Dragon Fruit


Dragon Fruit




Dragon fruit are quite interesting… They are grown on a tropical cactus that is considered a vine.  Each fruit has hundreds, to thousands of seeds and from my experience I have had all of them sprout for me.  But then again it could depend on the fruit that you choose.  These plants are native to central and northern America.




There are three different types of dragon fruit which include:



    1) Hylocereus Undatus – which is which has a white flesh and pink skin.  This fruit is not as sweet as the other two types.

    2)  Hylocereus Polyrhizus – This type of fruit had pink skin and colored flesh and is sweeter than that of the white flesh varieties and larger in size. 

    3) Selenicereus Megalanthus – This fruit has yellow skin and white flesh and is the smaller and sweetest of the three varieties.  This is the fruit that you will find least in the stores.  So, if you get the chance, grab it before its gone.
    
     The type that I am going to be germinating is Hylocereus Undatus which you find most commonly in the stores in Canada.  But you germinate all the different varieties in the same way as you see shown below.


How to germinate the seeds:


1) Get a clean piece of paper towel and place it beside dragon fruit.
2) Cut dragon fruit in half, revealing the seeds and flesh.  (the seeds are the little black dots in the flesh)
3) You can use your fingers, or a tooth pick to pick the seeds out and place them on the paper towel next to the fruit.
4) After you have got the desired amount of seeds out that you want, you can clean the seeds by placing a finger on one seed and dragging it down the paper towel till the protective gel layer is removed.
5) Once all the seeds are cleaned place them on a new, clean and damp paper towel and fold the paper towel up.
6) Place paper towel in a plastic baggie and place either in a sunny window or under a grow light.
7) The seeds should begin to sprout within 2-3 weeks and may take a little longer if in a colder climate.

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