in consecutive cycles over a season in good climates.

Priced per cutting.